title: Multisensory approach to handwriting remediation: perceptions of school-based occupational therapists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to describe the current practices of school-based occupational therapists regarding their use of multisensory modalities and activities in handwriting remediation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey was sent to 313 school-based occupational therapist members of the American Occupational Therapy Association who identified themselves as working in a school system as their primary employment setting. Of these, 198 surveys were returned and analyzed descriptively, resulting in a response rate of 63.3%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More than 130 different multisensory modalities and activities were documented. Twenty-five of these had previously been reported in the literature, the other 114 were documented, by respondents, within the "other" category. Most respondents reported using 5 or more modalities and activities per student, the most frequent being chalk and chalkboard. No consensus among respondents is apparent about the primary sensory systems stimulated by the modalities and activities. No difference in modality and activity use was found on the basis of demographic variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall findings indicate that the breadth of modalities and activities being used is far greater than that currently found in the literature. The results suggest a need for completing studies designed to examine the use and effectiveness of multisensory modalities and activities in handwriting remediation.
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Woodward
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Swinth
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006236:Handwriting; D006801:Humans; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013334:Students