THE AUTHOR

Tricia McKenzie, OTR/L received her BS from The Ohio State University. She has 20 years’ experience as a pediatric occupational therapist, the majority of which have been as a school-based therapist. Tricia resides in Michigan, along with her husband, three children and their chocolate lab.

OUR HISTORY

The treatment of handwriting difficulties has been an area of interest for Tricia for many years, as it is one of the most common reasons for referral to occupational therapy in the school setting. While working with her students on the building blocks for good handwriting (fine motor, sensory integration, visual perceptual skills, etc.), she noticed many students struggling to remember letter and number formations. In an effort to solve this dilemma, she started making up stories and drawing doodles on students’ pages. What she observed was that the pictures and stories she created helped children remember how to properly form letters and numbers, even when the pictures were taken away. From there, she developed a formal method that has evolved through the years. The materials created have positively impacted children in home, educational and special needs settings. The refinement of the method, along with the availability of emerging technology like the iPad, gave birth to StartDOT.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM

• Authored by Tricia McKenzie, OTR/L
• Programming by Mosty Zeroes Software
• Artwork by rundDesign
• Narrated by Stephanie Hayden