Graphomotor Intervention Program for Handwriting Difficulties Prevention in Preschool Age

NCT03699787 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 05102018
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 63
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

12-30% of children present handwriting difficulties, which has negative repercussions on their school career. For this reason, it is fundamental to bet on their prevention. The aim of present study is to examine the effects of a graphomotor intervention program on graphomotor competences in children in the last year of preschool education. This experimental study is a randomized controlled trial. The program will run for 8 weeks (2 sessions/week of 30 minutes), followed by 6 months of follow-up without intervention. Participants will be assessed 1) at baseline, 2) at the end of the program, and 3) after the follow-up. Participants will be randomly allocated to two groups: experimental group (graphomotor intervention program) and control group.

Conditions

Typical Development; Risk of Dysgraphia; Dysgraphia

Keywords

Graphomotor intervention program; Preschool children; Graphomotor competences; Prevention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Change from Baseline, between and within groups comparison, in Manual Preference

  Outcome Measure - Manual Preference Questionnaire to assess manual preference

  0, 4, 10 months

• Change from Baseline, between and within groups comparison, in Motor Performance

  Outcome Measure - Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition to assess manual dexterity, aiming and catching and balance

  0, 4, 10 months

• Change from Baseline, between and within groups comparison, in Visual-Motor Integration

  Outcome Measure - Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition to assess visual-motor integration, visual perception and motor coordination

  0, 4, 10 months

• Change from Baseline, between and within groups comparison, in Computerized Handwriting Process Measures

  Outcome Measure - The MovAlyzeR to assess spatial, temporal and kinematic variables of handwriting

  0, 4, 10 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Sociodemographic characteristics

  0 months

Study Arms (2)

Graphomotor intervention program

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group (EG) intervention comprises a graphomotor intervention program according to a psychomotor approach. The program integrates two group sessions (6-8 children)/week of 30 minutes for 8 weeks (16 sessions).

Other: Graphomotor intervention program

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

The control group (CG) participants will maintain their normal classroom activities. After the study, control group participants will be offered the opportunity to integrate a similar graphomotor intervention program.

Interventions

Graphomotor intervention program OTHER

The graphomotor intervention program aims to promote the development and reinforcement, different skills involved in the learning process of handwriting and has a preventive character. It follows a bodily, playful, multisensory, exploratory (sensory integration) and neuromotor task training approach and focuses on the following intervention domains: segmental awareness, passive relaxation, trunk-limb dissociation, interdigital coordination, attention, planning, spatial organization/orientation and perception.

Graphomotor intervention program

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Children in the last year of preschool education (aged 5 years old);
• Participation agreement.

You may not qualify if:

• Diagnosed or suspected of neurological disabilities (e.g., cerebral palsy, epilepsy), psychiatric and/or behavioural disorders;
• Presence of uncorrected vision and hearing problems;
• Referenced by Special Education/National Service of Early Intervention in Childhood;
• Native language is not Portuguese;
• Children with direct intervention in graphomotor skills or who had a similar intervention to that proposed less than 1 year ago;
• Participation in the intervention program of less than 80%;
• Children undergoing drug therapy (e.g., antihistamines) that interfere with the study variables;
• Do not wish to participate in the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Évora: lead

Study Sites (1)

Helena Isabel Falcão Coradinho

Evora, 7040, Portugal

Location

Related Publications (19)

• Alhusaini AA, Melam GR, Buragadda S. Short-term sensorimotor-based intervention for handwriting performance in elementary school children. Pediatr Int. 2016 Nov;58(11):1118-1123. doi: 10.1111/ped.13004. Epub 2016 Jul 7.

  PMID: 27085075 BACKGROUND

• Soppelsa R, Albaret JM. Caractéristiques de la dysgraphie ou du trouble de l'apprentissage de la graphomotricité (TAG) au collège. A.N.A.E. 2014 Fev; 128:1-6. Available at: http://www.psychomot.ups-tlse.fr/Soppelsa-Albaret2014.pdf

  BACKGROUND

• Lachaux-Parker C. Troubles de l'écriture et psychomotricité. Revue francophone d'orthoptie. 2012; 5:143-7. doi: 10.1016/j.rfo.2013.02.002

  BACKGROUND

• Borghese NA, Palmiotto C, Essenziale J, Mainetti R, Granocchio E, Molteni B et al. Assessment of Exergames as Treatment and Prevention of Dysgraphia. In: Ibáñez J, González-Vargas J, Azorín J, Akay M, Pons J. Converging Clinical and Engineering Research on Neurorehabilitation II. Cham: Springer; 2017. p. 431-6.

