Occupational therapists (OTs) analyze the school environment and observe the child to determine why the child has difficulty with writing. An OT can work with a child or adult on body positioning, muscle tone, posture and control of upper extremities. An OT can also help clients develop better rotation of the forearms, improve grasp and release of the pencil, coordinate the left and right hands when holding the paper and writing, develop coping and memory skills and work with assistive technologies.
Parents can use tips from the American Occupational Therapy Association, such as avoiding finger foods for preschool kids and requiring them to use knives, forks and spoons when eating. Parents can also have their kids play with cookie dough by rolling, cutting and reshaping to improve fine motor skills. For an older child who has trouble with visual memory, parents can play catch, marbles or jacks. The organization Handwriting Without Tears provides free online resources for parents to assist children of all ages with simple activities to do at home. Ideas include singing, forming letters with clay, writing with chalk, writing on lined paper and relating letter shapes such as "O" to the shape of a round item (like a pumpkin).
Teachers can support students with dysgraphia by modifying lesson plans, providing partially completed outlines for students to complete, and allowing the use of a recording device as a substitute for note-taking. Parents can also request a scribe in the classroom to take additional notes for the student to study.
Computers can provide tools, such as story outlines, that allow the user to select from possible scenarios for step-by-step story development. An outlining tool can help the person with dysgraphia to organize thoughts into a logical sequence. Word prediction programs fill in possible words after the user types several letters, so the user can simply select the correct word from the list. Computers equipped with speech synthesis provide an audible pronunciation of the word after the student types it. When the student hears the word, she can make corrections if the word she hears is not the one she intended to type.