fbpx

Struggling with Handwriting?

Go from Messy to Mastered

Sheilagh and her team of occupational therapists provide specialist age-appropriate support. Providing live online lessons, a dedicated handwriting club and expert-designed courses.

See what's possible

Common Handwriting Challenges We Can Help With

Secondary School

Can't keep up with note-taking
Teachers struggle to read work
Worried about exam handwriting

Primary School

Falls behind in class
Hates writing / lacks confidence
Awkward pencil grip

At Help with Handwriting

children helped
0 +
lessons given
0 +
trees planted
0 +
boxes posted
0 +

With every new student, we plant a tree for them to offset any extra use of paper when improving their handwriting.

Specialist Age-appropriate Approach

Handwriting Club + Monthly Box

Ongoing support fro 11 to 16 year olds, daily practice and expert feedback

Online Lessons

Personalised 1 :1 lessons with an occupational therapist specialist in handwriting

Online Courses

Self-paced learning for ages 6-16 with expert guidance

Who are we?

Hello!

We’re a small, experienced team of Occupational Therapists. Since 2016, we’ve helped over 900 children worldwide turn their handwriting from a struggle into a skill. We make handwriting practice engaging for kids. Offering online lessons, courses, and our unique Handwriting Club.

We’re specialists, led by Sheilagh (that’s me!). We know neat handwriting isn’t just about pretty letters. It’s about giving your child the confidence to shine at school. When you work with us, you get direct support from experienced OTs. We use our skills and fun, effective activities to help your child.

We work with children aged 4-16. We excel at helping older students (11-16) who often get overlooked. Whether your child needs help with basic letter formation or exam-ready handwriting, we can help.ย 

What makes us different? We’re not just tutors. We’re healthcare professionals. We combine our occupational therapy skills with fun, practical activities. They keep kids motivated. Our methods work. We break down handwriting into achievable steps. This builds skills and confidence. BBC News and The Telegraph featured us.

If you’re worried that your child’s handwriting may impact their future, you’ve found the right support.

Take the first step towards better handwriting today,

Best wishes,

Sheilagh

Sheilagh Blyth,ย Founder, Help with Handwriting
Author of two published handwriting books.

Read our latest reviews

We help children from the UK and worldwide including America, Australia, Asia, South Africa, and Europe.ย 

