用双生子法对几项行为特性的遗传学研究

作者采用双生子法对38对双生子(其中MZ22,DZ16)的智商,以及其中部分双生子的个性、笔迹和心理健康状况等行为特征进行遗传学研究。结果发现,遗传因素对个体智力和个性的某些特征、笔迹及一般心理健康水平均有一定影响,但对总的智商和个体出现的症状类型影响不明显。     

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The Effects of Hand-Over-Hand and a Dot-to-Dot Tracing Procedure on Teaching an Autistic Student to Write his Name

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of hand-over-hand and dot-to-dot tracing procedure to teach a 14-year-old student with autism to write his first name. The participant began the study unable to write any letters in his name. Instead, he used a name stamp when his name needed to be applied to a document in school. When asked to write a letter or word, the student would simply draw a vertical or horizontal line. A multiple baseline and reversal design was used to evaluate hand-over-hand and dot-to-dot tracing. The results indicated the participant increased his ability to write the letters in his first name “T,” “y,” and “e,” from 60% to 100 %. The study was cost effective since it required only small amounts of additional time to complete, and should be easily replicable in other classroom settings. This research was completed in partial fulfillment for the Masters of Education in Special Education at Gonzaga University. The researcher would like to thank the participant and his parents for their cooperation, support, and enthusiasm for learning. Also, the researcher would like to extend her gratitude toward the cooperating teachers for their assistance and guidance throughout this study.     

Impact of tactile function on upper limb motor function in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

This study investigated the presence of, and relationship between tactile dysfunction and upper limb motor function in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) compared to typical developing (TD) children. Participants were 36 children aged 6–12 years. Presence of DCD (n = 20) or TD (n = 16) was confirmed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, second edition. All children participated in a comprehensive assessment of tactile registration (Semmes Weinstein Monofilaments); tactile spatial perception (Single Point Localisation (SPL) and two-point discrimination (2PD)); haptic perception (Stereognosis); speed of simple everyday manual tasks (Jebsen–Taylor Test of Hand Function (JTTHF)); and handwriting speed and accuracy (Evaluation Tool of Children's Handwriting (ETCH)). Compared to TD children, children with DCD demonstrated poorer localisation of touch in the non-dominant hand (p = 0.04), slower speed of alphabet writing (p < 0.05) and less legible handwriting (p < 0.01), but no difference in speed of simple everyday manual tasks (JTTHF: p > 0.05). Regression analysis showed that spatial tactile perception (SPL) predicted handwriting legibility (ETCH: r = 0.11) and speed of functional tasks (JTTHF: r = 0.33). These results suggest that tactile function, specifically single point localisation, should be a primary tactile assessment employed to determine reasons for upper limb motor difficulties experienced by children with DCD.     

A novel instrument for quantifying grip activity during handwriting

OBJECTIVE: To describe and exemplify a noninvasive instrumentation system that uniquely records grip forces exerted on the barrel of the writing utensil along with typical temporal and kinematic parameters. DESIGN: Exploratory case series. SETTING: A tertiary care, pediatric rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 6 primary school children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) with documented fine motor difficulties and 6 children with no known handwriting difficulties. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Grip and normal forces during handwriting. RESULTS: The instrumentation revealed nontrivial correlations between normal and grip forces (0.55 +/- 0.16), a temporal delay between normal and grip forces (97.7 +/- 16 ms), and a consistent grip-to-normal force ratio (4.3 +/- 1.5), across all participants. Grip force distributions agreed intuitively with qualitative observations of individual grasps of the writing utensil. Further, 5 new parameters derived from grip force measures statistically differentiated between able-bodied children and those with hemiplegic CP. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed instrumentation provides new insight into grip and normal force coordination and has the potential to uncover discriminatory grip force characteristics between writers with and without handwriting difficulties. Further study with larger populations is required to define functional ranges for the new grip measures.     

Psychometric Analysis of the Test of Sensory Integration

A 36-item test entitled the Test of Sensory Integration was developed to measure sensory integrative functions in preschool children. It focused specifically on postural control, bilateral motor integration, and reflex integration. This version of the test is the product of two previous psychometric studies and extensive revisions over a period of four years. Data were gathered on 101 normal and 38 developmentally delayed children from three to five years of age. The psychometric quality of the test was investigated in terms of domains validity, construct validity, interobserver reliability, decision reliability, and retest stability. The findings were that: (1) the items validly measure the domain of sensory integrative functions, (2) the total test scores can be used reliably and validly for screening decision, and (3) the postural control and bilateral motor integration subtests can be used reliably and validly for diagnostic decisions. The reflex integration subtest should be used with caution because of low interobserver reliability coefficients as well as low classification decision accuracy. The generalizability of the instrument is affected also by the predominance of three- and four-year-olds in the sample.     

