Effectiveness of a Handwriting Intervention

NCT02620098 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Hand01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 35
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of an occupational therapy led handwriting intervention for special education and at-risk kindergarten students.

Conditions

Developmental Dysgraphia

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in the Test of Handwriting Skills-Revised (THS-R) after 16 weeks

  A standardized assessment of handwriting which can be administered to students ages six to 18 (Milone, 2007). There are ten subtests which include writing letters and numbers from memory, writing letters, numbers and words from dictation, copying letters, copying words, copying short sentences, and writing short words from dictation (Milone, 2007).

  Before and after 30 sessions completed twice a week for 16 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in the North Dakota Title I Kindergarten Reading Standards Assessment (Letter Identification Subtest after 16 weeks

  Before and after 30 sessions completed twice a week for 16 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Size Matters Handwriting Program

EXPERIMENTAL

All participants were receiving educational support in the form of IEP and/or RtI tier 2 interventions, and were participating in a support classroom where those services where being delivered. The intervention group consisted of 23 kindergarten students comprising all students in two kindergarten support classrooms, one in each of two neighboring schools. All students in the group received the Size Matters Handwriting Program.

Other: Size Matters Handwriting Program

Control

NO INTERVENTION

All participants were receiving educational support in the form of IEP and/or RtI tier 2 interventions, and were participating in a support classroom where those services where being delivered. The control group consisted of 12 kindergarteners comprising all students in a kindergarten support classroom at a third school. They received no additional interventions.

Interventions

Size Matters Handwriting Program OTHER

The Size Matters Handwriting Program (Moskowitz, 2009) (SMHP) program incorporates principles grounded in motor learning theory, cognitive theory, and motivation theory. Children learn the importance of letter size by learning size 1 (capital and tall letters), size 2 (small letters) and size 3 letters (those that dive below the baseline) at different stages (Moskowitz, 2009). The intervention group received a total of 30 sessions of the SMHP, completed twice weekly over a 16 week period. Sessions lasted 30 minutes, and were led by an occupational therapist with training in the Size Matters Handwriting Program. All interventions were provided within the existing support classrooms. Each child had their own SMHP workbook.

Size Matters Handwriting Program

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 5 Years - 7 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Kindergartners receiving educational support in the form of IEP and/or RtI tier 2 interventions
• Must be in a support classroom where services are delivered

You may not qualify if:

• Children not in kindergarten
• Children not receiving IEP or Rtl tier 2 interventions

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Temple University: lead

Related Publications (10)

• Bradley R, Danielson L, Doolittle J. Response to intervention. J Learn Disabil. 2005 Nov-Dec;38(6):485-6. doi: 10.1177/00222194050380060201.

  PMID: 16392688 BACKGROUND

• Case-Smith J, Holland T, Bishop B. Effectiveness of an integrated handwriting program for first-grade students: a pilot study. Am J Occup Ther. 2011 Nov-Dec;65(6):670-8. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2011.000984.

  PMID: 22214111 BACKGROUND

• Case-Smith J, Holland T, Lane A, White S. Effect of a coteaching handwriting program for first graders: one-group pretest-posttest design. Am J Occup Ther. 2012 Jul-Aug;66(4):396-405. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2012.004333.

  PMID: 22742687 BACKGROUND

• Case-Smith J, Weaver L, Holland T. Effects of a classroom-embedded occupational therapist-teacher handwriting program for first-grade students. Am J Occup Ther. 2014 Nov-Dec;68(6):690-8. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2014.011585.

  PMID: 25397764 BACKGROUND

• Dunsmuir S, Blatchford P. Predictors of writing competence in 4- to 7-year-old children. Br J Educ Psychol. 2004 Sep;74(Pt 3):461-83. doi: 10.1348/0007099041552323.

  PMID: 15296550 BACKGROUND

• Feder KP, Majnemer A. Handwriting development, competency, and intervention. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2007 Apr;49(4):312-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2007.00312.x.

  PMID: 17376144 BACKGROUND

• Howe TH, Roston KL, Sheu CF, Hinojosa J. Assessing handwriting intervention effectiveness in elementary school students: a two-group controlled study. Am J Occup Ther. 2013 Jan-Feb;67(1):19-26. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2013.005470.

  PMID: 23245779 BACKGROUND

• James KH, Engelhardt L. The effects of handwriting experience on functional brain development in pre-literate children. Trends Neurosci Educ. 2012 Dec;1(1):32-42. doi: 10.1016/j.tine.2012.08.001.

  PMID: 25541600 BACKGROUND

• Ohl AM, Graze H, Weber K, Kenny S, Salvatore C, Wagreich S. Effectiveness of a 10-week tier-1 response to intervention program in improving fine motor and visual-motor skills in general education kindergarten students. Am J Occup Ther. 2013 Sep-Oct;67(5):507-14. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2013.008110.

  PMID: 23968788 BACKGROUND

• Pfeiffer B, Rai G, Murray T, Brusilovskiy E. Effectiveness of the Size Matters Handwriting Program. OTJR (Thorofare N J). 2015 Apr;35(2):110-9. doi: 10.1177/1539449215573004.

  PMID: 26460474 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Agraphia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Specific Learning Disorder; Learning Disabilities; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Beth Pfeiffer, PhD

  Temple University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2015
• First Posted: December 2, 2015
• Study Start: September 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2014
• Study Completion: May 1, 2015
• Last Updated: December 2, 2015

Record last verified: 2015-11