Is Your Child's Writing Development on Track?

     Is your child's writing development on track?  Check out these developmental milestones to help you determine if there is an area of concern.  Speech and language is the foundation for all learning especially reading and writing development.    If you have a concern, a qualified speech therapist can help you determine if therapy is necessary and help your child reach his or her maximum potential.  We are here to help.  If you have any questions, please comment below or contact us today for your free 15 minute consultation. 

How Writing Develops:

1-2 Years:

• Holds a large marker or crayon.
• May scribble, especially when you are writing too.

2-3 Years:

• Writes by drawing and scribbling.
• Scribbles using wavy lines and circles.

3-5 Years:

• Starts to scribble letters, numbers or pretend letters, wavy lines and squiggles.
• Prints some large uppercase letters like A, B, C.
• Knows that drawing and writing are different.
• Copies simple lines, shapes or crosses.
• Knows that people write for a reason.
• Writes one letter or word to stand for a whole sentence or idea.
• Prints frist name, some letters of the alphabet and numbers.
• Writes letters in no set order like A, z, E, u, x, R.

5-6 Years:

• Uses one to three letters to spell words, like p for purple, tn for train, or pet for pretty.
• Spells words as they sound like letl for little and egl for eagle.

7-8 Years Old:

• Can write a sentence on topic.
• Aware that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark, but may not apply this to their writing.

9-10 Years Old:

• Able to write a paragraph on a given topic.

-Elisa Cartagena, M.S. CCC-SLP
Speech and Language Pathologist

As the lead therapist and owner of Teach Beyond Speech Therapy Services, LLC., Elisa Cartagena provides academically relevant speech and language therapy for children from preschool through adolescence throughout the Greater Fort Lauderdale of Broward County including Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, and Weston. She has over 15 years of experience in the education field that includes classroom teaching, ESE education, and speech and language therapy services.

Keywords:  Writing Developmental Norms, Writing Development

Source:  ASHA (American Speech and Hearing Association)