Will CastledineWill Castledine
11:40 04 Sep 24
Parents and kids alike will love the handwriting club. It removes the burden and resentment that our child had, and turns it in to a fun engaging activity every one gets involved with. Stuffed full of enthusiasm and surprises, absolutely getting your moneys worth. Watch the results and attitudes grow!
Jessica BurnettJessica Burnett
17:26 28 Aug 24
Sheilagh at Help with Handwriting has been a dream. She has helped our daughter vastly improve her handwriting but most importantly, she has given her the confidence to believe that she can! Thank you. One of the best โ€˜googleโ€™ finds ever and well worth the money. Thank you.
Catherine HCatherine H
10:31 10 Aug 24
I discovered Sheilagh and Help with Handwriting via a Google search after spending years trying (and failing!) to help my 12-year-old son improve his handwriting.After just 6 lessons, his writing has significantly improved and is now legible ๐Ÿ™‚ Furthermore, he understands what he needs to do to continue to improve his writing and believes that he can achieve this.Most importantly, Sheilagh personalised every lesson, making them enjoyable and engaging for my son. He gained confidence and belief that he could โ€˜crackโ€™ handwriting and felt motivated to practice between lessons. Who knew that handwriting could be so much fun!Thank you! C&A
V GV G
13:17 18 Jul 24
I found Help with Handwriting when looking for help for my 8 year old son and his poor handwriting. From the get go Sheilagh made the sessions fun and made the time to get to know my son. He loved the sessions, which is amazing as he hated writing, he especially liked that he had control over the games they played! Sheilagh wass very clever in how she gave advise, tips and tricks and made sure that she gave plenty of praise which worked so well for my son. We saw a huge improvement in my son’s writing style after the 6 sessions and I believe he has made adjustments that will stick for life. I cannot thank Sheilagh enough and will be recommending her far and wide!
Caterina MoraCaterina Mora
13:39 16 May 24
We reached out to Sheilagh after years of our (Y3) son struggling with his writing (to the point that for a long time he was refusing to pick up a pen). The simple act of writing would make him really tense and anxious, and this was having an impact on his wellbeing as well as school performance in all subjects.After 6 lessons with Sheilagh (fewer actually) he is a changed boy. He writes much faster, his handwriting is legible and -more important of all- he is now much much more relaxed about writing. This has helped him at school and made him a much happier person.Not only the lessons were incredibly effective, but our son enjoyed them (something that used to be unthinkable for any task involving writing) and has even asked me to set up a booster session before the next school year.I have been recommending Sheilagh to everyone I know because she has really made a massive difference in our son’s writing and more importantly in his relationship with writing, school and himself.
Emma DuffyEmma Duffy
16:12 10 May 24
I’m so pleased we found Sheilagh to help my nearly eight year-old with his handwriting. The improvement in just a couple of months is remarkable.Sheilagh not only has the expertise to assess where the difficulties may stem from, but also the skills to make the sessions fun and engaging. My son has gone from dreading handwriting as something he is “bad” at to feeling much more confident that he can produce written work to feel proud of.I also appreciated that Sheilagh was able to help my son with the style of handwriting taught at his school, rather than having him start from scratch (which he did NOT want to do!).I would not hesitate to recommend Help with Handwriting to anyone looking for handwriting support.
Elizabeth HansonElizabeth Hanson
17:47 25 Apr 24
Sheilagh was brilliant with my (initially reluctant!) daughter. We got absolutely where we wanted to be with my daughterโ€™s handwriting a lot faster than I had expected. The admin side of things with booking/re-booking appointments was nice and straightforward and Laura was very helpful and efficient. Thank you both!
Laura GladwinLaura Gladwin
07:44 06 Apr 24
Sheilagh was great — my son really enjoyed his sessions with her and his handwriting has improved a lot.
Ali GoodallAli Goodall
20:52 20 Mar 24
Our 8-year old son really enjoyed working with Sheilagh, and has asked for more lessons! We had parents evening this week and, looking through his work books, the difference in his handwriting since before Christmas is remarkable, his teacher is really pleased and his confidence has grown so much. Sheilagh not only took time to identify and then work on individual issues with our son, but also to explain to us what was happening and how we could practice, so that I understood the techniques and language enough to help him, which Iโ€™d never had from school. The lessons are fun and engaging, Sheilagh connected brilliantly with our son, and the lessons absolutely generated results. Thank you, we are really gratefulโ€ฆ now, do you do spelling lessons!?!
Deborah MurphyDeborah Murphy
20:32 12 Mar 24
