【論文摘要】Applying a Computerized Handwriting Assessment Tool to Quantify Handwriting Quality and Evaluate Handwriting Difficulty in Children

【論文摘要】應用電腦寫字感測系統量化書寫品質與評估書寫困難兒童

鄭湘君(Hsiang-Chun Cheng) ； 陳翰裕(Han-Yu Chen) ； 楊文傑(Wen-Chieh Yang) ； 成戎珠(Rong-Ju Cherng)

《物理治療》 44卷2期 (2019/06) Pp. 108-109

https://doi.org/10.6215/FJPT.201906.P04

摘要

Background and Purpose: Handwriting performance develops until the primary school age. Deficits in handwriting performance limit the school activity participation in children with handwriting difficulty. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of application of a computerized handwriting assessment tool in quantifying handwriting quality in children aged 7-9 years. Methods: Participating children were divided by children with or without handwriting difficulty based on the subtest of Basic Reading and Writing Test Battery (BRWTB). Five children with handwriting difficulty and 20 children without handwriting difficulty participated in the study. All participants were asked to copy 50 words with a wireless pen as fast as possible on a piece of A4 paper, which was fixed on a digitizer tablet. Five muscles activities (flexor carpi radialis, FCR; flexor carpi ulnaris, FCU; extensor digitorum, ED; flexor pollicis brevis, FPB; first dorsal interossei, FDI) detected with electromyography sensors were recorded. The writing performance and muscle performance included the writing pressure, speed, stroke, legibility and hand activities with wrist and finger. Two-way mixed repeated measures analysis of variance (two way mixed repeated measures ANOVA) was used to analyze the differences between groups of children with or without handwriting difficulty. Results: Children with handwriting difficulty presented greater writing pressure than children without handwriting difficulty. The FDI and FPB muscles activities were also higher in the children with handwriting difficulty than in the children without handwriting difficulty. However, there was no significant difference in other variables between groups. Conclusion: The study showed that the computerized handwriting assessment tool might be able to measure the handwriting performance in children. However, the limited number of children with handwriting difficulty in this study may have affected the generalization value of the study. Clinical Relevance: Applying a computerized handwriting assessment tool to quantify handwriting quality and evaluate handwriting difficulty in children.