Temporal Analysis of Handwriting When Copying Sentences : Primary School Children in Japan

Abstract

The conventional method for measuring speed and/or accuracy of handwriting does not provide enough information to evaluate dysgraphia. To partially remedy this deficiency, the present study investigated the use of a digital pen as a new method for investigating the temporal process of handwriting when copying sentences. The participants (618 elementary school students in grades 1 to 6) used digital pens to copy sentences that had been prepared for each grade. The digital pen enabled not only the measurement of how much time the children took to copy the sentences, but also the separation of their handwriting into motion time and non-moving time. It was found that motion time decreased from the 2nd to the 3rd grade when the children were writing kana characters, whereas it decreased from the 4th to 5th grade when those students were writing kanji characters. The amount of time without movement decreased from the 1st to 3rd grades when the children were writing kana, and from the 3rd to 5th grades when those children were writing kanji. These results suggest that cognitive development is slower than motor development, and that the peak time of development is different for kana and kanji characters. It was concluded that motion time was possibly associated with visual-motor integration, whereas non-moving time was possibly associated with the link between the shape of the characters and their pronunciation. The results of the present study suggest that the digital pen might be useful for a temporal process analysis of dysgraphia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)(journal abstract)