Handwriting Without Tears
The Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) program is a unique method of teaching handwriting, which follows the guidelines for typical development. This method teaches writing strokes that are expected to developmentally emerge first, rather than teaching writing in alphabetical order. For example, straight lines are taught before diagonal or curvy lines, letters that are non- reversible are taught before those which are, and capitals are taught before lowercase letters to reduce confusion about where to start each letter. The HWT program’s multi-sensory approach to teaching introduces writing readiness through each child’s visual, auditory, tactile-kinesthetic, and vestibular systems.
The Basis for the Handwriting Without Tears Program
The Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) program was developed by Jan Olsen, an 
occupational therapist and handwriting specialist with more that 25 years of handwriting experience. This program is designed to teach children at all ability levels, and has been adopted by 14 of the United States as their handwriting curriculum (however, not in Wisconsin at this time). The program’s website: www.hwtears.com, offers information from 13 research articles, which support the use of this program in teaching handwriting skills.
Candidates for Referral
Children who are having difficulty learning and writing shapes, numbers or letters, or who frequently have illegible writing, size or spacing errors may be candidates for this program. The program runs for 12 weeks and meets two times per week with an occupational therapist for a 30 minute session. It focuses on either manuscript or cursive writing. A comprehensive occupational therapy evaluation is used to further identify children who may also be having difficulties with grasping skills, visual-motor skills, special awareness or motor planning skills.