Drawing Proficiency Screening Questionnaire (DPSQ): development, reliability, and validity.
OBJECTIVE. We describe the development and preliminary psychometric examination of the DPSQ for identifying drawing difficulties in preschool children. METHOD. Teachers completed the DPSQ for 78 children ages 3-6 yr from 4 preschools. Children drew age-appropriate geometric forms of the Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) test on a digitizing tablet. We examined psychometric properties of the DPSQ and analyzed group membership. RESULTS. Internal consistency was high (α = .82). Significant correlations were found between DPSQ and VMI scores indicating in-air time (r = .37, p = .002) and pressure on the writing tool (r = .32, p = .007). The typical and at-risk groups differed significantly in VMI and DPSQ scores, t(76) = 5.6, p = .001. The DPSQ mean score differentiated between 76% of children with and without visual-motor deficits. CONCLUSION. The DPSQ is a useful tool for teachers and occupational therapy practitioners for indicating visual-motor deficits and potential handwriting problems.
Lisa T. Shooman, MS, OTR/L, BSS, CLVT, is Research Director and Executive Director, Function Success, 18 Washington Street, Suite 35, Canton, MA 02021; lisa@functionsuccess.com.
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Sara Rosenblum, PhD, is Associate Professor, The Laboratory of Complex Human Activity and Participation, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838 Israel; rosens@research.haifa.ac.il.
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