Developing Fine Motor Skills and Gross Motor Skills to Support Handwriting, Play & Learning in Education

Thank you for your interest in this training.

This training has been re-named to
Developing Fine Motor Skills and Gross Motor Skills to Support Handwriting,
Play & Learning in Education
and is only available for schools or organisations as private, in-house workshops

The aim of this training is to provide an understanding of motor development to support learning & handwriting and the foundational skills required for handwriting to develop, how to perform and interpret assessment data to inform interventions, and to explore a range of fun, engaging ways to develop the skills needed for our tamariki to thrive.

One or two-day interactive workshops

Contact us today for a quotation for Elen Nathan to present this training to you and your colleagues - either online or face-face

Handwriting is a complex task, involving much more than just fine motor skills and a tripod grasp. Many learners are entering school without the foundational skills needed for handwriting, such as gross motor stability, visual skills, and visual memory, resulting in frustrated learners who just need a bit more time, and the right approach for a few more developmental steps to unfold before starting handwriting. Some learners can take years to develop the skills and may need some extra individualised help along the way. With limited access to occupational therapists in the classroom, this training will provide participants all they need to know to provide a robust assessment of handwriting readiness and foundational skills, as well as interventions which can be used to support development of the skills for primary and intermediate aged learners.

This workshop will suit educational professionals such as teachers, RTLB, and teacher aids, as well as therapists such as occupational therapists or speech and language therapists.

Delivered by Elen Nathan, Paediatric Occupational Therapist and Sensory Integration Practitioner from The Playful Place, Elen has specialised in neurodiversity, autism, sensory processing differences, dyspraxia, and behaviour support planning, and has a deep understanding of child development, particularly social-emotional and sensory motor development.

With practical knowledge of the classroom environment working in and alongside schools for over a decade to support diverse learners access the curriculum, Elen is also a Mum to 2 wonderful boys with 2 very different sensory-motor systems. Elen has a passion for practical, family friendly and classroom friendly strategies that are simple to implement and fun & engaging for the learners.

Intended Learning Outcomes

This training will cover:

Day 1: Foundational Skills for Handwriting

Prewriting skills needed before holding a pencil, including sensory awareness and body awareness.
Gross motor, fine motor, visual and cognitive skills needed for handwriting.
Pencil grasps and stages of development.

Day 2: Screening Tools & Intervention.

An in depth look at 1 screening tool and 1 standardised assessment to be used to inform intervention or when referral on may be needed.
Developing assessment skills for participants including when to screen and when to assess, observation skills, and mini screens such as screening visual-motor skills, muscle strength and sensory processing.

Interventions.

Creative activities to develop pre-writing skills
Creative activities to develop handwriting skills
Strategies to work with the reluctant writer.
When to move away from handwriting and towards technology supports.

Schools and organisations can book either a day one workshop or, both the day one and day two. It is also possible to do the Day One training and complete the 2nd day of training at a later stage - contact faye@grow.co.nz for more details.

What others have said about Elen's presentations

"I had no idea handwriting was this complex for kids, I wish I knew this years ago" Rachel, RTLB

"Elen is a fantastic speaker who kept me interested and engaged the whole time" Kim, Psychologist

"Elen was a down to earth presenter who had a large amount of knowledge, but also got the intricacies of working with students who have learning difficulties." Tania, Teacher

"I enjoyed the content and Elen is an engaging person whose delivery of the course content is easy to understand and grasp, ie relatable and not too "jargonised ! " Hazel, Speech Language Therapist

"Very well organised, very experienced, and honest about what she had tried herself that had worked and not worked." Sharon, Special Education Advisor

Who Should Attend

This workshop is suitable for Primary and Intermediate School Teachers, Teacher Aides, Speech and Language Therapists (to support communication assessments), RTLB’s, SENCO’s, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists and Counsellors. Also, possibly those working in the ECE sector.

The course is hands-on and practical and will give participants direct skills and tools to use straight away.

Please contact us to register your interest

The following peak bodies and organisations recognise that the training we offer is of a high quality, evidence based and relevant for their members CPD.

About the Presenter: Elen Nathan

Elen is a NZ registered Occupational Therapist in Napier and is a qualified Sensory Integration Practitioner (Ayres Sensory Integration). With 20 years’ experience in NZ and abroad working with children and adults who have diverse needs, she has specialised in supporting autistic people which has led her to work in peak body organisations including Autism New Zealand, The National Autistic Society (UK) and Autism Victoria (AUS).

Elen is passionate about working with neuro-diverse children to build their self-esteem and self- worth through understanding themselves better, the intrinsic strengths they have, and the gifts they have to offer the world.

Based in Hawkes Bay, Elen is the Mum of 2 busy young boys who have taught her that often children come with their own plan and need an understanding team in their corner coaching them through life's challenges.

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