The effect of computer-assisted therapeutic practice for children with handwriting deficit: a comparison with the effect of the traditional sensorimotor approach.
Six-week computer handwriting games outperformed old-school sensorimotor drills for kids with lasting dysgraphia.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kids with handwriting trouble got six weeks of computer games that train letter shapes. A second group did classic sensorimotor drills like tracing in sand. A third group kept normal class work.
All kids had developmental delay and poor writing scores. The study used a coin-flip style random assignment.
What they found
The computer group beat both other groups on writing tests and speed. The sensorimotor group improved a little, but not as much.
Gains showed up right after the six weeks ended.
How this fits with other research
Overvelde et al. (2011) warned that many grade-2 kids look dysgraphic but grow out of it by grade 3. Shao-Hsia’s team only picked kids whose writing stayed poor, so the computer program helped the truly stuck ones.
Ratzon et al. (2009) showed that short visual-motor drills help typical first-graders no matter who delivers them. Shao-Hsia now shows that for kids with delay, the drill content matters more than the delivery style.
Howe et al. (2017) built a quick computer test that spots writing problems; Shao-Hsia shows the same tech can also fix the problems.
Why it matters
If a child’s writing lags behind peers for two grades, try computer-guided handwriting games before older sensorimotor methods. You can run the program on a classroom tablet while you supervise other students. Track speed and legibility weekly; most kids will show clear gains within a month and a half.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The objective of this study was to compare the effect of computer-assisted practice with the sensorimotor approach on the remediation of handwriting problems in children with dysgraphia. In a randomized controlled trial, experiments were conducted to verify the intervention effect. Forty two children with handwriting deficit were assigned to computer-assisted instruction, sensorimotor training, or a control group. Handwriting performance was measured using the elementary reading/writing test and computerized handwriting evaluation before and after 6 weeks of intervention. Repeated-measures ANOVA of changed scores were conducted to show whether statistically significant differences across the three groups were present. Significant differences in the elementary reading/writing test were found among the three groups. The computer group showed more significant improvements than the other two groups did. In the kinematic and kinetic analyses, the computer group showed promising results in the remediation of handwriting speed and fluency. This study provided clinical evidence for applying a computer-assisted handwriting program for children with dysgraphia. Clinicians and school teachers are provided with a systematic intervention for the improvement of handwriting difficulties.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.03.024