  BACKGROUND

• Graham S, Harris KR. Preventing Writing Difficulties: Providing Additional Handwriting and Spelling Instruction to At-Risk Children in First Grade. Teaching Exceptional Children. 2006 May/Jun; 38(5):64-66. doi: 10.1177/004005990603800509

  BACKGROUND

• Graham S, Harris KR, & Fink B. Is handwriting causally related to learning to write? Treatment of handwriting problems in beginning writers. Journal of Educational Psychology. 2000; 92(4):620-33. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.92.4.620

  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

• Morin MF, Bara F, Alamargot D. Apprentissage de la graphomotricité à l'école: Quelles acquisitions? Quelles pratiques? Quels outils?. Scientia Paedagogica Experimentalis. 2017 Jul; 54(1-2):47-84. Available at: https://researchgate.net/publication/204380193_Apprentissage_de_la_graphomotricite_a_l'école_Quelles_acquisitions_Quelles_pratiques_Quels_outils

  BACKGROUND

• Zeziger P, Deonna T, Mayor C. L'acquisition de l'écriture. Enfance. 2000; 3:295-304. Available at: http://www.persee.fr/doc/enfan_0013-7545_2000_num_53_3_3186

  BACKGROUND

• Puranik CS, Lonigan CJ. From Scribbles to Scrabble: Preschool Children's Developing Knowledge of Written Language. Read Writ. 2011 May;24(5):567-589. doi: 10.1007/s11145-009-9220-8.

  PMID: 22448101 BACKGROUND

• Marr D, Cermak S, Cohn ES, Henderson A. Fine motor activities in Head Start and kindergarten classrooms. Am J Occup Ther. 2003 Sep-Oct;57(5):550-7. doi: 10.5014/ajot.57.5.550.

  PMID: 14527117 BACKGROUND

• Lifshitz N, Har-Zvi S. A Comparison Between Students Who Receive and Who Do Not Receive a Writing Readiness Interventions on Handwriting Quality, Speed and Positive Reactions. Early Childhood Educ J. 2014 Jan; 43(1):47-55. doi: 10.1007/s10643-013-0629-y

  BACKGROUND

• Dinehart L. Handwriting in early childhood education: Current research and future implications. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. 2015 Mar; 15(1):97-118. doi: 10.1177/1468798414522825

  BACKGROUND

• Donica D, Goins A, Wagner L. Effectiveness of Handwriting Readiness Programs on Postural Control, Hand Control, and Letter and Number Formation in Head Start Classrooms. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention. 2013 Dec; 6(2):81-93. doi: 10.1080/19411243.2013.810938

  BACKGROUND

• van Hartingsveldt MJ, De Groot IJ, Aarts PB, Nijhuis-Van Der Sanden MW. Standardized tests of handwriting readiness: a systematic review of the literature. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2011 Jun;53(6):506-15. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2010.03895.x. Epub 2011 Feb 11.

  PMID: 21309763 BACKGROUND

• Beery KE. The Developmental Test of Visual/Motor Integration. CJeveland: Modern Curriculum Press; 1982.

  BACKGROUND

• Spanaki I, Venetsanou F, Evaggelinou C, Skordilis E. Graphomotor skills of Greek kindergarten and elementar school children: effect of a fine motor intervention program. Comprehensive Psychology. 2014 Jan; 2(3):1-10. doi: 10.2466/01.09.IT.3.2

  BACKGROUND

• Lust CA, Donica DK. Effectiveness of a handwriting readiness program in head start: a two-group controlled trial. Am J Occup Ther. 2011 Sep-Oct;65(5):560-8. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2011.000612.

  PMID: 22026324 BACKGROUND

• Matias A, Vieira C. Programa de intervenção grafomotora. [In press].

  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

• Helena IF Coradinho, MSc

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 5, 2018
• First Posted: October 9, 2018
• Study Start: October 15, 2018
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2019
• Study Completion: December 31, 2019
• Last Updated: March 27, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PT (1)