My son worked with Help with Handwriting with Sheilagh and what an excellent investment it turned out to be. The improvement has been unprecedented, his handwriting has gone from poorly formed and difficult to read to clear, smaller and fully formed even at speed! The difference has been noticed at school as his teachers have commented on the improvement. Most of all it has increased his writing confidence which is a huge relief for all of us and of course, will benefit him throughout his life, especially during his exams. Sheilagh makes the classes fun and enjoyable, in fact they are hard to give up, he will miss the classes and Sheilagh but thanks to her my son has achieved something we didnโ€™t think was possible in his teenage years; clear, smaller, legible handwriting without any fighting or tears! A great experience from Help with Handwriting.
F MathewF Mathew
20:53 23 Feb 24
My 10-year-old son recently had a block of six lessons with Sheilagh. He really enjoyed the lessons, and Sheilagh included lots of fun activities to keep him engaged. His handwriting has really improved with Sheilagh’s input, and he’s now taking more care over the presentation of his work.I would definitely recommend these lessons ๐Ÿ™‚
Kym EvesKym Eves
17:29 08 Feb 24
Best parenting decision yet!When my ten-year-old daughter confessed that handwriting really hurt her hand, I wasnโ€™t sure what to do. Her handwriting had always been an issue, and now I understood why. Yet school wasnโ€™t particularly helpful on how to address it, so I went online looking for a solution, and thatโ€™s when I came across Sheilagh Blyth and Help with Handwriting.Within one session, Sheilagh significantly improved my daughterโ€™s handwriting and isolated the cause of her pain. I was an instant convert!Over the course of their one2one lessons, my daughterโ€™s confidence increased as her handwriting became downright gorgeous. Sheilagh also worked like a detective to find the best pen-holding posture for my daughter โ€ฆ one which relieved the pain but that was โ€˜customisedโ€™ to her so her good pen-holding habits would stick. My daughter also learned to write legibly at speed, which will be of huge value as she reaches the exam school years. Sheilagh was fun and engaging; my daughter always looked forward to her handwriting lessons as she loved the games Sheilagh played with herโ€”Sheilagh is truly masterful at making kids feel at ease. If you are considering getting help for your childโ€™s handwriting, I cannot recommend Help with Handwriting enough!
Nicola EdwardsNicola Edwards
11:20 17 Jan 24
Thank you so much for putting together this handwriting course. My sonโ€™s handwriting is sooooo much better than before he started it. He has more confidence with his writing and can see his mistakes and correct himself, plus it’s all legible and has a distinct style!
Emily HughesEmily Hughes
11:37 14 Dec 23
Sheilagh has been fantastic with my son who has always struggled with his handwriting. He is currently in Year 6 and has been quite ashamed of his writing, but Sheilagh helped him to realise that if he slowed down and gave his letters more space he actually has lovely writing! Sheilagh methodically worked through a number of issues he had and he now has strategies to make his writing much better. The best outcome for us has been a huge boost in self confidence which means he’s now happy to write and proud of his work. This is worth it’s weight in gold!
Phil LarbyPhil Larby
10:26 06 Dec 23
Our son has just completed a series of 6 lessons with Sheilagh, and it has been transformative! Her manner and the games she plays are fun and engaging, and our son looked forward to his lesson each week. The improvement in his writing has been more that I expected. He is now writing in cursive and it is very readable whereas at the start is was mostly print and largely illegible. Most importantly though, he is not avoiding writing any more – his technique has improved and he no longer says it is uncomfortable to write. His teacher has also commented on the improvement. We feel that with a bit more practice he will be well placed to approach his SATS without his writing holding him back.
Giselle WallisGiselle Wallis
09:33 29 Nov 23
Sheilagh was a pro at engaging my daughter from the first session. She encouraged Wini to take pride in her handwriting ,without being critical, and knew immediately the areas for improvement/help. Winiโ€™s handwriting has improved hugely. I can see how much more confident and relaxed she is when approaching her written work. wouldnโ€™t hesitate to recommend Sheliagh to any parent looking for support with their childโ€™s handwriting- thank you! X
Charlotte RobertsCharlotte Roberts
09:36 27 Oct 23
My 10yr old son has always struggled with his writing and as time as gone on it was more noticeable to him. The school had exhausted all options they could and my son had zero confidence and felt he was failing. Then we found โ€˜Help with handwritingโ€™ booked a course of 6 with Sheilagh. My son was a little anxious but Sheilagh was so lovely, patient and made it so fun that my son didnโ€™t feel like he was learning and looked forward to the lessons. He has gone from his writing being illegible to such an improvement over the summer that his yr 6 teacher didnโ€™t even realise he even had an issue with it.Sheilagh also helped us a parents. Itโ€™s always such a worry when your child is unhappy and struggling but knowing we had that support there has helped no end. Would recommend to anyone who is struggling or just needs a bit of help. Worth every penny!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
