For academic success, social and communicative growth, and self-esteem development, legible handwriting is essential.

Autism has been linked to poor handwriting skills, which are essential for academic performance, communication, and boosting children's self-esteem.

Handwriting problems are a result of various difficulties in autism spectrum disorders.

For instance, issues with fine motor skills are frequently seen in people with ASD.

Such issues could make it challenging to manipulate a writing instrument precisely.

Nonetheless, there are ways to maneuver these types of challenges to achieve better handwriting results.

Of course, the first step involves identifying the handwriting challenges.

To fix a problem, you have to find out what is causing it and work towards adopting strategies that can help your autistic child enhance their handwriting.

One of these involves looking out for the sensory issues that are affecting the child's ability to write well.

It is well-known that autistic children are affected by sensory issues.

Once you can identify what factors are causing it, you can provide the support for autism needed

Learn more about how to help your autistic child enhance their handwriting below. 

Identify Their Handwriting Challenges 

While many people consider writing to be easy, it may be difficult to comprehend the challenges that autistic kids face when it comes to handwriting.

It's essential to be aware of how these challenges physically present themselves in handwriting.

Early assistance is essential, as there are often a few signals that an autistic child might be having trouble with writing.

The child may have problems with visual processing, such as visual discrimination or visual directionality.

Visual processing is an issue that impacts being able to perceive the difference between two images.

Visual directionality is a problem that impacts being aware of which direction a letter is facing.

There is also the difficulty of "floating" words, which are those that are not written in a straight line.

Some people may be able to write in a straight line, albeit a diagonal one.

The writer's posture may be to blame for this, as it is essential for stability and focus when writing.

Also, dysgraphia is a disorder that autistic children can experience.

Significant progress can be accomplished with the correct drills performed in therapy, so early intervention is highly recommended.

Improve Their Fine Motor Skills

Writing requires a wide range of fine motor abilities, all working together.

Poor handwriting and coordination are common symptoms of fine and gross motor difficulties in autistic children.

Training autistic people on the proper hand grip and hand exercises is an excellent technique to enhance handwriting progress.

Hand therapy works to help your autistic child enhance their handwriting by improving a child's overall muscle tone.

Occupational therapists can provide expert guidance and assistance throughout this treatment process.

Having your autistic child paint on a vertical surface is a great way to help them to build their muscles in a different way while also improving their craft.

The up-and-down motion of their brushstrokes will strengthen their wrists while they paint.

Another fantastic way to improve muscular tone is through squeezing.

You should consider incorporating the use of play-dough and tension balls until finger muscles grow stronger.

Putting forth extra effort like these to develop those abilities can improve a child's writing output.

Look Out For Sensory Issues 

Writing is a multisensory experience, and for autistic students, the process can be overwhelming.

Autistic kids have a hard time with things like pencil grasp and pressure regulation since they don't get the sensory feedback and stimulation they need.

Many children benefit from the tactile and pressure-related assistance provided by weighted and non-weighted grips, which helps to stabilize and develop their grip.

Writing requires a specific amount of pinch and push, which may be learned with the help of these tools.

Muscle memory can also be strengthened by the use of activities that provide tactile input, such as writing words in modeling clay or wet sand.

One technique to improve both performance and assurance is to exercise the hands with some fine motor tasks before committing to handwriting practice.

Before starting to practice, have your child do some finger exercises.

Be Flexible and Try Out New Strategies 

The thing is that there is no silver bullet for improving one's handwriting.

Because of individual differences in how people learn, it may be essential to employ a variety of strategies before settling on the most effective one.

As with many other aspects of ASD, the best method to help a child with handwriting difficulties is to go with the child's "flow."

If you're having trouble getting started, use a new tactic to tackle handwriting from every perspective.

Finding what works for you is essential, but so is the flexibility to try new approaches when the old ones aren't producing the desired results.

Be Patient 

Research has shown that autistic children who have difficulties with their handwriting continue to struggle with these issues far into their teenage and adult years.

It's important to have patience in the journey to help your autistic child enhance their handwriting.

Teaching strategies that are deliberate and gradual have been shown to aid the coaching process for autistic children.

Remember, don't rush through the process, and make sure to cover each major idea and stage thoroughly.

Though handwriting can be improved with practice and effort, some difficulties will remain even after that.

For example, in the case of dysgraphia, where problems go beyond the simple lack of practice and development of fine motor skills, this is especially true.

The end objective is to facilitate your child's clearest possible communication, and you can get there with time and effort.

Rather than dwelling on failures, you should focus on building upon their successes.

Conclusion

Many kids struggle to grasp handwriting because it can be a tough skill to acquire.

Nonetheless, the right strategies are, in a way, forms of support for autism.

They will influence how therapy affects a child with autism.

Some ways to help your autistic child enhance their handwriting include determining handwriting challenges, improving fine motor skills, looking out for sensory issues, being flexible with your writer by trying new strategies, and being patient. 

Resources 

https://www.especialneeds.com/blog/improving-handwriting-in-children-with-autism/

https://www.lwtears.com/blog/autism-handwriting

https://the-art-of-autism.com/autism-and-writing-how-to-teach-your-child-to-write/

https://study.com/academy/lesson/autism-handwriting-strategies.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.healisautism.com/amp/children-autism-struggle-handwriting-difficulties

https://www.healisautism.com/amp/improving-handwriting-skills-in-children-with-autism