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Supporting your child's handwriting skills
- 5-11 Years
- SEND
- Child development and growing up
Some children can find handwriting very hard. They can become tired or fatigued as they write.
Explore the topics on this page:
Helpful equipment
There is equipment available to help your child feel more comfortable with writing. There are lots of pens and pencils designed to be comfortable to use. There are also pencil grips to make it easier to hold pencils and pens. Pencil grips can be used on lots of different pencils and pens.
Pencils and pens
Different types of pencil grips
Pencil grips these can help your child hold the pencil or pen easier and lessen some of the pain they have when writing.
Chair and table positioning
When your child is working on their handwriting or hand skills, it's important to make sure that your child is using a chair and table at the right height.
You can help your child by making sure your child is:
- sitting with their bottom at the back of the chair
- sitting straight with their back against the back of the chair
- sitting with their chair tucked in all the way
- in a chair where their legs are fully supported by the length of the seat
- placing their feet flat on the floor, they can use a footstool or box
- using a table that is at elbow height, they can sit on a box or booster seat
It's important for your child to take regular breaks. Try to avoid them sitting in one position for too long. Sitting for too long can make your child's joints stiff. If possible, give them regular stretch breaks every 10 to 15 minutes. Read more about movement breaks.
Some children can find it hard to stay in a sitting position for a long time. They may appear restless or fidgety, changing their sitting position or getting up and moving around. This is because in order to feel comfortable, they need to change how they sit a lot.
Reasonable adjustments for classes, tests and exams
It is normal for children and young people to feel uncomfortable, tired or pain when they are writing for a long time. For some children it can affect the quality of their work and the amount that they can write.
Reasonable adjustments are changes made by the school to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to a disability. You will need to discuss which reasonable adjustments are suitable for your child with their school.
The school can also complete a Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (DASH). This can be done with just your child or in a group. This assessment scores several timed writing samples. It looks at the speed and legibility of writing. It does not look at correct spelling, grammar of punctuation. The DASH will help support the school to understand the difficulties your child may be experiencing. It can also be used as evidence to support their use of reasonable adjustments.
The school can buy the DASH on the Pearson website.
Your child will need to be able to record information in class, tests and exams. Accommodations will help them to make notes and write for a longer period of time.
Using a laptop or computer. There are a variety of children's typing programmes available on
Using a voice recorder or dictaphone to record lessons. They can then listen back to the lesson later when they are able to make notes at their own pace.
There will be tasks where your child cannot use a laptop or computer. They will need to write by hand. Accommodations will reduce the amount of handwriting they need to do.
- Using worksheets where your child fills in keywords.
- Photocopying notes where your child highlights important information.
- Using a scribe. This is when your child says the answers to someone who then writes their answer down for them.
There are lots of ways your child can have their handwriting needs accommodated during tests and exams.
- Using a laptop or computer for longer pieces of written work like homework.
- Accommodations during tests and exams
- Taking the rest or exam in a quiet room.
- Taking rest breaks during the test or exam.
- Having extra time to complete the test or exam.
- Using a laptop or computer.
- Using a scribe. This is when your child says the answers to someone who then writes their answer down for them.
If your child uses a scribe for a formal test or exam, it's important that they regularly practice using a scribe. Your child will need to practice using the scribe in the same way that they will during the formal test or exam.
Last reviewed: 1 November, 2024