KatherineKatherine
18:06 12 Oct 23
Sheilagh was fantastic. She was great with my son and his handwriting has really improved. I thoroughly recommend the lessons.
Lindsay HeeleyLindsay Heeley
13:12 27 Sep 23
We are so pleased with the block of lessons our son did with Help With Handwriting over the summer. He needed some help before starting secondary school, as his writing was hard to decipher (at best), and we have had minimal success doing handwriting practice with him ourselves. We found Help With Handwriting to be engaging and practical from the start. The sessions and practice were all tailored to his interests. We had some simple suggestions about the type of pen, writing position etc that were easy to implement and very effective. I feel that my son had things like letter formation and joins explained to him in a clear and simple way that finally made sense. He now has much more confidence in his ability to write neatly. Thank you.
Claire O'BrienClaire O’Brien
08:32 15 Sep 23
Our ‘Power Hour’ one-to-one session with Sheilagh was incredibly valuable. With my son’s GCSEs soon approaching, we were a little nervous about improving his handwriting in time but now, thanks to some handy tips from Sheilagh and the brilliant online resources, we’re well on our way to getting him exam-ready.
Margaret DouglasMargaret Douglas
16:32 05 Sep 23
I am delighted that we chose Sheilagh to help with my sonโ€™s handwriting. He is 15 and his handwriting has always been poor. Although he really didnโ€™t see the problem, his writing was slow, his letters inconsistent and usually illegible and his hand hurt after only a sentence or two. I was very worried about how he would cope with exams and had tried unsuccessfully to get help from his schools and by using different books and resources over the years. He was initially reluctant to engage with the lessons but Sheilagh was very patient and flexible in her approach, letting him choose the kinds of activities to do and matching the work to his school subjects. With Sheilaghโ€™s help we found a pen that helped him to write with less tension in his hand, and worked on his presentation and legibility. After six lessons, his writing is now legible and he is happy to continue some exercises himself to improve his writing speed and presentation. A great result. I would definitely recommend Sheilagh and the Help with Handwriting team.
Mike BrownMike Brown
13:14 31 Aug 23
Excellent experience with Sheilagh for my 11 year old. She quickly identified the issue and worked with him to set him on the right pathway. For him it was about embracing his natural style, giving him the right tools to facilitate this and supporting him through the change process. I have a confident boy going into senior school who can write quickly and its completely readable! Amazing progress in such a short space of time. Thankyou Sheilagh!
Lucy BatesLucy Bates
16:03 29 Aug 23
Our experience with Sheilagh and the Help with Handwriting team has been fantastic. My son (7) really enjoyed the lessons and was willing to practise in between. He gained a lot of confidence as well as improving the mechanics of his writing.Sheilagh identified key areas to focus on that made a real difference to legibility. For example, ‘You need to make your letters a consistent width and make sure they do not fly off the line’ rather than calls to ‘be neater’ or ‘just practise’ which do not help anyone. He now has a personalised checklist of what to look out for in his writing and the confidence to use it correctly to keep his writing improving. I would definitely recommend Help with Handwriting to anyone who feels that their child is losing confidence at school due to their handwriting, especially if they cannot really figure out why. We had already tried lots of extra practice at home with special handwriting paper, workbooks and letter formation to no avail. I only wish we’d gone to the expert sooner!
Lauren OrchardLauren Orchard
14:21 24 Aug 23
My son dislikes handwriting and has struggled on for years! During his ‘Help with Handwriting’ lessons he was so interested in the personalised games and activities that he didn’t mind the writing. His teacher quickly built up a rapport and so he worked very hard to improve on his writing each week. He is making incremental progress and has finished his initial course with a checklist to continue his improvements over time. Highly recommended!
chris pearcechris pearce
09:27 16 Aug 23
