The higher mean percent of time spent in fine motor activities in kindergarten classrooms suggests a developmentally appropriate increase in fine motor demands. The percent of paper and pencil activity time the children engaged in substantially increased from Head Start to kindergarten. The findings describe a difference between the two environments, informing Head Start of the fine motor demands their graduates face in kindergarten.

Objective. Studies ofthe effects ofoccupational therapy services on hand skill development in preschool children are limited. This study examined fine motor and relatedfunctional outcomes in preschool children who received regular occupational therapy services. Differential effects that were based on the number ofintervention sessions and amount ofconsultation were also analyzed. Method. A sample of44 preschoolers who received occupational therapy services and 20 preschoolers who did not receive occupational therapy services was assessed on 11 fine motor andfUnctional measures at the beginning and end ofthe academic year. The occupational therapy practitioners who provided the direct services recorded the format, goals, and activities for their intervention sessions. Results. The preschoolers who received occupational therapy services demonstrated significant improvement in all but two measures and improved more than the children without fine motor delays on five ofthe measures. When the preschoolers who received services, categorized by number of intervention sessions, were compared, no differences in the amount ofimprovement were found (other than in visuomotor skills). The preschoolers who received the most consultation improved the most in two ofthe measures. Conclusion. Preschoolers who received direct occupational therapy services made significant gains in fine motor skills and related functional performance. Their gains surpassed the gains made by the children who did not receive occupational therapy services, suggesting that fine motor performance improves with intervention.

A new service delivery model for handwriting instruction has the potential to benefit students. Occupational therapists should consider offering handwriting training to students in the summer especially if deterioration of performance is anticipated.

The correlation between kindergarten SCRIPT scores and first-grade SCRIPT scores provides initial evidence that a moderately consistent pattern of handwriting performance exists. Students with low- and middle-ranked handwriting skills show relatively similar improvement over time, whereas change for students ranked high is limited.

The purpose of this study was to examine use of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration in predicting handwriting performance of early elementary students and the contribution of sex. An additional purpose was to examine whether successful completion of the first nine figures or the oblique cross from the test predicted handwriting. 101 children were tested at the beginning of their kindergarten year and again in the middle of the first-grade year on the Scale of Children's Readiness In PrinTing (SCRIPT). The VMI kindergarten scores did not significantly predict first-grade SCRIPT scores for the sample as a whole. When boys and girls were considered separately. VMI scores predicted handwriting SCRIPT scores for girls, but accounted for only 10% of the variance. Successful performance on the first nine VMI figures was significantly associated with handwriting for girls but not boys, while the oblique cross did not significantly predict handwriting performance. These results do not provide clear support for administration of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration during kindergarten as a tool to identify children at risk for handwriting difficulties.