The debate about whether handwriting is obsolete (in favor of going straight to the keyboard) continues to bubble as technology becomes more ingrained in daily life at younger ages.  It's been a hot topic in the news, with articles in the New York Times, Good Morning America, and more.  But, aside from Johnny not being able to read Grandma's hand written letters, what other developmental implications are there if handwriting is foresaken?

The Occupational Therapists at JCFS Chicago' Integrated Pediatric Interventions program weigh in:

"While an older child may benefit from replacing handwriting with keyboarding in order to expedite academic assignments, handwriting difficulties indicate underlying issues that may affect more areas. Children may experience handwriting challenges due to visual-perceptual deficits, visual-motor integration problems, fine motor incoordination, poor postural control, attention deficit, or learning disabilities. Before simply replacing handwriting with keyboarding, it is important to assess the child to determine the underlying causes of handwriting difficulties. An occupational therapist can then work with the classroom teacher and parents to develop a plan that addresses the underlying issues in order to improve handwriting and/or find alternative solutions to handwriting such as keyboarding."

Haley Bartz, OTR/L
Integrated Pediatric Interventions

"I think that children who struggle with handwriting need the opportunity to be able to access typing and increase their skills as we live in a world that is very technology based. Functionally, children who find it difficult to engage in handwriting tasks will find increased success and confidence in their school work and greater participation if able to have the opportunity to type assignments and access a computer at school and at home.

However, I think that handwriting is an incredibly important skill to retain. As again, for functional purposes, they cannot give up on this skill. Handwriting is and will continue to be required for skills such as filling out applications, writing a signature, or completing math assignments etc. If we give up on teaching handwriting, children may be left without being able to independently complete these functional tasks and be independent in the future."

Melissa Lorin, OTR/L

"I have heard a lot of the debate with just skipping straight to typing. However, handwriting is a more personal form of communication than typing. I think it carries a lot more weight to be able to write a handwritten thank you note, letter to a friend or card to someone you care about versus sending an email or having something typed. To permanently remove that option by not teaching handwriting and leaving a child with only typing seems premature at this point."

Abby McMahon, OTR/L

Integrated Pediatric Interventions offers speech therapy, occupational therapy and developmental therapy in Northbrook and other Chicagoland locations.