Not only is Sheilagh extremely knowledgable and professional, but she is really likeable and makes a concerted effort to get to know the children and understand their issues with handwriting. My daughter, who has been diagnosed with dyslexia, has hated anything to do with handwriting until now. She very quickly said how much she liked Sheilagh and has been very keen to please her and has worked hard at home to try to make improvements to her writing to make her proud. Itโ€™s been a long process for us, and probably taking longer than most to get through the course, but the work sheets are fun and manageable, while reinforcing the strategies without it feeling repetitive or boring. At the start, my daughter couldnโ€™t read her own writing and the teachers were writing unhelpful comments in her book saying they couldnโ€™t read or mark her work. Iโ€™ll admit that we couldnโ€™t read it either but the big red writing in her books from her teachers seemed unkind and disheartening. Now her work is much clearer and I only hope that this will continue into year 8. She now enjoys writing and has started writing a book, and even said that sheโ€™d like to be an author one day. This love of writing means that sheโ€™s had a summer holiday full of writing practice without it even feeling like work. Iโ€™m so proud of how much she has achieved given her struggles. I wish there was a Sheilagh in every school in the country to support children just like my daughter. Thank you Sheilagh, youโ€™re one in a million! Michelle & Daisy X
Charlotte ForsythCharlotte Forsyth
10:33 03 Aug 23
We worked with Sheilagh for 6 sessions, each week and session there was a noticeable improvement. Sheilagh developed a excellent rapport with my daughter, setting relevant homework, she looked forward to each session.The help with Handwriting website is excellent, both visually and the ability to book appointments on line was extremely helpful over the busy summer/end of term period.
Jane SmithJane Smith
19:05 20 Jul 23
Our 12 year old recently completed his second set of online lessons with Claire – his handwriting has improved considerably over the course and is now more legible and consistent. Claire made each session fun by using games and quizzes focusing on topics that he was interested in. She also encouraged him to critique his work and apply what he had learned to his school work. I thoroughly recommend Claire and Help with Handwriting
Vidya HirschVidya Hirsch
21:37 04 Jul 23
Sheilagh is a real find – she transformed my seven year old sonโ€˜s handwriting in just six sessions, (spread over a couple of months) and he enjoyed them so much he keeps asking if we can have more sessions with her! From the outset it was clear that Sheilagh really knew the mechanics and psychology of handwriting – observing from the start how the child sat, held their pen\pencil and immediately suggested changes that enabled big changes in a small amount of time. She also knows how to engage children, by using a series of games to encourage and improve their writing – and being kind and fun but also firm to ensure that the overall aim wasnโ€™t lost. My usually-school-work-shy son said he found her sessions didnโ€™t feel like lessons at all, even though he took on board what she taught him.
Katy WebsterKaty Webster
09:47 29 Jun 23
Sheilagh worked with my son on his handwriting. Her recommendations were easy to put into practice. She made the work fun and engaging which I thought would be impossible! His handwriting has improved. Thank you!
h Buckleyh Buckley
20:11 25 Jun 23
The support that my son received prior to his GCSE examinations was second to none. To see him smile at the end of his first lesson because someone was helping him and making him feel like he could improve was a delight. Thank you
Howard SymondsHoward Symonds
11:38 22 May 23
Sheilagh and the team at Help with Handwriting have been little short of transformational. The whole experience has been absolutely fantastic and I’ve no doubt has boosted my daughter’s GCSE results. A few months ago the school advised us that her handwriting was close to unreadable during certain parts of her exam responses (i.e. when she was trying to get as much information down as possible). This was clearly a problem as academically she was very strong, but was losing marks because the teachers (and therefore examiners) would not be able to read her answers. We therefore signed up to Help with Handwriting and the change has been absolutely incredible. Sheilagh is such a fantastic teacher/therapist that we went from having a very upset daughter who didn’t know where to turn, to having a confident student ready to sit her exams knowing she’d be understood. Also, she is still able to write as fast as she was scrawling previously – just now it is readable. I cannot recommend Help with Handwriting enough. If you are in any doubt as to whether it is a worthwhile exercise, don’t be. It is money very, very well spent.
Nicola WebsterNicola Webster
19:50 14 Mar 23
From the laid back, often seemingly unenthusiastic, almost 15 year old boy โ€ฆ โ€œbrilliant, lovely lady who has helped me loadsโ€Sheilagh had a brilliant approach with my teenage son and kept him engaged for 95% of the time – something I can only aspire to do! His handwriting has improved with her practical help and support. Highly recommend!
Ruth CropperRuth Cropper
09:24 13 Mar 23
I cannot recommend Sheilagh highly enough. As soon as cursive was introduced at school our older son has struggled. His handwriting was completely illegible (he couldnโ€™t read it) and was really holding him back and knocking his confidence. We were desperate (he is year 5). Sheilagh was amazing – she built a wonderful rapport with him (not easy as heโ€™s very shy and often anxious) and his teachers cannot get over the improvement (nor can we!). We will be signing our younger son up to Sheilagh soon and have no hesitation in recommending her.
