Ohio to begin teaching kids to write in cursive again; should Michigan follow?

It’s a debate that rages on and rages in schools and in homes: should kids know how to write in cursive?

The art of writing in cursive has faded in American schools as computers become more prominent. But some believe it’s a skill kids should have regardless.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed into law this week House Bill 58, which says curriculum will be developed to teach children in kindergarten through fifth grade how to write in cursive.

It would also require students be able to print letters legibly by the end of third grade and write in cursive by the end of the fifth grade.

Some Michigan schools still teach cursive, but most have taken it out of the curriculum.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/education-station/ohio-to-begin-teaching-kids-to-write-in-cursive-again-should-michigan-follow

Book Donation to Resource Library in Madagascar

To help improve the quality of life via therapeutic services in Madagascar, the Loving Healing Press is donating copies of its title Handwriting For Heroes – a task-oriented workbook to help people learn to write with their non-dominant hand.- Loving Healing Press Making Book Donation to Resource Library in Madagascar

The non-profit Growing the Nations Therapy Programmes (GNTP) is currently focusing on helping vulnerable, poverty-stricken people in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, by providing them therapeutic services. Establishing a resource library for occupational therapists to work with the affected people in the area is a key requirement for this purpose.

Anri-Louise Oosthuizen is the founder of Growing the Nations Therapy Programmes (GNTP) as well as the Occupational Therapist (OT) that started the profession in Madagascar. It is by her position as an OT professor at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar that she came to know of Handwriting For Heroes.

“I am the only occupational therapy lecturer in Madagascar,” Oosthuizen tells. “A few weeks ago a new graduate came to ask me how to retrain dominance post-head injury. I could not give her a good answer, and in my internet search I found this program.” She says she would love to include it in the curriculum.

Although Handwriting For Heroes is designed to work best in conjunction with a formal course of Occupational Therapy, it can also be used solo by a motivated learner.

“The advantage of working with an OT, is that they can answer questions, help set expectations, and evaluate progress in a way that self-study can’t achieve,” says Victor Volkman, publisher at the Loving Healing Press.

About the Authors

Katie Yancosek is an officer in the Army Medical Specialist Corps. Among many qualifications, she holds a PhD in rehabilitation sciences from the University of Kentucky.

Kristin Gulick has been enjoying her practice as an occupational therapist for more than 25 years. In the past, Kristin served as the Director of Therapy Services at Advanced Arm Dynamics, where she enjoyed working with clients with upper limb loss in their rehabilitation process.

Amanda Sammons is an officer in the Army Medical Specialist Corps. She graduated from Baylor University with a Doctor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy.

Evaluation Copy Requests

Interested Occupational Therapists worldwide may request a complimentary evaluation copy of Handwriting For Heroes to see if it is appropriate for their clientele by writing to info@LHPress.com.

Torn Rotator Cuff – one patient’s story. . .

Thomas M. Clark, DDS practicing his new skills
Thomas M. Clark, DDS practicing his new skills on a simulated patient, after physical therapy.

Here’s a snippet from an inspiring blog by Tom Clark about his recovery from a Torn Rotator Cuff. We see many people starting over with their handwriting tasks and recovering from difficult surgery is just one example:

Handwriting For Heroes presents a 6 week long series of work book pages similar to the ways we were taught in elementary school, but written and designed for adults. Through the lessons of loops and swirls, coloring and copying; the authors provide you with exercises that strengthen both the fine motor muscles as well as the hand eye coordination needed to write. Just like the McGuffey Readers of the old days the repetition is not idle, most of the sentences that you copy offer encouraging words to brighten your day and strengthen your resolve.

I faithfully went through the book from cover to cover, and I can say that the improvement in my hand skills was dramatic. I still write like a doctor, but less so than before my surgery.

I give the book my highest recommendation. It should be on the list of must haves for anyone going though something similar to my experience.

You can follow Thomas. M. Clark, DDS and his ongoing recovery on his Facebook page as well as his blog.

Handless 7-year-old wins national writing competition

Virginia first-grader Anaya Ellick, 7, has such good handwriting, she beat out 50 other youngsters from around the country to win a national handwriting contest.   Please read the full story here

Feedback from Hand Therapy Week 2015

Handwriting for Heroes, 3rd Edition
Handwriting for Heroes, 3rd Edition

It is our greatest privilege to give back to the Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) community through our participation in the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) sponsored Hand Therapy Week (June 2015).  As part of this, LHP gave away 30 copies of Handwriting For Heroes to randomly chosen participants of HTW 2015.

Porter Cole writes:

I wanted to share some feedback we received from an ASHT member. Please see below:

From Stacy Hite:

I received an unexpected gift for participating in Hand Therapy Week this year. Loving Healing Press, Inc. (www.lovinghealing.com) sent a copy of Handwriting for Heroes: Learn to Write with Your Non-Dominant Hand in Six Weeks. The book has been so much fun! It was a resource for my patients that I did not know was available. More importantly, I felt my participation in Hand Therapy Week was noticed and important, which inspires me to continue to contribute.

