Grapho-motor imitation training in children with handwriting difficulties: A single-center pilot study

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics and diagnoses

Cases	Gender	Age (year)	PS class	Writing style	IQ	Learning disorders
AG	boy	8.10	IV	block letters	114	dyslexia, dysorthography, dysgraphia
MS	boy	10.01	V	block letters	109	dyslexia, dysorthography, dysgraphia
ME	boy	10.03	V	block letters	106	dysorthography, dysgraphia
GC	girl	8.09	IV	block letters	106	**
AP	boy	9.04	IV	block letters	80	dyslexia, dysorthography, dysgraphia, DCD

PS = Primary School; IQ = Intelligence Quotient; DCD = Developmental Coordination Disorder

(**) The child has many problems with reading and writing. No diagnosis on grapho-motor aspects was reported, although teachers claim she has dysgraphia.

Table 2. Categories and observation parameters

CATEGORIES	OBSERVATION PARAMETERS
Body posture during handwriting	- feet aligned and placed on the floor - hips and lower back leaning on the back of the chair - knees bent at 90°
Arm and wrist position	- flexed elbows - forearm leaning on the table - wrist sufficiently soft and flexible
Type of pen grip	- dynamic tripod grip - lateral tripod grip
Trace strength	- trace not too marked (it must not be visible on the back of the sheet)
Direction of letters	- anticlockwise direction

Table 3. Raw score and standard deviation (SD) of the pre- and post-test scores of each participant

	T0		T1		ΔSD	95% CI Raw score of the normative sample
	Raw score	SD	Raw score	SD
AG	49	−4.70	17	0.54	5.24	19.6–21
MS	45	−4.04	18	0.37	4.41	19.6–21
ME	35	−2.40	20	0.04	2.44	19.6–21
GC	29	−1.62	16	0.31	1.93	16–18.88
AP	49	−4.70	25	−0.77	3.93	19.6–21

Figure 1. Example of the BHK test performed by AP at T0 and T1.

Figure 2. Example of the BHK test performed by MS at T0 and T1.

Figure 3. Example of free writing performed by AP and MS after 19 sessions.