Pen-grip kinetics in children with and without handwriting difficulties

Introduction Handwriting difficulty (HD) is a widely discussed issue. Previous researchers have revealed many valuable kinematics related to the handwriting performance. However, a clear understanding of the kinetics of handwriting performance in children with HD is still lacking. Therefore, this st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2022-06, Vol.17 (6), p.e0270466-e0270466
Main Authors: Lin, Yu-Chen, Hsu, Chieh-Hsiang, Lin, Cheng-Feng, Hsu, Hsiu-Yun, Liu, Jin-Wei, Yeh, Chien-Hsien, Kuo, Li-Chieh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Biology and Life Sciences
Children
Dynamics
Elementary schools
Evaluation
Fingers
Handwriting
Kinematics
Kinetics
Medicine and Health Sciences
Motor ability
Penmanship
People and Places
Performance evaluation
Physical Sciences
Physiological aspects
Skills
Social Sciences
Writing
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Summary:Introduction Handwriting difficulty (HD) is a widely discussed issue. Previous researchers have revealed many valuable kinematics related to the handwriting performance. However, a clear understanding of the kinetics of handwriting performance in children with HD is still lacking. Therefore, this study investigated the writing performance of children with HD via a force acquisition pen (FAP), which detects the force applied from the digits and pen tip. Methods Data from 64 school-age children were divided into control (36 children without HD; mean age: 7.97 years) and HD (28 children with HD; mean age: 8.67 years) groups. The participants were asked to perform a tracing task using the FAP at their usual writing pace. Results Compared with the control group, the HD group had significantly less pen-tip force, an average amount of force (in-air) from all three digits, higher force variations (whole task) in the index finger, less force fluctuations with the index and middle fingers and a smaller force ratio. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that an understanding of the handwriting kinetics and the role of digits in handwriting may be crucial for further planning strategies for handwriting training for children with HD.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0270466