Accuracy and consistency of letter formation in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: an exploratory study

Background: Handwriting difficulties are frequently mentioned in descriptions of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Recent studies have shown that children with DCD pause more and produce less text than typically developing (TD) peers. This temporal dysfluency indicates a lack of automaticity in handwriting production. One possible contributing factor is the accuracy and consistency of letter formation. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of handwriting dysfluency by examining the accuracy and consistency of letter production both within and across different writing tasks. Method: Twenty-eight 8-15 year-old children with DCD participated in the study, with 28 typically developing (TD) age and gender matched controls. They completed the alphabet writing and copy fast tasks from the Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting on a digitising writing tablet. The accuracy and consistency of letter production were examined. Results & Discussion: The DCD group had a higher percentage of errors within their letterforms than TD peers. Letter production was also less consistent between tasks. Children with DCD appear to have difficulties with the ‘allograph’ (motor program) aspect of handwriting and may require explicit teaching of letter formation

Doing the ‘write’ thing : handwriting and typing support in secondary schools in England

Students must be able to produce legible and fluent text when completing classwork and for exam purposes. Some students, however, present with handwriting difficulties in secondary school. When these are significant, intervention may be necessary or alternatives to handwriting may be offered (e.g. use of a word processor). Little is known about current practice of supporting secondary students with handwriting difficulties in England and how recommendations are made to transition to typing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 practitioners with a responsibility for supporting students with handwriting difficulties. Two themes were identified. The first theme, ‘doing the right thing’, illustrated the tension between practitioners' commitment to supporting students with handwriting difficulties and their uncertainty around what is the ‘right’ approach. The second theme, ‘influencing practice’, described the contextual factors (student and family, school environment and national context) that impact on practitioners' practice and their decision to transition from handwriting to typing. Findings highlight the complexities of supporting this group of students and an urgent need for guidance at a national level to assist best practice. Implications for practice are discussed. Further research examining the effectiveness of handwriting interventions with secondary students and the optimum time to start typing is warranted

Awareness about developmental coordination disorder

The present paper is designed to promote awareness of DCD outside the academic world. With a prevalence of 5–6% it is one of the most common disorders of child development. It is therefore surprising that so little is known about it among professionals in child healthcare and education. Parents have expressed frustration about this lack of awareness, including the general public. The general aim of this paper was to describe those critical aspects of DCD that will promote awareness

Handwriting and typing: Occupational therapy practice when supporting adolescents with handwriting difficulties

Introduction: While most children have developed effective handwriting by secondary school age, some have handwriting difficulties that hamper academic progress. Occupational therapists play a role in assessment and planning support, which may include introducing typing as an alternative. However, there is limited understanding regarding how decisions are made about recommending typing. This study explored the support provided to adolescents with handwriting difficulties by occupational therapists, and the contextual factors that influence their decision-making. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 occupational therapists and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Although there was shared practice underpinned by occupational therapy philosophy, there was also divergent practice due to different approaches. Roles and responsibilities, resources, and evidence and experience influenced occupational therapists’ practice. Understanding the adolescent’s motivation, the effect of handwriting difficulties on well-being and the need for a functional method to record schoolwork, was central to occupational therapists’ decision-making to recommend typing. Conclusion: Strategies are needed to address the knowledge-practice gap, including evidence-based guidelines. Closer collaboration between occupational therapists and school staff could increase understanding of roles and highlight the unique occupational therapy contribution. Further research examining whether, when and how to introduce typing as an alternative to handwriting would support best practice

The impact of handwriting difficulties on compositional quality in children with developmental coordination disorder

Introduction There is substantial evidence to support the relationship between transcription skills (handwriting and spelling) and compositional quality. For children with developmental coordination disorder, handwriting can be particularly challenging. While recent research has aimed to investigate their handwriting difficulties in more detail, the impact of transcription on their compositional quality has not previously been examined. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine compositional quality in children with developmental coordination disorder and to ascertain whether their transcription skills influence writing quality. Method Twenty-eight children with developmental coordination disorder participated in the study, with 28 typically developing age and gender matched controls. The children completed the 'free-writing' task from the detailed assessment of speed of handwriting tool, which was evaluated for compositional quality using the Wechsler objective language dimensions. Results The children with developmental coordination disorder performed significantly below their typically developing peers on five of the six Wechsler objective language dimensions items. They also had a higher percentage of misspelled words. Regression analyses indicated that the number of words produced per minute and the percentage of misspelled words explained 55% of the variance for compositional quality. Conclusion The handwriting difficulties so commonly reported in children with developmental coordination disorder have wider repercussions for the quality of written composition