title: Study of Pattern of Change in Handwriting Class Characters with Different Grades of Myopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Handwriting is a visuo-motor skill highly dependent on visual skills. Any defect in the visual inputs could affect a change in the handwriting. Understanding the variation in handwriting characters caused by visual acuity change can help in identifying learning disabilities in children and also assess the disability in elderly. In our study we try to analyse and catalogue these changes in the handwriting of a person.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted among 100 subjects having normal visual acuity. They were asked to perform a set of writing tasks, after which the same tasks were repeated after inducing different grades of myopia. Changes in the handwriting class characters were analysed and compared in all grades of myopia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the study it was found that the letter size, pastiosity, word omissions, inability to stay on line all increase with changes in visual acuity. However these finding are not proportional to the grade of myopia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From the findings of the study it can be concluded that myopia significantly influences the handwriting and any change in visual acuity would induce corresponding changes in handwriting. There is increase in letter size, pastiosity where as the ability to stay on line and space between the lines decrease in different grades of myopia. The changes are not linear and cannot be used to predict the grade of myopia but can be used as parameters suggestive of refractive error.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College & Research Institute , Ammapettai, Chennai, India .
authors.forename: Shruti Prabhat
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Hedge
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic medicine & Toxicology, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College & Research Institute , Ammapettai, Chennai, India .
authors.forename: Vijay Kautilya
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Dayanidhi
authors.affiliation: Student, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College & Research Institute , Ammapettai, Chennai, India .
authors.lastname: Sriram
keywords: Pastiosity; Refractive errors; Visual acuity; Writing disability
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