Unique handwriting performance characteristics of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder

Knowledge about the handwriting performance characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is scarce, despite this skill’s importance for their academic and social participation. The objective was to compare the handwriting process and product characteristics of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) to those of typically developing children to determine the best means of differentiation between the groups. Participants were 60 children, aged 9–12 years; 30 of them were diagnosed with HFASD, and 30 were aged and gender-matched typically developed controls. All participants performed three graded writing tasks on an electronic tablet, which is part of a computerized handwriting evaluation system (ComPET). Their paragraph copying product was then evaluated using the Hebrew Handwriting Evaluation (HHE). Significantly inferior handwriting performance among children with HFASD was found in both handwriting process and product measures. Significant correlations between these measures, supplemented with discriminant analysis and regression analysis results, emphasize unique handwriting performance dynamics among children with HFASD. Evaluation of the characteristics of both the handwriting process and product of children with HFASD may provide a more comprehensive picture of individual deficits. Identifying performance features may lead to more focused and adapted intervention and enhancement of school participation among these children.     

Signal-to-Noise velocity peaks difference: A new method for evaluating the handwriting movement fluency in children with dysgraphia

This study evaluated handwriting movement dysfluency related to dysgraphia. A new variable, the Signal-to-Noise velocity peaks difference (SNvpd), was proposed to describe abnormal velocity fluctuations in cursive handwriting. This variable was compared to two variables most frequently used variables for assessing handwriting fluency. This comparison was carried out for three different groups, children with dysgraphia, proficient children, and adults, all of whom wrote the same single word. The adults were taken as the reference. Results revealed that, of the three variables studied, the SNvpd proved most efficient in discriminating children with dysgraphia, and that furthermore, it had the significant advantage of facilitating the localization of dysfluency peaks within a word. Our results also showed that the movement dysfluency of children with dysgraphia was specific to certain letters. In light of these results, we discuss the methodological and theoretical relevance of this new variable to the analysis of handwriting movement with the aim of characterizing dysgraphia.     

Do children with ASD have difficulty handwriting under time pressure?

BackgroundChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience significant handwriting impairment, however the influence of time pressure on overall performance is unclear. The aim of the current study was to characterise the handwriting profile of children with ASD across both non-speeded and speeded conditions, with particular focus given to spacing difficulties and handwriting errors. A further aim was to explore the relationships between handwriting and both intellectual and motor skills under different task conditions.MethodBoys with ASD (n = 23) and matched controls (n = 20) aged 8–12 years completed a modified version of the speed subtest of the Handwriting Performance Test, which allowed for both an ecologically valid and relatively simple motoric task. Participants wrote a simple phrase (cat and dog) five times in each condition.ResultsNo significant group differences were identified for handwriting errors or spacing between words in either condition, however the ASD group demonstrated greater variability relative to controls, particularly in the speeded condition. Significant negative associations were identified between motor proficiency and handwriting errors in the non-speeded condition.ConclusionsWhile motor processes are shown to have a significant role in overall handwriting proficiency, it appears that motor ability may influence the handwriting process to different degrees, depending on the nature of the task employed. A lack of group differences with respect to handwriting errors and spacing between words may suggest that children with ASD have the ability to compensate for underlying motor impairment when completing a well-practiced writing task.     

Identifying developmental coordination disorder: MOQ-T validity as a fast screening instrument based on teachers’ ratings and its relationship with praxic and visuospatial working memory deficits

The present study was devoted to test the validity of the Italian adaptation of the Motor Observation Questionnaire for Teachers (MOQ-T, Schoemaker, Flapper, Reinders-Messelink, & De Kloet, 2008) as a fast screening instrument, based on teachers’ ratings, for detecting developmental coordination disorders symptoms and to study its relationship with praxic and visuospatial working memory deficits. In a first study on a large sample of children, we assessed the reliability and structure of the Italian adaptation of the MOQ-T. Results showed a good reliability of the questionnaire and a hierarchical structure with two first-order factors (reflecting motor and handwriting skills), which are influenced by a second-order factor (general motor function) at the top. In a second study, we looked at the external validity of the MOQ-T and found that children with symptoms of Developmental Coordination Disorder (children with high scores on the MOQ-T) also had difficulty reproducing gestures, either imitating others or in response to verbal prompts. Our results also showed that children with high MOQ-T scores had visuospatial WM impairments. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.