Investigating Relationships Among Measures of English and Chinese Handwriting Fluency in Early-Elementary Chinese Dual Language Immersion Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between English and Chinese handwriting fluency measures in early-elementary Chinese Dual Language Immersion students. This was done by conducting five handwriting fluency tasks among Chinese Dual Language Immersion students and comparing the findings. First, the findings showed that there was a moderate correlation between the participants\u27 English and Chinese handwriting fluencies and that English fluencies predicted Chinese fluencies. However, the students could write English numbers and letters much faster than Chinese characters. Second, as expected, Chinese DLI participants showed that handwriting fluency improved as grade level increased. Third, third-grade students were not much faster than second-grade students on both English number and English Chinese number tasks. The study informs Chinese DLI programs as it shows that supplemental handwriting instruction is likely necessary to narrow the differences between English and Chinese handwriting fluencies. Instructional amount and quality could be improved to increase Chinese fluency, and English and Chinese partner teachers should collaborate more closely and complement each other\u27s handwriting instructional efforts. In summary, this study identifies significant differences in English and Chinese handwriting fluencies, and further studies may be necessary to consider ways to address these differences

Developing Fine Motor Skills in Preschool Age Children

Based on the findings of the literature review, fine motor skills are an important skill to develop during the preschool years. Marr, Cermak, Cohan and Henderson (2003) described the importance of fine motor skills to engage in valued occupations in addition to educational activities. A child\u27s occupations that demand fine motor skills may be dressing, tying shoes, play, among other daily tasks. If a child has difficulty with fine motor skills it could have a negative outcome on their daily lives and how they perform in school. Children who have difficulty coordinating the small muscle groups in their hands have difficulty dressing, feeding themselves, and manipulating pencils, crayons and scissors. This difficulty may prevent them from meeting the demands of school (Losse et al., 1991). The acquisition of fine motor skills is an important aspect of children\u27s developmental growth as fine motor skills enable children to participate in valued occupations in the areas of activities of daily living, education, play and social participation. National education goals describe fine motor skills as one of the dimensions needed by kindergarten children for learning readiness (National Education Goals Panel, 1993). With opportunities imbedded in their day, preschool children increase the refinement of fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are an important component of handwriting and manipulating classroom objects. Handwriting is both a means of communication and necessary life skill. Handwriting is still the most immediate form of graphic communication (Sasson, 1990). Research has shown that it is\u27 important to develop good writing habits early. Early childhood educators and pediatric occupational therapists should focus on developing fine motor skills in preschool children to enhance readiness for learning (Case-Smith, 2000; Kagan, Moore, & Bredekamp, 1995). Difficulty in fine motor skills can interfere with academic achievement. No other school task requires as much synchronization as handwriting (Levine, Oberklaid, & Meltzer, 1981). Feder and Majnemer (2007) found the percentage of children with handwriting difficulties ranged from 10-30%. The purpose of this scholarly project is to educate parents, teacher and occupational therapist of the importance of developing good fine motor skills in preschool age children. This will ensure that a child will have the opportunity to reach their maximal potential in the area of handwriting and completing classroom work. A resource was developed that could be used by parents, educators and daycare providers to promote fine motor skill development in preschool age children. This project is a resource manual that contains fine motor activities that can be incorporated throughout the day to provide children the opportunities to work on fine motor skills. The methods used in this project included an extensive review of literature including scholarly articles, books, and educational resources available for teachers and parents. The benefit of this project includes increased awareness about the importance of fine motor skills development in preschool age children and the developmental milestones associated with the age, and activities to incorporate into the daily life to benefit fine motor skill developmen

Drawing, Handwriting Processing Analysis: New Advances and Challenges

International audienceDrawing and handwriting are communicational skills that are fundamental in geopolitical, ideological and technological evolutions of all time. drawingand handwriting are still useful in defining innovative applications in numerous fields. In this regard, researchers have to solve new problems like those related to the manner in which drawing and handwriting become an efficient way to command various connected objects; or to validate graphomotor skills as evident and objective sources of data useful in the study of human beings, their capabilities and their limits from birth to decline

Spatial Cognition in Children With Physical Disability; What Is the Impact of Restricted Independent Exploration?

