Child Born Without Hands Wins Handwriting Competition


Seven-year-old Anaya Elick just beat out fifty other students and won a national award for her handwriting. She was also born without hands.

Principal Tracy Cox of Greenbrier Christian Academy in Chesapeake said:

“There is very little that this girl cannot do… She is a hard worker. She is determined. She is independent. She is a vivacious and a no-excuses type of young lady.”

It was her idea to have Anaya compete in the competition, which is open to students in kindergarten to eighth grade.

Anaya chooses not to use prosthetics, so she writes with her forearms.

She was placed in the contest under a category that encourages contestants with special needs to compete. The children entered must have a physical, intellectual, or developmental disability. The Nicholas Maxim award is meant to help children overcome obstacles and realize their academic goals. The category is judged by a panel of occupational therapists.

They said that Anaya’s handwriting was comparable to someone with hands.

via Greenbrier Christian Academy
Image from Greenbrier Christian Academy via Good Morning America

The contest is held by an organization called Zaner-Bloser. It was founded in 1888 by Charles Paxton Zaner. He set up his own college of penmanship, and was used to train people to become “penmens.” People in this profession wrote documents that were used by businesses. The school also trained people to teach others penmanship.  Additionally, they also trained illustrators, engravers, and ornamental writing used on certificates. They year was their 25th Handwriting Contest.

Zaner-Bloser was bought by Highlights in 1972; as a result, they contribute to the Highlights for Children magazine. They offer tools for teachers in language arts/literacy curricula.

The winning schools will receive a framed certificate and a Zaner-Bloser gift certificate for print and digital resources to use in the classroom. Anaya won the manuscript contest. An eighth-grader in Maryland won the award for the Best Cursive Handwriting.

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