The Road to Writing and Moving in Early and Middle Childhood

Original Editor - Jess Bell based on the course by Tracy Prowse
Top Contributors - Jess Bell, Naomi O'Reilly, Kim Jackson, Tarina van der Stockt, Wanda van Niekerk and Cindy John-Chu

This article or area is currently under construction and may only be partially complete. Please come back soon to see the finished work! (4/08/2021)

Introduction

Postural control begins in the brain and ends in the hand or foot. Typically, by the age of 7 years, postural control should be consolidated and automatic and children will be “writing ready” and “sport ready”. However, some children may not develop this postural control for a number of reasons, including:

• They may be too floppy or bendy - i.e. they have low connective tissue tone with underlying weaknesses, even if they are sporty. This may be caused by conditions such as:
  • Benign joint hypermobility syndrome
  • Marfan syndrome
  • Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
  • The Beighton Scale is used to measure hypermobility
• Lack of practice, which leads to muscle weakness
• An inability to concentrate on one specific activity
• A child’s temperament
  • Too shy
  • Too nervous
  • Gives up easily
• Children who have different brain development, which affects their ability to learn from everyday experiences - i.e. children who do not learn by “doing”