Handwriting is one of the main activities in which a child engages during his or her learning years. Studies support the supposition that adequate handwriting is a necessary skill for a child to succeed in elementary school and beyond (Feder & Majnemer, 2003), as it is estimated that 30% to 60% of a child’s school day is spent completing written work (Marr, Windsor, & Cermak, 2001; McHale & Cermak, 1992); this written work is the primary means by which a teacher evaluates the child’s learning. Studies have also shown that legibility and handwriting speed influence a child’s success in school (Graham, 2011).

The foundation skills required for adequate graphomotor skills include visual motor integration skills, visual perception, in-hand manipulation skills, and kinesthetic awareness (Case-Smith & Pehoski, 1992; Laszlo & Bairstow, 1984; Maeland, 1992; Tseng & Murray, 1994; Weil & Amundson, 1994). Developmental theory suggests that first, learning is facilitated when these foundation skills are presented to a developmentally ready child (Benbow, 1995), and second, that an optimal time for the learning of pre-writing foundation skills is during the pre-school years (Gerde, 1., Bingham, G., & Wasik, B., 2012). There is a tacit expectation that the majority of children entering kindergarten should be able to identify most letters and, after some formal instruction, form these letters graphically.

The foundation skills required for adequate graphomotor skills include visual motor integration skills, visual perception, in-hand manipulation skills, and kinesthetic awareness (Case-Smith & Pehoski, 1992; Laszlo & Bairstow, 1984; Maeland, 1992; Tseng & Murray, 1994; Weil & Amundson, 1994). Developmental theory suggests that first, learning is facilitated when these foundation skills are presented to a developmentally ready child (Benbow, 1995), and second, that an optimal time for the learning of pre-writing foundation skills is during the pre-school years (Gerde, 1., Bingham, G., & Wasik, B., 2012). There is a tacit expectation that the majority of children entering kindergarten should be able to identify most letters and, after some formal instruction, form these letters graphically.

Unfortunately, in 10-30% of children, this automaticity does not occur (Karlsdottir, R., Stefansson, T., 2002) . They are forced to allocate a portion of their attentional resources to the motor aspect of learning, such that the act of writing is laborious. Because children are required to submit written assignments in nearly every class, they may fall behind academically when completion of these assignments becomes burdensome and time-consuming (Graham, S. 1992; Hammerschmidt & Sudsawad, 2004). As a result, these children’s learning is impaired, their grades suffer, and they may experience poor self-esteem (Engel-Yeger, Nagauker-Yanuv, & Rosenblum, 2009; Feder & Majnemer, 2007).

It is Dr. Julie’s position that it is imperative to identify these difficulties with developing motor handwriting skills before formal education begins, when the focus of handwriting is still on motor output rather than as a method of communication or an indicator of learning. Furthermore, it is the author’s position that the pre-kindergarten pre-school year is the optimal time to intervene because children are not yet required to use handwriting as a functional form of communication or to demonstrate knowledge of what is being learned in the classroom (Tucha, Tucha, & Lange, 2008). Since in pre-school the handwriting demand required of a child is typically isolated to only the motor skills needed to form letters, all of the child’s attentional capacity can be used to work on motor handwriting tasks.

The purpose of the Letter Leaders handwriting program is to ensure that children enter elementary school equipped with the motor skills necessary for the acquisition of automatic handwriting so that the child can focus his or her attention on learning how to use writing as an effective form of communication.

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