Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a longitudinal case study of handwriting characteristics

This longitudinal case study focuses on handwriting samples of a female diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder from 12 years of age to 21 years of age. Diaries and journals produced for class assignments and later for this research yielded 293 handwriting samples. 15 characteristics of handwriting were measured and statistically analyzed to follow changes in handwriting across time. At seven years of age while in elementary school the subject was diagnosed with ADHD and placed on Ritalin (methylphenidate). At puberty the drug was discontinued. During two summers she visited grandparents, once alone and once with two sisters with whom she was in conflict. Her handwriting deviated from its pattern of general decrease in size and increase in uniformity during these visits. The changes over time of three handwriting characteristics (slant of "l," heights and areas of the lower loop of the "g," and area of the left loop of the "I") also deviated from the general pattern of her handwriting change.