Visual perceptual and handwriting skills in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.
OBJECTIVE
Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder demonstrate a lack of automaticity in handwriting as measured by pauses during writing. Deficits in visual perception have been proposed in the literature as underlying mechanisms of handwriting difficulties in children with DCD. The aim of this study was to examine whether correlations exist between measures of visual perception and visual motor integration with measures of the handwriting product and process in children with DCD.


METHODS
The performance of twenty-eight 8-14year-old children who met the DSM-5 criteria for DCD was compared with 28 typically developing (TD) age and gender-matched controls. The children completed the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS). Group comparisons were made, correlations were conducted between the visual perceptual measures and handwriting measures and the sensitivity and specificity examined.


RESULTS
The DCD group performed below the TD group on the VMI and TVPS. There were no significant correlations between the VMI or TVPS and any of the handwriting measures in the DCD group. In addition, both tests demonstrated low sensitivity.


CONCLUSIONS
Clinicians should execute caution in using visual perceptual measures to inform them about handwriting skill in children with DCD.
Brunel University London, Division of Occupational Therapy, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK. Electronic address: mellissa.prunty@brunel.ac.uk.
Mellissa
M
Prunty
Oxford Brookes University, Department of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
Anna L
AL
Barnett
Oxford Brookes University, Department of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
Kate
K
Wilmut
School of Health Sciences and Psychology, Faculty of Health, Federation University Australia, Ballara, VIC 3353, Australia.
Mandy
M
Plumb
D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006236:Handwriting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
Handwriting; Handwriting speed; Legibility; Motor skills; Pausing during writing; Visual motor integration; Visual perception