Performance of school-aged children on a Chinese handwriting speed test

Slow handwriting speed is one of the major problems encountered by school-aged children having handwriting difficulties. These children are often referred to occupational therapists for assessment and intervention. However, to date, no norms of handwriting speed have been published for the Chinese writing system for school-aged children. The purpose of this study was to document handwriting speed performance of Chinese children from Grades 2 to 6. The results of this study will provide occupational therapists with an objective guideline when screening children who have handwriting speed problems. Participants were 1525 children from Grades 2 to 6 from three elementary schools in the Taipei area. Participants were asked to copy texts from a Chinese textbook that they had studied in the second semester of the first grade. The test lasted for five minutes. Results showed that handwriting speed increased with age; and the rate of increase was found to be greatest among Grades 2, 3, and 4. Furthermore, girls wrote faster than boys in Grades 3, 4, and 5. This study's baseline data on handwriting speed for the Chinese writing system provide further substantial information for future research and clinical practice. Copyright © 1997 Whurr Publishers Ltd.     

Construct validity of the tseng teacher handwriting checklist

Handwriting problems in Chinese elementary school students have rarely been researched. Efforts to examine handwriting difficulties in school-aged children have been hampered by the lack of a reliable and valid instrument. The present study was designed to examine the construct validity of the Tseng Teacher Handwriting Checklist (TTHC), which consists of 24 items that assess handwriting problems in Chinese elementary school students. Factor analysis was performed on the items of the TTHC with a sample of 214 school-aged children from grades 3 to 5 who had handwriting problems. Results replicated a previous study. Factor loadings were all sufficiently strong to regard the six factors as distinct, well-defined constructs. These factors were construction, sequencing, behaviour, accuracy, motor and directionality.     

Reliability of occupational therapist and teacher evaluations of the handwriting quality of grade 5 and 6 primary school children*

Both occupational therapists and primary school teachers play an important role in identifying children with handwriting dysfunction. The present study investigated the inter- and intrarater reliability of evaluations of handwriting quality by occupational therapists and school teachers. Samples of handwriting were collected from 61 grade 5 and 6 school children. Two paediatric occupational therapists, two primary school teachers and the children's class teachers were asked to rate the quality of handwriting on a five point Likert scale. Written data were also collected to determine the variables that participants recognized as critical to handwriting quality. Intraclass correlational analyses and percentage agreements revealed a lack of reliability in the evaluation of handwriting quality, both between and within the separate professions. These results question the reliability of current methods of handwriting evaluation.     

Relationships: the key to effective occupational therapy practice with urban Australian Indigenous children

The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate what constitutes a socially and culturally appropriate occupational therapy service for urban Indigenous Australian families in Brisbane, Queensland. A qualitative methodology was used with data collected in two distinct parts. Part 1 comprised interviews and focus groups with 25 stakeholders in a newly established occupational therapy service for Indigenous children. Part 2 consisted of semi-structured questionnaires completed by 50 occupational therapists in Queensland. Results revealed guidelines for developing culturally relevant practice around 5 main themes. These were the need to: 1. develop effective relationships, 2. develop particular personal qualities, 3. understand the background of both the client and the therapist, 4. both gain and give knowledge, and 5. address logistical issues of service delivery. This study was limited to an evaluation of one service and included only teachers, parents and health service personnel. These practice guidelines could be applied to other settings with other Indigenous children, and their effectiveness evaluated from the perspectives of Indigenous children.     

Understanding and Assessing Handwriting Difficulty: Perspectives from the Literature

When a handwriting problem significantly affects student academic performance, intervention is warranted, and referral to an occupational therapist may be recommended. Occupational therapists generally adopt a diagnostic approach to assessment of handwriting difficulty. Prior to designing and implementing a remediation programme, the therapist assesses whether inadequate handwriting results from motor in coordination, biomechanical restrictions to movement, inefficient perceptual processing, anxiety arising from previous failure, or a combination of these factors. Critical to the validity of the diagnostic approach is a relationship between the variables assessed and handwriting performance. This paper presents a review of the literature concerned with handwriting performance, dysfunction and assessment, and provides background information to evaluate current occupational therapy assessment practice.     

Working children and accidents: understanding the risks

Recent research suggests that a significant proportion of school children aged 10-16 years are employed outside the home during the school term. Delivery work represents only a minority of such employment and children are found working in a wide range of 'adult' jobs, particularly in the service sector. This raises concerns about health and safety hazards faced by working children. There is an absence of data on the effects of different kinds of work and working conditions on child health and development, which is thus a barrier to defining goals, policies and effective action. This paper aims to address these issues through presenting some research findings on child employment and incidences of accident. The study is based on surveys of school children in North Tyneside and Norfolk. Our analysis shows that there is a high level of accidents occurring at work among children aged 10-16 years old. While legislation exists in the UK to prevent children from working in the most hazardous environments and to prohibit young children from undertaking any employment, it is clear that such work does take place. Our findings indicate that it is time to look at the occupational health of children as a major concern.     

Similarities and differences between children with asthma wnd children with cancer: Implications for preventive intervention

A substantial increase in the prevalence of chronic health conditions among children in the U.S. has led to growing concern with preventing the psychosocial and economic problems engendered by such illness. This exploratory study examined the validity of the recently proposed non-categorical approach to physical illness versus the traditional disease-specific perspective as the basis for the content and organization of preventive services for children with chronic illness. No significant disease-specific differences were found in measures of psychological and social adaptation between children with asthma and children with cancer, lending support to a non-categorical approach to the provision of preventive services.Susan Farquar and Daniela Wittmann were Clinical Social Workers, Pediatric Pulmonary and Pediatric Oncology Clinics, University of Michigan Medical Center at the time of this study.     

Services for children with developmental co-ordination disorder: the experiences of parents

Background Parents provide valuable information on their experiences of engaging with therapy services for their children, which can inform the future development of these services. The aim of this study was to explore the views and experiences of parents who had accessed therapy services for their child with developmental co‐ordination disorder (DCD). Methods Seven focus groups were conducted incorporating 52 parents who had a child diagnosed with, or fitting the diagnostic criteria for DCD. Focus groups were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed thematically. Findings Parents reported struggling to gain access to therapy services. When they gained access, they found the services beneficial for their child but continued to experience difficulties regarding the quality of service delivery. Conclusions/implications The study suggests that parents thought some health‐care professionals lacked knowledge and understanding of DCD, which they believed impacted upon early recognition and access to services. They perceived that therapy at an early age was vital for children's development, and indicated that a clearer path for accessing these services was necessary in addition to improved service quality. They called for an increase in awareness of DCD by all therapy service professionals to aid early recognition and improved treatment.     

Discriminant validity of the Developmental Test of Visual–Motor Integration in relation to children with handwriting dysfunction

Background:  The Developmental Test of Visual–Motor Integration (VMI) is commonly used to assess handwriting dysfunction in children. The relationship between handwriting and underlying abilities as measured by the VMI, beyond the writing readiness stage, is unclear. The present study examined the ability of the VMI to discriminate between children with and without handwriting dysfunction.
Methods:  As part of a larger research study, 35 children with handwriting dysfunction from grades 4–6 (as identified by their teachers) and 35 children without handwriting dysfunction were assessed with the VMI.
Results:  The VMI correctly identified only a small number of the children with handwriting dysfunction (sensitivity, 34%).
Conclusion:  The authors caution against the routine use of the VMI to assess older school-aged children with handwriting dysfunction. Use of a model of practice and clinical reasoning is recommended to guide the assessment of children with handwriting dysfunction.