Marla Scaglione

I received an Occupational Therapy Master's Degree in 1994, and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology in 1992. My OT career has included working in a variety of settings and with many age groups and types of disabilities. These include skilled nursing rehabilitation, home health care, acute care trauma center rehab, and serving school-based therapy needs in the homeschool community. I am a also a homeschooling mother of 3 children, aged 10 to 15.

I created A+ Handwriting to help students improve their handwriting ability for success in schoolwork activities and life. In traditional school settings, teachers are no longer able to focus on proper handwriting technique nor the underlying physical and sensory skills required for success. My A+ Handwriting program provides individualized assessment and treatment aimed at preparing children for "handwriting readiness" by the time they enter school (K), and can help older kids who persist with handwriting difficulties. Many typical children can develop improper handwriting postures, which are reinforced over time, and can create muscle fatigue, unnatural stress on finger joints, illegible handwriting, frustration, and even an unwillingness to perform writing activities. Other kids may have sensory-motor based issues, which can be detrimental to the timely development of their handwriting abilities.

Research-based OT interventions are an important component in the process of reversing or preventing handwriting difficulties. An A+ Plan of Treatment targets the core areas of Visual Motor Integration, Fine and Gross Motor Skills, Visual Perception, Sensory Processing, Trunk Control, Shoulder Stability, and Functional Grasp patterns necessary for handwriting via a multisensory and one-on-one approach. I am a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist, with a specialty and advanced training in handwriting remediation for school aged children, grades Pre-K through 12. I am also a certified iLS Practitioner. What is iLS? Check it out, here: http://integratedlistening.com/ils-at-home/

When I'm not working, I enjoy spending time outdoors with my backyard chickens, gardening, fitness, and camping with my husband and kids.