Anna DaggAnna Dagg
12:41 22 Feb 23
The change in my daughter’s handwriting has been amazing. I was dubious about doing on-line classes rather than face to face but Sheilagh made the classes really fun and Charlotte looked forward to them (unheard of as she HATES handwriting). Thank you Sheilagh for really encouraging Charlotte and praising her when she’s done well. I think handwriting has been such a negative experience for her…until now. Thank you ๐Ÿ™‚
Sheilagh is a star. Both my children have had trouble with their handwriting and Sheilagh has helped them both.Her ability to help their confidence and handwriting while keeping them entertained is brilliant.Neither of them ever moaned about their session, they both enjoyed them.Having the one on one help to work on the areas they were struggling with was a life saver rather than just sitting copying line which is what school provided. Thank you Sheilagh!
Mel EvettsMel Evetts
11:13 11 Feb 23
Sheilagh is a superstar she managed to turn my 10 year old sonโ€™s writing around in the space of 6 weeks . His confidence has soared and he no longer dreads writing at school .His class teacher has seen a huge change in his writing – cannot recommend enough ,do not hesitate to get in touch with Sheilagh if I could give 10 stars I would
Eleanor IrelandEleanor Ireland
19:24 10 Feb 23
Sheilagh is incredible. She has been working with my son (10) for a few weeks now and he really enjoys her lessons, she makes them really fun. Her lessons have been the only thing that has worked up help him with his handwriting… It is really improving and his teachers have noticed a difference. Can’t recommend highly enough.
Amy WildAmy Wild
17:16 10 Feb 23
My high school aged son was finding handwriting incredibly stressful and upsetting. It was affecting his well-being in other areas of his life. Sheilaghโ€™s help has been life changing for our household. The confidence my son has gained through such a significant improvement has flowed on to his friendships, his self image and his sense that he is capable of growing in an area where he previously felt powerless to improve. I should mention that Sheilagh has a very refined and special skill of being able to communicate with boys who are not in a positive mood about learning due to the difficulty faced by handwriting! Real value. Thank you Sheilagh!
Melissa OdlingMelissa Odling
17:02 10 Feb 23
A unique course with engaging content – not going to lie my 13 year old was reluctant to always complete the work (he has a significant amount of homework which he finds hard anyway) but he completed the 66 days and is working his way back through the activities without prompts, he has seen the improvement and his confidence has increased, well worth doing at any age!
Tom EllisTom Ellis
15:41 04 Oct 22
My son is left handed and has struggled with handwriting for years. In a very short time Ms Blyth was able to help him dramatically improve his penmanship! Her methods are fun, engaging, silly, but most of all effective. My son who didnโ€™t like handwriting came to look forward to lessons with Ms. Blyth. We highly recommend her!
Sarah WilloughbySarah Willoughby
08:35 18 Jul 22
I canโ€™t recommend Help with Handwriting enough.My son age 14 has been told his entire school career that his handwriting was poor with very little intervention from the school. I was informed it was too late to improve his handwriting.I did some research and came across Sheilagh.Sheilagh has not only significantly improved my sonโ€™s handwriting but also helped to build his confidence.He is not a natural scholar and Sheilagh had gone the extra mile to research his hobbies to keep him engaged.Sheilagh was always very patient, understanding, and was able to understand my sons needs very quickly.Sheilagh was able to help transform my sons writing to now been legible and now being complimented at school.I canโ€™t thank Sheilagh enough for the help and support sheโ€™s given our family.
Mary HudsonMary Hudson
14:02 10 Jul 22
Weโ€™re pleased that we found Sheilagh. Our son had always struggled with writing at school and despite some interventions by the school his handwriting was several years behind where it needed to be.After the trial lesson Sheilagh gave fundamental advice in terms of positioning, the pen and pen grip, and heโ€™d found the lesson so engaging we decided to continue with a block of sessions.After lesson five we felt there was a significant change in his attitude to writing and a marked improvement. We hadnโ€™t expected the difference to be so pronounced so quickly.Through a warm and fun approach Sheilagh gave him the confidence to try joined up writing at school and tips to make his cursive writing more legible. The school even commented that heโ€™d made significant improvement and was almost where he needed to be. Weโ€™d highly recommend Sheilagh and wish weโ€™d intervened sooner.My son saidโ€œI really liked the lessons with Sheilagh because of the different fun games she plays. Sheilagh is a good teacher and explains everything clearly, like letter joins and letter sizing.โ€
js_loader