Given the developmental inter-relationship between motor ability and spatial skills, we investigated the impact of physical disability (PD) on spatial cognition. Fifty-three children with special educational needs including PD were divided into those who were wheelchair users (n = 34) and those with independent locomotion ability (n = 19). This division additionally enabled us to determine the impact of limited independent physical exploration (i.e., required wheelchair use) on spatial competence. We compared the spatial performance of children in these two PD groups to that of typically developing (TD) children who spanned the range of non-verbal ability of the PD groups. Participants completed three spatial tasks; a mental rotation task, a spatial programming task and a desktop virtual reality (VR) navigation task. Levels of impairment of the PD groups were broadly commensurate with their overall level of non-verbal ability. The exception to this was the performance of the PD wheelchair group on the mental rotation task, which was below that expected for their level of non-verbal ability. Group differences in approach to the spatial programming task were evident in that both PD groups showed a different error pattern from the TD group. These findings suggested that for children with both learning difficulties and PD, the unique developmental impact on spatial ability of having physical disabilities, over and above the impact of any learning difficulties, is minimal

The relationship between poor handwriting and written composition in children with developmental coordination disorder

Handwriting difficulties are well documented in children with Developmental Coordination\ud Disorder (DCD). Whether, and how, these difficulties affect the content of the work such\ud children produce is less clear. The aim of this thesis was to explore the relationship between\ud poor handwriting and the quality of written expression in these children, using different\ud methodologies.\ud Four studies are reported. In the first, a group of 10-11 year-old children whose teachers\ud regarded their writing difficulties as "unexpected" were compared with matched controls.\ud Objective measurement showed that they had at least average intelligence, could read and\ud spell adequately and did not differ from the control group in their ability to produce stories\ud orally. Consequently, the poor hand- and story writing revealed in the study could not be\ud explained in terms of poor intellect or general language or literacy problems. However, all met\ud criteria for the diagnosis of DCD. The second study confirmed that the physical act of\ud handwriting supported the ability to compose a story in typically developing children but\ud conferred no such advantage if handwriting and movement difficulties were present. When\ud children from Study 1 were followed up after five years, those whose handwriting had not\ud improved continued to have difficulty with written composition.\ud Having shown that poor handwriting can affect the conceptual side of writing, the final study\ud set out to determine which particular aspects of handwriting difficulty might constrain the\ud cognitive resources available for composition. To this end, the effect of increasing motor and\ud orthographic complexity on the spatial, temporal and force aspects of handwriting was\ud explored in a series of writing tasks varying in content, length and difficulty. Consistent with\ud the capacity theory tested, results showed that variations in motor and orthographic\ud complexity affected writing performance in all children, but those with DCD and poor\ud handwriting were affected more

Exploring the use of combined action observation and motor imagery for improving eye-hand coordination in children with developmental coordination disorder

