Respecting the evidence: Responsible assessment and effective intervention for children with handwriting difficulties

Relation between Visual Motor Integration and Handwriting in Students of Elementary School

“…Another implication for the student from 5th grade is the possible effect in their academic activities. According with Wallen et al (2013), students with handwriting difficulties or developing handwriters have reduced capacity for idea generation, planning and revision when required to focus on the mechanics of handwriting in addition to the demands of composing written work. Ratzon et al (2009) referred that visual-motor integration is defined as integration between visual, perceptual, and motor skills.…”

“…Most studies to date, however, have focused primarily on the relationship between illegibility and various visual-perception skills, fine motor skills and visual-motor integration. Wallen, Duff, Goyen and Froude (2013) indicated that automatic handwriting that is legible, generated at sufficient speed and without need for conscious attention is predicated on effective orthographic-motor integration and not simply on motor processes.…”

Older adults experience difficulty completing the lines and dots tasks of the Motor Assessment Scale

“…For handwriting to be functional, writing speed is important because individuals often need to complete written tasks quickly, within a limited time [20,21] for example transcribing telephone messages, or information heard on the radio. In rehabilitation settings, measuring the number of lines drawn in the lines task may help therapists and patients determine therapy goals and measure progress related to handwriting speed.…”

“…Furthermore, although these tasks require the skilful use of pencil and are timed, the relationship between task performance and handwriting speed has not been investigated. For handwriting to be functional, individuals need to write a sufficient quantity of text in a specified timeframe [20,21] or in a timeframe considered appropriate for the task. The lines task requires individuals to hold a pencil, move their arm across the page and draw 10 horizontal lines within a short time frame.…”

Respecting the child's perspective: Effective assessment and intervention for handwriting difficulties

“…Dear Editor, I was pleased to read the recent piece by Wallen et al (2013) published in the October issue of Australian Occupational Therapy Journal.…”