Historically, cursive writing has been a part of elementary school curriculum, typically starting around grade 3. Now, it is rare to see a classroom of students being taught the cursive alphabet from beginning to end.
As an Occupational Therapist I am often questioned on the importance of this skill and have been challenged to answer it generally.
In a world where technology has taken over, shouldn’t we be teaching students to type instead? If students don’t learn to write cursive, how will they be able to read it? How will our children ever learn to sign their name? Some students have a hard enough time with printing so why force them to learn cursive?
These are all good questions, and again, ones that I do not have a straight answer to. Like a lot of things in the Occupational Therapy world…it depends. It depends on the needs of the child, the reasons for teaching cursive, the fine motor, coordination, and sensory functioning of the child, and the child’s motivation.
One good reason to teach cursive is that it can be used as a therapeutic approach to improving fine motor skills, coordination, and sensorimotor functioning. Further more, some children with fine motor delays, coordination difficulties, or slow printing speeds, may actually do better with cursive.
On the other hand, yes, typing is an important and functional skill in today’s world. Not only is it important academically, but also for leisure and employment.
In summary, it really is not an either or situation. Manuscript, cursive, and typing all have a time and place. Some children may excel or prefer one form of written output to another. What I see as most important, is allowing children the option to express their knowledge and understanding in the way that they are most able. If your child is not directly taught cursive or typing in school and you believe they may benefit from these skills an Occupational Therapist can be a useful resource to support your child in this endeavor.
Ashley G. – Occupational Therapist
