Introduction
Preschool programs vary with respect to type and include daycare, private schools, Montessori, Park District programs, school district programs, as well as Head Start. Each may follow different formats with respect to how to prepare children for kindergarten and the core standards.
Expectations for early writing can vary among teachers, parents, administrators, and programs. Are these expectations in line with typical variations and development throughout early childhood? Some children lack experience with the materials at preschool, and some may have variation in developmental skills. Regardless of the curriculum, the OT can contribute to the team by providing information on typical developmental sequences and component skills of pre-writing by suggesting and modifying activities to support these component skills and by providing intervention services.
OT Role in Pre-Writing Skill Development
Some of the OT roles include discussing age-appropriate expectations for fine motor development, collaborating with the teacher regarding movement activities and centers in the classroom, identifying seating and positioning options for table work, and suggesting strategies and conducting groups for pre-writing and motor groups for the general group, but following the district guidelines for the need for parent permission or physician referral. Whatever the school district requires in seeing a group, then that should be done. The final thing is implementing intervention activities for students with OT service that are specific to the individualized education program (IEP) goals.
Developmental Components
To share information with the school staff and parents, the OT can compile a list of developmental skills. There are several developmental checklist sources available as a quick reference for developmental skills achieved between the ages of three and six.
The OT can choose the developmental skills that most relate to pre-writing skills to share with the staff and parents through handouts and in-service training. The OT can also help the team identify underlying components that are needed for pre-writing and suggest appropriate activities. This will not be an exhaustive list of all the components of pre-writing skills, but should be a compilation of some of the main ones from the literature to which you can refer in the Resources at the end of the presentation.