Advice for teenager with recent arm amputation

Question:  Any advice for teenager with recent  arm amputation in regards to a  “one-handed word processing” program

Answer: The Dragon Naturally Speaking software is VERY good and VERY accurate once you train your voice to it.

The iPhone or iPad voice recognition is also fairly accurate if you annunciate your words clearly.

Many patients use a software program prior to regaining proficiency with handwriting in the previously non-dominant hand.
Thanks for the question,
Katie Yancosek

What can I do to improve after completing Handwriting For Heroes course?

Handwriting for Heroes, 3rd Edition
Handwriting for Heroes, 3rd Edition

We love to get questions from readers:
Recently someone asked about what to do to keep writing after she completed the entire Handwriting for Heroes workbook. What a WONDERFUL question! This question means two important things: (1) she finished the program successfully and (2) she wants to write MORE!

A few of our writing activity suggestions include

  1. Copy a favorite quote, poem, or spiritual mantra each day. *You can choose a new one each day, or copy a favorite until you have it memorized!*,
  2. Copy a new recipe onto a large notecard and build your recipe library,
  3. Write a card to a friend or family member
  4. Buy a lovely journal and start to jot down your thoughts, dreams, ideas each day,
  5. Use that same lovely journal and write down 3 things each day that you’re grateful for
  6. Create a handwriting time capsule and mail it to yourself or a family member with a note on the envelope that states the approved OPEN date (it’s fun to make it at least 5 to 10 years in the future)
  7. Turn on an instructional or inspirational video on YouTube and take notes (*if you need to pause the video so you can keep up, feel free. There are SO many things to learn*)
  8. Copy down the lyrics of your favorite inspirational song
  9. Feel free to go back through Handwriting for Heroes and re-do any of the homework activities that interest you.

Yours truly,

Katie Yancosek

 

Handwriting for Heroes 3rd Ed. now available!

Thanks to the feedback we have received from everyone on the earlier editions of Handwriting For Heroes, we are pleased to announce the 3rd Edition. This edition is available now directly from the publisher.

$22.95

Amazon.com now stocks the 3rd Edition .  Bookstores can order direct from the publisher or from New Leaf Distributing.  H4H remains the only program specifically directed towards adult re-learners.

Highlights of the 3rd Edition include

  • Revised and updatd exercises structured for either cursive or print (manuscript) re-learning.
  • Positive psychology exercises to promote optimism and
    resiliency in your daily life.

As always, we invite Certified Hand Therapists to request a complimentary evaluation copy to learn whether Handwriting For Heroes is right for your clients.  Write to victor@LHPress.com and be sure to include your complete mailing address.

Positive Psychology and Rehab

New: Positive Psychology Exercises in H4H 3rd Edition

Handwriting for Heroes, 3rd Edition
Handwriting for Heroes, 3rd Edition

In addition to the ‘Daily Dozen’ exercises, the 3rd edition of Handwriting for Heroes includes a special ‘Baker’s Dozen’ created by Dr. Amanda Sammons, an Army occupational therapist. This newly developed section helps you cultivate a positive attitude and “MIGHTY Mindset” throughout your course of recovery and handwriting skill development. Edward George Bulwer Lytton said, “The pen is mightier than the sword”. Writing is a very powerful tool, and gains more strength when coupled with a positive attitude to influence the thoughts behind your writing. The ‘Baker’s Dozen’ offers positive psychology exercises to promote optimism and resiliency in your daily life. One of the primary aims of positive psychology is to help people to discover, explore, and improve on their personal strengths. This can be done through a variety of deliberate exercises to train your brain to attend more to your positive experiences and focus less on the negative ones. Throughout this program you will complete a positive psychology exercise each day.

The word MIGHTY is used as a mnemonic to help you remember each of the positive psychology exercises that you will learn during your journey to change hand dominance.

M: Mindfulness
I: Improve your signature strengths
G: Gratitude
H: Happiness advantage
T: Three good things
Y: You at your best

Each week focuses on a different aspect of positive psychology. Apply each to your day-to-day life regardless of where you are in the process of changing your hand dominance. In fact, these exercises should become part of your daily routine for you to continually cultivate a positive attitude and mighty mindset.

We welcome your feedback at www.handwritingforheroes.com – Kristin, Katie, and Amanda

 

 

Relearning print writing – new for 3rd Edition!

Cursive writing is easier than printing from motor and perceptual standpoints. Learning cursive writing also diminishes the challenge of having even spaces between printed letters. However, many have requested that the 3rd edition include instructions and visual demonstrations on PRINT writing. We have answered your request. To keep the workbook a reasonable length, we have placed both a print and cursive example at the top of each exercise page. Please feel free to do both or select the type/style of writing you wish to master and stick to it. Where space was limited, we placed the print example in parenthesis.

Handwriting for Heroes unique side-by-side approach for print and cursive retraining.
Handwriting for Heroes unique side-by-side approach for print and cursive retraining.

We welcome your feedback at www.handwritingforheroes.com – Kristin, Katie, and Amanda