Signature Writing When teaching a student with a visual impairment how to write their signature, you will need to forget what you were taught in school. The techniques used to instruct handwriting skills for a sighted student will not be effective when teaching a student who is blind. Typically we hold the pen at an angle and keep our wrist and arm loose.
We also teach students to lift the pen off the paper frequently. This
technique will not be effective for a student with a visual impairment
to develop a legible signature. Maintain a stiff wrist and forearm. Do not allow the wrist to move back and forth. The stiff wrist and forearm will give the student stability when writing their signature. Hold the writing tool straight up and down. It is important to keep the pen firm to maintain the point on the paper. The side of the palm is lightly resting on the table in order to keep contact with page. The forearm is slightly above the surface of the table and parallel with the table top. The arm must be kept slightly above the table top so as not to cause drag when writing the signature. The next change is to follow the techniques described by Sally Mangold. Reference to her full curriculum and others is made within your textbook. I will highlight some of those techniques here. They key is to simplify the signature. Shorten the student’s name or use initials. A long signature can be difficult to learn so a name can be shortened. For example, shorten Abagail to Abbie and Meghanne Alexandria Smith to MA Smith. Connect all letters within the name if possible to ensure that the pen stays on the paper. Once a pen is lifted from the paper the student can easily loose their location within the signature. For example, with the name Shara, you can connect the capital “S” to the letter “h.” Combine lower and upper case letters within the signature if necessary. This tip allows you to connect letters without lifting the pen from the paper. For example, for the name Torey, use a capital “T,” a capital “O,” a capital “R” and then small letters “ey.” Break down the task into clear, simple strokes. Count each stroke. A new stroke is counted when the writing tool stops and changes direction. A signature with the least amount of strokes is usually easier to write. Now clearly describe each stroke/step within the process. Teach one step at a time and as each step is mastered you will want to add the next step. If a mistake is made along the connected steps go back to the beginning and start over. Here is an example of how to break down the name “Drew” into clear simple steps. 1. Point at line, straight up Sometimes the student may need to use the second hand as a reference for the middle point for letters when first learning to write the signature. This is shown in the example of the name Kade with the beginning letter K. 1. Point at line, straight up As you can see, when writing signature each stroke is counted and clearly described. The clear consistent steps will increase your student’s ability to develop a legal and legible signature. Finally, changes are usually made in the size and type of writing tools used. Young sighted children are encouraged to write letters in their early years using any type of tool such as crayons, pencils, pens, markers, paint, chalk, etc. They are also encouraged to write letters in any size during their early pre-school years. These techniques will not be effective for a student with a visual impairment. The following tips will assist you when initially teaching signature writing. Use pens or thin markers since signatures are usually written with ink. Practice the signature in normal-sized letters. Use raised line drawing paper or graph paper to assist with instruction. Here are examples of how signatures can be designed for different names using the guidelines discussed here. Click on a name in the list to view how it can be designed and written. You can also review the other sections by clicking on the title of each section. |