Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ns-mx!iowasp.physics.uiowa.edu!maverick.ksu.ksu.edu!rutgers!cmcl2!yale!bunker!wtm
From: campbell%hpdmd48@hplabs.HP.COM (Gary Campbell)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: handwriting
Message-ID: <15544@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 8 Nov 90 04:45:53 GMT
References: <15482@bunker.UUCP>
Sender: news@bunker.UUCP
Reply-To: campbell%hpdmd48@hplabs.HP.COM (Gary Campbell)
Distribution: misc
Lines: 30
Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP
Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference

Index Number: 11639

I learned handwriting in high school from a magazine article which
my mother found, and from a teacher at school using the same
article.  Everyone told me my handwriting was very clear, but
backed off when I wanted to use it, so I don't know how it really
is.  Since I never got motivated enough to just practice for the
sake of practice, and since if I wrote something I wanted it to be
understandable, I haven't done much with it since, except to sign
my name.  The article teaches cursive writing rather than printing,
which I found easier because many letters are connected.  The
article describes the letters a stroke at a time.  If you follow
the instructions exactly you will come out with kind of block
letters, but it also tells you to round the corners, and someone
coaching you can help with the exact shapes.  I didn't find
people's attempts to guide my hand or raised representations of
much help.  I think that is because it must be harder to represent
it so that it is easily felt than many people think.  I tend to
write small because I use my fingers to move the pen and hold my
hand relatively still for a reference.  Some have given me the
impression that this is not how one normally writes.

The article was probably published around 1968.  If you are
interested I could break out the old reel-to-reel machine and see
if I can find the tape, but I can't guarantee when!  <grin>

As Donna indicated, I feel it is important to work with the same
coach, since there is a *lot* of variation in handwriting.

Gary Campbell