Handwriting and Perceptual-Motor Skills in Clumsy, Dysgraphic, and ‘Normal’ Children

Abstract

Among various perceptual-motor tests, only visuomotor integration was significant in predicting accuracy of handwriting performance for the total sample of 59 children consisting of 19 clumsy children, 22 nonclumsy dysgraphic children, and 18 ‘normal’ children. They were selected from a sample of 360 fourth-graders (10-yr.-olds). For groups of clumsy and ‘normal’ children, the prediction of handwriting performance is difficult. However, correlations among scores on 6 measures showed that handwriting was significantly related to visuomotor integration, visual form perception, and tracing in the total group and to visuomotor integration and visual form perception in the clumsy group. The weakest correlations occurred between tests measuring simple psychomotor functions and handwriting. Moreover, clumsy children were expected to do poorly on tests measuring aiming, tracing, and visuomotor integration, but not on tests measuring visual form perception and finger tapping. Dysgraphic children were expected to do poorly on visuomotor integration only.