Relationships Between Handwriting Components and Underlying Perceptual-Motor Functions Among Students During Copying and Dictation Tasks

OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health

AOTF: The American Occupational Therapy Foundation

Interventions, Effects, and Outcomes in Occupational Therapy: Adults and Older Adults

Feature Article
Relationships Between Handwriting Components and Underlying Perceptual-Motor Functions Among Students During Copying and Dictation Tasks

OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health
Vol. 30, No. 1 Winter 2010

By Shula Parush, PhD, OT; Nirit Lifshitz, PhD, OT; Aviva Yochman, PhD, OT; Naomi Weintraub, PhD, OT

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelations between legibility of handwriting, atomistic factors, handwriting speed, and perceptual-motor body functions. The authors aimed to determine the contribution of these factors in predicting students’ handwriting performance during copying and dictation and to assess performance differences under both of these writing conditions. The handwriting performance of 35 third graders with writing difficulties and 35 control subjects was assessed during copying and dictation. The control group performed significantly better on all measures during both copying and dictation. Only overall legibility predicted handwriting performance during copying, whereas both speed and overall legibility predicted handwriting performance during dictation. Only spatial organization significantly predicted overall legibility for both groups and conditions. The findings suggest that handwriting speed and overall legibility are separate constructs and that different components underlie writing during copying and dictation. These results have clinical implications for handwriting evaluation and intervention.

AUTHORS

Shula Parush, PhD, OT, is School Chair and Director of Graduate Studies, Aviva Yochman, PhD, OT, is Head of Pediatric Studies, and Naomi Weintraub, PhD, OT, is Deputy Director and Head of the Undergraduate Program, School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine of Hadassah and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel. Nirit Lifshitz, PhD, OT, is Lecturer, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel.

Originally submitted September 28, 2008. Accepted for publication December 17, 2008. Posted online March 25, 2009.

Address correspondence to Shula Parush at msshulap@pluto.huji.ac.il.

doi: 10.3928/15394492-20091214-06

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