This thesis documents a series of studies that are the first to demonstrate the efficacy of combined action observation and motor imagery (AOMI) for improving eye-hand coordination and task performance in individuals with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD). First, a comparison of the effectiveness of AOMI, observing to imitate, and passive observation training interventions is reported. The results indicated that, in comparison to a control group, AOMI training produced a statistically significant increase in both task performance and eye-hand coordination, but no such improvements were found following observing to imitate or passive observation instructions. These findings suggest that AOMI facilitated the development of proactive eye movements that enhanced task performance. Second, the eye-hand coordination and task performance of children with and without DCD on a novel visuomotor task was explored. The findings from this study, in accordance with similar studies, indicated that the novel visuomotor task used in the study might have lacked the necessary complexity required to find significant differences in visuomotor performance between children with and without DCD. Third, the development of a new visuomotor task of higher complexity and suitable for use in an AOMI training intervention for children with DCD is reported. Analysis indicated a higher number of trials were required before performance plateaued and the best task performers adopted a distinct movement pattern. These results confirmed that the new task required a longer period of adaptation and supported the application of this task with DCD children in an AOMI training intervention. In the final study, the effects of an AOMI training intervention upon eye-hand coordination and performance in children with DCD are reported. Analysis of the data revealed that the AOMI training produced significant improvements in completion time and gaze control. It was concluded that children with DCD may benefit from AOMI training as the technique may aid their ability to update internal models of movement. This series of studies was the first to explore the effectiveness of AOMI training for improving eye-hand coordination and extend those findings to a clinical population. The results of these studies describe a conclusion that AOMI facilitates the development of proactive gaze, which in turn assists performance

The development of a handwriting screening assessment for academic accommodations at the University of Witwatersrand

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Therapeutic Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg July 2017A small percentage of students at the university are academically compromised by their handwriting. Various components of handwriting and performance skills have been associated with dysgraphia and inefficient handwriting such as posture and the presentaion of handwriting in terms of corrections made, which are not include in handwriting assessment for students in higher education. The current study addressed the development of a new screening assessment to be used in awarding concessions for examinations to university students with dysgraphia or handwriting deficits which therefore evaluated observable motor and process performance skills related to handwriting in three sections, an Observation Checklist, a Writing Checklist and for Handwriting Outcomes (copying speed, legibility and automaticity of writing). The study was completed in three phases with the first phase addressing a pilot study on the development of the Handwriting Screening Assessment based on steps in instrument development and criteria for screening assessment development. Item validity was established using a review of the records of 287 students who had been referred for handwriting assessment. The Handwriting Screening Assessment was piloted for content validity and item and subtest validity as well as dimensionality using Rasch subtest analysis after adjustments to items on both checklists. Construct validity of the items on the three sections of the Handwriting Screening Assessment and the unidimensionality of the checklists were considered satisfactory for field testing with typical students and those referred for handwriting assessment in Phase 2. In the second phase the Handwriting Screening Assessment was tested for construct validity and reliability on a sample of 298 typical students and 61 students referred for assessment of handwriting or dysgraphia. Construct validity of the items and subtests were confirmed for this sample of students using Rasch analysis for the checklists. Differences for known group factors and between the two groups of students indicated construct validity and reliability were satisfactory although not all subtests differentiated between the typical students and the students referred for handwriting assessment. v The Rasch subtest analysis resulted in low person separation index scores which did not allow for students to be identified for different levels of risk for dysgraphia or handwriting deficits using the scores on the Observation and Writing Checklists. A similar result was found for the Handwriting Outcomes. This was due to individual differences and not all students presenting with deficits in all the subtests of the three sections of the Handwriting Screening Assessment. Therefore normative scoring cut-off points and “at risk quotients” (ARQS) were established for the each subtest so students’ level of risk for handwriting deficits or dysgraphia could be identified. Significant differences between the typical students and the students referred for handwriting assessment were found for the three sections of the Handwriting Screening Assessment confirming satisfactory construct validity based on the ARQs. The clinical accuracy of the Handwriting Screening Assessment assessed on the ARQs indicated adequate negative predictive values for all sections and adequate specificity for all sections except legibility. While the assessment eliminated those without handwriting deficits and dysgraphia the low sensitivity meant that some students with handwriting problems may be missed. The Handwriting Outcomes - copying speed and automaticity were convergent with reference assessments of handwriting speed and oculomotor dysfunction, Detailed Assessment of Handwriting Speed 17+ and the Developmental Eye Movement, confirming the validity of this subtest in the Handwriting Screening Assessment. All other subtests had divergent validity with the reference assessments indicating they assessed different components related to handwriting problems not usually assessed in students in higher education which were found to identify them at risk for handwriting deficts and dysgraphia. The usability and utility of the Handwriting Screening Assessment was established in Phase 3 of the study. A detailed analysis of the results for the students referred for assessment of handwriting dysfunction was completed to inform the usability in terms of interpretability of the screening assessment and guidelines for further assessments. The profile of the students referred for handwriting assessment and demographic factors and items on the Handwriting Screening Assessment that placed them at risk for dysgraphia or handwriting deficits were determined. These results indicated that the subtest for pen grasp should be discarded but that other subtests which did not differentiate the students referred for handwriting assessment from typical students should be retained as they were moderately or strongly correlated with the risk for dysgraphia. The utility of the Handwriting Screening Assessment in terms of the types of dysgraphia to guide concessions that should be awarded and the benefit of the assessment in terms of academic outcomes were analysed. The Handwriting Screening Assessment can be used to identify students in higher education at risk for dysgraphia handwriting deficts and to suggest further assessment and guide concessions required but the validity can be improved with further adjustment and revision of items and scoringMT 201

Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by failure to acquire, retrieve, and use information competently. These disorders have a multifactorial aetiology and are most common and severe in children, especially when comorbid with other chronic health conditions. This book provides current and comprehensive information about learning disorders, including information on neurobiology, assessment, clinical features, and treatment. Chapters cover such topics as historical research and hypotheses of learning disorders, neuropsychological assessment and counselling, characteristics of specific disorders such as autism and ADHD, evidence-based treatment strategies and assistive technologies, and much more

The Chinese Brush Stroke Experience in Bereavement Counseling

In the field of expressive therapies, there are different techniques to help bereaved people to better cope with their losses (e.g., Attig, 2000; Thompson, 2003; Gulledge, 2003; Rogers, 2007; Chandler, 2007). Among various expressive arts techniques, Chinese calligraphy has been used as a therapeutic intervention for behavioral, emotional, and mental health issues (Kao, 1991; Chen, 2003). However, there is no research on using Chinese brushstroke techniques in working with people who have experienced losses. This research focuses on the experience of practicing Chinese brushstroke technique as an expressive therapeutic approach to work with seniors in expressing their feelings toward the lost of a loved one. Six participants with recent loss of a loved one, aged 78 to 94, from the Hebrew Senior Life Rehabilitation Center in Boston, Massachusetts were recruited for this study. The participants attended six sessions of workshop with one and a half hour each. The workshop focused on the application of the Chinese brush stroke techniques in forms of painting and calligraphy as therapeutic intervention for coping with the loss of their loved ones. In this paper, meaning making, continuing bonds with the deceased loved one, and maintaining balance have been identified among many contributing factors to healthy bereavement coping. Practicing Chinese brush strokes techniques in forms of painting and calligraphy appeared to be helpful in promoting these factor

Teaching written composition at the start of compulsory education: strategy-instruction and the response-to-intervention model = Adquisición de la competencia escrita al inicio de la educación obligatoria: instrucción estratégica y modelo de respuesta a la intervención

363 p.El dominio de la competencia escrita constituye un requisito indispensable de la educación obligatoria, dado el papel clave de la escritura dentro y fuera del ámbito académico. Sin embargo, un porcentaje importante de estudiantes encuentra dificultades en su adquisición debido a la complejidad cognitiva que conlleva el proceso de escritura. La presente tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo promover una adecuada adquisición de la competencia escrita desde el inicio de la educación obligatoria a través de un enfoque innovador basado en dos aspectos clave: instrucción en procesos cognitivos de alto nivel de la escritura en etapas educativas tempranas; y prevención de problemas de aprendizaje por escrito mediante la implementación del modelo de Respuesta a la Intervención (RTI). Este objetivo general se concreta en cuatro estudios, tres de ellos de carácter empírico y el cuarto de revisión