Validation of the Concise Assessment Scale for Children's Handwriting (BHK) in an Italian Population.

Handwriting difficulties represent a common complaint among children and may cause a significant delay in motor skills achievement. The Concise Assessment Scale for Children's Handwriting (BHK) assesses handwriting skill in clinical and experimental settings, providing a quick evaluation of handwriting quality and speed through a copying text. The aim of the present study was to validate the Italian adaptation of the BHK in a representative primary school population. Overall, 562 children aged 7-11 from 16 public primary schools of Rome were included and asked to copy a text in 5 min using cursive handwriting. Handwriting quality and copying speed were measured. The included population followed a normal distribution for the BHK quality scores. Sex influenced the total quality scores, whereas school level influenced the copying speed. The BHK quality score was higher in girls (p < 0.05) and resulted as a stable parameter along the school years, without significant variations with regard to the years spent in handwriting exercise (p = 0.76). The handwriting speed was influenced by school level, and significant differences were found for each of the grades from the second to the fifth (p < 0.05), but not for gender (p = 0.47). Both BHK measures represent a helpful tool for the characterization and assessment of children with handwriting difficulties. The present study confirms that sex influences total BHK quality score, while school level influences handwriting speed.

The Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Handwriting Intervention for Children with Motor Coordination Issues: A Systematic Review (Keberkesanan Terapi Cara Kerja Bagi Intervensi Tulisan Tangan Terhadap Kanak-kanak Dengan Masalah Koordinasi Motor: Tinjauan Literatur Sistematik) / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

@#Handwriting difficulty is one of the main issues among school children, especially for those with motor coordination issues. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions in handwriting components for children with motor coordination issues. Current research articles were systematically searched according to the PRISMA guidelines. Two hundred and sixty-eight (n=268) research articles were identified; however, only ten (n=10) were eligible to be evaluated for this study. Studies were appraised by using McMaster Critical Review Form-Quantitative Studies. Descriptive synthesis was executed due to the heterogeneity of included studies. The review found various types of intervention conducted by occupational therapists to have a positive effect on handwriting performance components among children with motor coordination issues. Types of intervention used were visual, motor, perceptual, sensory, activity of daily living skills, training device and assistive technology and specific handwriting programs. Most handwriting intervention showed effectiveness to improve handwriting performance in motor function, visual and perceptual components. Future research should focus on homogeneity of Occupational Therapy (OT) intervention to improve handwriting performance by using specific handwriting programmes and similar standardised evaluation instruments. Practitioners of OT intervention should consider collaboration with teachers, parents and other health professionals to expedite effectiveness of intervention in handwriting performance components.

A systematic review of occupational therapy intervention for handwriting skills in 4-6 year old children.

INTRODUCTION: Handwriting skills play a significant role in all stages of an individual's life. Writing interventions should be considered at a younger age to ensure proper development of writing skills. Hence, the aims of this study is to evaluate the current evidence of occupational therapy interventions in handwriting skills for 4-6 year old children. METHODS: Published literature was systematically searched according to PRISMA guidelines using specific key terms. Initial search identified 785 studies; however only seven met the inclusion criteria and were assessed for final review. Studies were methodologically appraised using the McMaster Critical Review Form-Quantitative Studies. RESULTS: The review found no randomised control trial study design pertaining to the reviewed area. However, it can be seen that occupational therapy interventions for writing skills in 4-6 year old children managed to increase the targeted skills. The results were similar across samples with or without disabilities. An effective integration of occupational therapy interventions into educational curriculum was found to save both time and cost. CONCLUSION: The long-term benefit from these interventions and the effects of these interventions on a broader spectrum of fine motor abilities need to be explored further with stronger research designs. However, the lack of studies adopting high level study designs, i.e., RCT designs means, results need to be approached with caution by occupational therapists when implementing handwriting skills intervention in practice.

Review on the Effect of Occupational Therapy Intervention in Improving Handwriting Skills among Preschool Children / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

@#The development of writing ability is not only important in building a child’s self-esteem, but also essential for academic success in school. Handwriting is an important skill that could affect students’ performance in most academic areas. This study aimed to review the effect of occupational therapy intervention in improving handwriting skills among preschool children. Relevant studies were systematically searched by using standardized keywords across three databases. The initial search identified 1,386 references. Of these studies, there were five quantitative studies that met the inclusion criteria and were methodologically appraised using the McMaster Critical Review Form–Quantitative Studies. All studies reported that preschool children with or without disabilities showed significant improvements in handwriting skills after receiving occupational therapy intervention. One study involved collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists in implementing intervention program to preschool students. Collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists was able to provide teachers with tools and skills that they can use to help students, with or without direct presence of occupational therapists. Overall, findings of this review indicated that preschool children could gain improvement in handwriting skills regardless of their conditions after receiving occupational therapy intervention programs.