Graphomotor skills in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD): Handwriting and learning a new letter

The aim of the present study was to analyze handwriting difficulties in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and investigate the hypothesis that a deficit in procedural learning could help to explain them. The experimental set-up was designed to compare the performances of children with DCD with those of a non-DCD group on tasks that rely on motor learning in different ways, namely handwriting and learning a new letter. Ten children with DCD and 10 non-DCD children, aged 8–10 years, were asked to perform handwriting tasks (letter/word/sentence; normal/fast), and a learning task (new letter) on a graphic tablet. The BHK concise assessment scale for children’s handwriting was used to evaluate their handwriting quality. Results showed that both the handwriting and learning tasks differentiated between the groups. Furthermore, when speed or length constraints were added, handwriting was more impaired in children with DCD than in non-DCD children. Greater intra-individual variability was observed in the group of children with DCD, arguing in favor of a deficit in motor pattern stabilization. The results of this study could support both the hypothesis of a deficit in procedural learning and the hypothesis of neuromotor noise in DCD.     

Dyslexic children fail to comply with the rhythmic constraints of handwriting

In this study, we sought to demonstrate that deficits in a specific motor activity, handwriting, are associated to Developmental Dyslexia. The linguistic and writing performance of children with Developmental Dyslexia, with and without handwriting problems (dysgraphia), were compared to that of children with Typical Development. The quantitative kinematic variables of handwriting were collected by means of a digitizing tablet. The results showed that all children with Developmental Dyslexia wrote more slowly than those with Typical Development. Contrary to typically developing children, they also varied more in the time taken to write the individual letters of a word and failed to comply with the principles of isochrony and homothety. Moreover, a series of correlations was found among reading, language measures and writing measures suggesting that the two abilities may be linked. We propose that the link between handwriting and reading/language deficits is mediated by rhythm, as both reading (which is grounded on language) and handwriting are ruled by principles of rhythmic organization.     

Parent–child interactions during traditional and interactive media settings: A pilot randomized control study

Parent–child interactions are pivotal for children's socioemotional development, yet might suffer with increased attention to screen media, as research has suggested. In response, we hypothesized that parent–child play on a tablet computer, as representative of interactive media, would generate higher‐quality parent–child interactions than toy play or watching TV . We examined the emotional availability of mothers and their 2‐year‐old child during the previous three contexts using a randomized crossover design (n = 22) in a laboratory room. Among other results, mothers were more sensitive and structuring during joint gaming on a tablet than when engaged in toy play or watching TV . In addition, mothers were more hostile toward their children during play with traditional toys than during joint tablet gaming and television co‐viewing. Such findings provide new insights into the impact of new media on parent–child interactions, chiefly by demonstrating that interactive media devices such as tablets can afford growth‐enhancing parent–child interactions.     

数学不良儿童的书写运动控制特征

选取小学生47名,其中23名为数学不良,24名为一般儿童,使用数码写字板,测试二者在自然和双任务条件下,书写一条横线的速度、加速度。结果发现：（1）自然条件下书写,MD儿童的速度、加速度与一般儿童相一致,两者的差异均不显著。（2）双任务条件下书写,MD儿童的总体平均速度、加速度明显慢于一般儿童的,两者的差异均显著。     

Tablet Use in Young Children is Associated with Advanced Fine Motor Skills

Abstract

To evaluate whether frequent interactive tablet-use at preschool age is associated with improved fine motor skills and to describe tablet-use in young children. Cross-sectional study with 78 children, aged 24–42?months: group 1 with previous frequent tablet-use exposure (n?=?26), group 2 without previous tablet-use exposure (n?=?52). Fine motor skills were evaluated with the Bayley-III. Socioeconomic data and home environment quality were similar in both groups. Fine motor skills of group 1 were better than those of group 2 (p?=?0.013). Most participating children carried out passive and active tablet activities, usually accompanied by parents, not exceeding time recommendations for young age. We observed a difference in fine motor skills in young children slightly favoring those with tablet-use experience.     

计算机时代的书写心理学

计算机的普及使人们阅读及书写的能力降低, 这引发了社会对书写的关注。书写涉及大量高级神经活动, 与认知、人格、疾病等均有关联, 对个体发展也具有重要作用。现代书写心理学通过使用书写板等设备, 实现了对书写过程及结果的量化研究, 发现了书写速度、压力、握笔等指标与智力、认知负荷等的一些关联。未来对书写过程的研究可以进一步深入; 测量方面的研究成果可以应用到日常人机交互及教学、司法等实践中; 还可以研究用书写促进个体认知及人格发展的具体途径。     

Handwriting on a tablet screen: Role of visual and proprioceptive feedback in the control of movement by children and adults

Tablets are increasingly being used in schools for a variety of handwriting tasks. Given that the control of handwriting relies on both visual and proprioceptive feedback, especially in younger writers, this raises the question of whether the texture of the tablet surface affects graphomotor execution. A series of recent studies found that when the smoothness of a tablet screen modifies proprioceptive feedback, the impact on graphomotor execution varies according to the level of the writer’s handwriting skills. However, as the writing on the screen remained visible in these studies, participants may have compensated for the decrease in proprioceptive feedback by relying more heavily on visual information. The aim of the present study was therefore to unravel the respective contributions of different types of sensory feedback during handwriting development and, consequently, the compensatory role of visual information when children and adults have to write on a tablet. To this end, we asked second and fifth graders and adult participants to write letters and pseudowords on a plastic board placed on top of a tablet screen. Participants wrote on either the smooth or the granular side of the plastic board (manipulation of surface friction), and with normal vision or behind a shield that hid the hand and handwriting from direct view (manipulation of vision). Kinematic parameters and legibility were recorded to assess handwriting performances. Results revealed a significant interaction between proprioceptive and visual feedback on letter size, pen speed and legibility, regardless of participants’ age. Furthermore, reducing the visual and proprioceptive feedback had a greater effect on the children’s handwriting performances than on those of adults. Overall, the present study provides new insight into the contribution of the different types of sensory feedback and their interaction with handwriting development. In addition, our results on the impact of tablet surface on graphomotor execution will serve as useful pointers for improving the design of this tool for children, such as increasing the degree of friction of the screen surface.     

Interactive apps prevent gender discrepancies in early‐grade mathematics in a low‐income country in sub‐Sahara Africa

Globally, gender differences are reported in the early acquisition of reading and mathematics as girls tend to outperform boys in reading, whereas boys tend to outperform girls in mathematics. This can have long‐term impact resulting in an under‐representation of girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects. Recent research suggests that sociocultural factors account for differences across genders in the acquisition of these foundational skills. In this study, we investigated whether a new technology‐based intervention, that included activities accessible to both boys and girls, can reduce gender differences from emerging during the early primary school years. The novel instructional method used in this study employed apps developed by onebillion© delivered individually through touch‐screen tablets. Over a series of experiments conducted in Malawi, a low‐income country in sub‐Sahara Africa, we found that when children were exposed to standard pedagogical practice typical gender differences emerged over the first grade (Experiment 1). In contrast, boys and girls learnt equally well with the new interactive apps designed to support the learning of mathematics (Experiment 2) and reading (Experiment 3). When implemented at the start of primary education, before significant gender discrepancies become established, this novel technology‐based intervention can prevent significant gender effects for mathematics. These results demonstrate that different instructional practices influence the emergence of gender disparities in early mathematics. Digital interventions can mitigate gender differences in countries where standard pedagogical instruction typically hinders girls from acquiring early mathematical skills at the same rate as boys. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55x-6hhAY9M&feature=youtu.be