Exploring the participation of children with Down Syndrome in Handwriting Without Tears

ABSTRACT

Children with Down Syndrome typically experience difficulties with attention to task and lack motivation when learning to write. This article provides an evaluation of the HWT (Handwriting Without Tears) method applied as an intervention to promote handwriting among children with Down Syndrome attending mainstream school in the Republic of Ireland. In the absence of standardized measures, a purpose-designed HWT group task participation scale and pre- and postintervention teacher/parent questionnaire were developed by the first author and used to investigate the participation of 40 children with Down Syndrome in HWT activities. Positive changes in participation in HWT activities were recorded in group data and in teacher/parent reports. Tentative findings suggest that hands-on multisensory learning approaches such as HWT may encourage children with Down Syndrome to participate in activities that promote handwriting skills. Further research and the development of robust measures to evaluate handwriting intervention for this population of children is required.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• Down Syndrome
• group intervention
• Handwriting Without Tears
• participation

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the kind participation of families and teachers involved in this study. Acknowledgement is given to Dr. Siobhan Mac Cobb, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, for her supervision during doctorate completion. Additionally, the initial assistance of Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI) in recruitment of participants by DSI and Froebel College of Education, Dublin, is gratefully acknowledged.

Funding

The financial support given by DSI and Froebel College of Education, Dublin, is gratefully acknowledged.