Handwriting - A Workout for Your Brain
KAYLE SANDBERG-LEWIS BCN-FELLOW, M.A., LMT
Many years ago, I was contacted by a family who had been told their child had “dysgraphia”, a neurologically based impairment of the ability to write by hand. The parents had read what they could about the disorder and wondered whether neurofeedback would help.
In this situation, the answer was “maybe”.
First the child had to be taught how to write and practice, practice, practice. In this situation, the school the child attended had created the problem by not teaching the students penmanship. Yes, the child’s entire class had received the same “diagnosis”. Every child from kindergarten up had been issued a laptop and all work was done by keyboard. How were the children supposed to be fluent in something they had not been taught?
If there are still problems in letter formation, comfort in writing and other markers after a sound foundation has been introduced by knowledgeable teachers with deliberate follow-through to cement skills, then it is time to consider the possibility of neurological issues. If there are still significant legibility and comfort problems after a genuine attempt at training, then I would say yes – try neurofeedback. But for an entire class of otherwise neurotypical children to all have the same diagnosis was ludicrous. Shame on the school for blaming the children by labeling them as “disordered”.
Maria Montessori recognized that children try to mimic writing before they attempt to read – it is basic in all cultures. So why the emphasis on teaching penmanship – won’t kids just pick it up on their own?
No.
Without proper training, it is likely children will develop poor habits ranging from holding the pencil incorrectly to having poor posture in relation to the page, which can make writing an uncomfortable, and at times painful, exercise. Bad habits established early will be very hard to remediate. I know one child who always stood across the table while the teacher demonstrated letter formation. Although she can print letters, that person, now an adult, still creates all her letters “upside down” because of the original distorted orientation.
Unfortunately, many schools have dropped penmanship in favor of keyboarding.
Is that progress?
Keyboards are now ubiquitous and most communication happens over the ethers, but there is a great deal of research to suggest this is not necessarily to our advantage as individuals nor as a culture. Sure, keyboarding, with practice, can be faster, but what is lost in exchange for that speed?
With keyboarding, tactile stimulation is limited to the fingertips. The keys are always located in the same place relative to each other. It is easy for the brain to go on autopilot meaning fewer neuronal circuits are employed in typing than in handwriting. Yes, “cutting and pasting” is a snap, but original thought appears to be truncated. In fact, studies show children writing their ideas by hand write more material and show more substantive creative expression than children using a keyboard.
Children trained in writing by hand show earlier letter recognition and have, on average, an easier time learning how to read.
Our children need opportunities to develop fine motor skills such as writing. Studies have shown that there is a correlation between fine motor skills and empathy. Children with poor motor skills are more apt to be disruptive – especially in classroom situations – and less able to “read” other people’s emotions, two impediments that can affect success for an entire lifetime.
It is not an issue limited to children. A study of 300 students at Princeton and at UCLA established that those who took notes by hand had significantly better recall and comprehension of the material than those who took notes with keyboards.
It has been shown that tracing letters – such as Chinese characters – facilitates learning to read another language, even later in life and it is suggested that reading and writing longhand gives the aging brain a workout that helps it stay sharp.
People who are not able to use cursive penmanship are at a distinct disadvantage deciphering cursive writing. There are already people who can not read cursive – some clients have described it to me as an impenetrable secret code, putting them at a disadvantage when researching family documents. Even after the invention of the printing press in 1440, handwriting continued to be the primary form of communication for individuals well into the 20th century.
Penmanship is personal – more so than the selection of fonts on your email account. Handwriting analysis may or may not be valid, but there are distinctive patterns in an individual’s writing. A middle-aged client wiped away tears while telling me about finding a shopping list his mother had apparently used as a bookmark, probably years before she died. He described the familiar penmanship as a gift that helped him feel closer to her than he thought possible.
So brush up on your handwriting. Next month we’ll talk about journaling.
Cognitive Benefits of Handwriting
Motor coordination, empathy, and social behaviour in school‐aged children
The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking
How Handwriting Boosts the Brain
Kayle Sandberg-Lewis holds a M.A. in Behavioral Medicine, the study of how what we do affects our well-being. She has over three decades experience in stress management and is board certified in neurofeedback, which she introduced to her practice in 1996. Kayle co-founded Hive Mind Medicine in 2019, where she currently offers neurofeedback to her clients. Telehealth consults are available.
Hive Mind Medicine blog posts are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your health care practitioner for personalized guidance. Click on the contact button below if you would like to schedule with one of our Hive Mind practitioners.