This article discusses the key components to successful handwriting and what to do if you suspect difficulties related to these components.  Many handwriting problems can be avoided or solved by teaching good strategies.  Also, consider consulting with an occupational therapist or other professional trained in handwriting assessment and remediation.

Memory refers the process of remembering and producing quick and automatic recall for letters and numbers.  Poor memory often affects production, speed and accuracy.  If you suspect problems with memory, play visual memory games with letters using flashcards or other hands-on materials to encourage letter and number discrimination.

Orientation refers to ensuring that all letters and numbers are facing the correct direction.  Errors in orientation can be distracting and often result in children frequently stopping to think about which way a letter faces.  Difficulty with letter orientation is linked to spelling errors and poor legibility.  If you suspect problems with orientation, teach your child that English is a top to bottom, left to right language.  Teach orientation for "B D E F P R N" by having your child write the big line on left edge of paper, encouraging them to start at the top.  The next component of each of the aforementioned letters will be on the right side.

Placement refers to placing letters and numbers on the baseline.  It helps with legibility.  If you suspect problems with placement, model how letters sit on lines.

Size refers to how big or how small a child writes.  Children learn to control movements in their wrist and fingers to ensure that the size of their writing is appropriate given their grade level.   If you suspect problems with size, make sure the child is using age-appropriate paper.  Provide paper that guides the size of letters until children naturally develop a sense of size.

Start refers to where each letter or number begins.  Good habits ensure that children learn to form letters in a top to bottom and left to right format.  Speed, size and spacing are often compromised with incorrect starting habits.  If you suspect problems with start, demonstrate the correct starting position and correct all bottom-up writing.

Sequence refers to the order and stroke direction of the letter and number components.  The ability to form the components of various letters and numbers is acquired through direct teaching and consistent practice.  Speed and neatness are often compromised if incorrect teaching methods are adapted.  If you suspect problems with sequence, demonstrate letter formation.  Teach letters that use a similar formation pattern in groups.  For example, letters o a d g q all begin with a c stroke then change into another letter.

Control refers to neatness and proportion of letters and numbers.  Problems with control do not always require direct remediation; rather they are almost always caused by the adaptation of poor habits and in turn will improve once better habits have been adopted.  One of the most common poor habits is an awkward and immature pencil grip.  Teach children how to hold their pencil correctly. 

Spacing refers to the amount of space between letters in words, and between words in sentences.  Spacing is important to the legibility and uniformity of writing.  Avoid using poorly designed worksheets that do not give enough room, as this may lead to problems with spacing.  If you suspect problems with spacing, create and use worksheets that model good spacing. 

In recent years the correlations between a child's motor development during the 0-3 years and their achievements in the educational environment during school aged years have been of interest.  The reason behind this question lies in how we develop motor skills and the fact that motor development is one of our first experiences with learning.

We know that infants, provided with a certain stimuli, will have a given motor response.  For example, if you place your finger in the palm of a typically developing newborn's hand they will grasp your finger and hold on to it.  Initially, these motor responses to stimuli are reflexive in nature; however, as an infant finds they like the sensory response to a given movement they begin to repeat that movement, or practice.  Eventually, these movements become voluntary rather then reflexive and motor learning takes place.  This initial motor learning is what teaches babies to play with their feet in supine, roll over to their belly to look at a toy, or even begin to move through their environment.

The motor skills we develop as infants allow us to interact with the world around us and shape what we know about our environment and the strategies we use to acquire knowledge later in life.  In addition to fostering curiosity in the environment and experimentation with the ways we can interact, motor learning provides us with skills that are vital to our function in the educational environment like postural control.  Without postural control, we are unable to stabilize our trunk to complete fine motor tasks like writing, or turning the pages of a book.  We are unable to stabilize our head and use visual motor skills to track letters across a page while reading, or even produce breath support in order to articulate and regulate the volume of our speech.  It is early learning about how we can move or not move our body in a given environment that produces the foundational motor skills and learning strategies for academic learning later in life.