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Proximal and distal movement patterns during a graphomotor task in typically developing children and children with
Shoshana Steinhart1, Patrice L Weiss1,2, Jason Friedman3,4
1ALYN Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Center, Shmaryahu Levin Street, Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem, Israel.
Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation
|December 21, 2021
Summary
Children with handwriting difficulties show distinct upper extremity joint movement patterns during writing tasks. Therapists can use these findings to develop targeted interventions for motor-related handwriting challenges.
Area of Science:
- Occupational therapy
- Pediatric motor control
- Handwriting analysis
Background:
- Handwriting difficulties in children often involve upper extremity motor problems.
- Kinematic measures offer insights into handwriting movement patterns.
- This study investigates upper extremity joint movements in children with and without handwriting issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine differences in proximal and distal upper extremity joint movement patterns during graphomotor tasks in children with and without handwriting difficulties.
- To explore the relationship between movement patterns, writing speed, and legibility.
Main Methods:
- Forty-one children (7-11 years) were divided into handwriting difficulty and control groups based on assessments.
- Motion capture analyzed upper extremity joint movements during tracing and copying tasks on a graphics tablet.
- Statistical analyses compared between-group differences and relationships with speed and legibility.
Main Results:
- Greater distal joint movement was observed in both groups, particularly in horizontal plane tasks and tracing.
- Children with handwriting difficulties exhibited greater dissimilarity between the drawn shape and proximal joint movements.
- Tablet drawing measures predicted legibility, writing speed, and visual-motor integration; joint movement dissimilarity predicted writing speed and motor coordination.
Conclusions:
- Distal upper extremity joints play a significant role in the writing process.
- Findings offer guidance for clinicians treating movement-related handwriting problems.
- Further research is needed to clarify the role of proximal joint movements and explore varied drawing tasks.
