Benefits of Using an Ergonomic Slant Board for Writing: Help a Child Who Is Struggling with Handwriting

Does your child find it difficult to manage the essential physical, sensory and cognitive abilities? Looking for ways to manage those difficulties and ease their daily life? Understandably so. As a parent, you obviously want what’s best for your children. Nothing makes your day better than seeing your little one happy and healthy as they go about their usual activities.

While witnessing any sort of physical challenge might seem disheartening at first glance, there are plenty of ways that you can manage the situation. Your first course of action would be to consult with a professional that can give you advice on how to proceed with occupational therapy. But you were probably already aware of this. Did you know that, apart from medical treatment by healthcare workers, there are a few tools that can make day-to-day life easier for your child?

Babies can benefit from sensory toys, whereas older kids need something entirely different. Perhaps the most essential tool is an ergonomic slant board for writing which can have a tremendous positive impact on their education. To help you make the right decision, we’ve rounded out all the details you need to get started.

What Are Slant Writing Boards?

Slant writing boards are one of those development tools that are supposed to promote proper writing posture. The board itself normally consists of a flat surface that’s propped up at the right viewing angle, which is adjustable in line with your child’s height. They’re available in a wide range of sizes with clips or anchors on the sides to hold writing materials in place, such as paper or books.

Who Needs Slant Writing Boards?

The original purpose of writing slopes was to help those with serious injuries or birth defects refine their motor skills and achieve better coordination. While physical and occupational therapy should be the focus if you want to get the best results, using a writing slope provides a great deal of help along the way.

Throughout the years, the use of such slopes has expanded to people that are suffering from neck or shoulder pain since it helps alleviate some of the pressure. Regardless of what your age or predicament is, you might want to get your hands on a board to ease your discomfort. However, it’s important to note that professionals recommend starting early on in kids’ developmental stages because that’s when most of their habits and preferences are formed.

What Are the Benefits of Using Slant Writing Boards?

Next up, we’ll go through a handful of the ways that a slant board can benefit your kid’s overall health.

Better Posture

Slouching. We’ve all been there, whether we’re aware of it or not. But sitting in the right way absolutely crucial, especially for someone who is struggling with their basic motor functions. By placing the writing surface at a specific angle, you’re encouraging your child to train their core muscle strength and practice the basic elements of the typical range of motion.

Increased Paper Stability

Having a slanted writing space with clips to secure the paper in place can really benefit those who struggle with bilateral coordination skills. In other words, it can be difficult for some children to write with their dominant hand while holding the paper still with their non-dominant hand. And the best thing you can do is clip it onto the board instead. This makes the whole process much easier.

Improved Motor Skills

The angled position is super convenient since it doesn’t put too much strain on the neck, shoulders and wrist. The wrist in particular is in an extended position which contributes to a more secure grip on the pencil. This, in turn, provides a favourable environment for your child to focus on writing and drawing without struggling excessively with movement.

What to Know When Buying a Slant Writing Board

Having gone through the major benefits, let’s do a quick overview of some of the key things you should consider before getting a slant board for writing.

Size of Writing Area

This aspect is often considered an afterthought until it’s time to write in a bigger textbook and you can’t fit it in properly. For this reason, it’s advisable to have a general idea of the size of the writing materials used so that you can shop accordingly. Once you’re certain that your child will be able to comfortably place both hands on the board, you’ll know you’ve made the right decision.

Slope Angle

The ideal reading and writing angle is set to be at about 20 degrees so make sure you’ve got the right one. If you don’t have the tools to measure the angle, you can download apps that will accurately tell you the scope of the angle.

Ridges

While it’s common practice for most writing boards to have ridges and clips to keep the book or paper from moving around, you might want to double-check your model just to be sure. Another thing you should keep an eye out for is the size of the ridge. If you’re planning on using larger textbooks, they’ll need to fit in properly otherwise you won’t get the desired effect.

Practicality and Storage

Let’s face it, the board probably won’t be of use all day every day so you need to think about its mobility and storage. Some models of writing slopes can be dismantled while others don’t have that feature. Think about where you’ll store it when you’re not using it and look for a board that matches your needs.