A novel system is proposed for analysing school-age children's force control while handwriting. We observed the development of force control in relation to pen grip among the children with different ages in this study. The findings suggested that manipulation skill may be crucial when children are establishing their handwriting capabilities.

Background/ObjectivePatients with schizophrenia not only have psychiatric symptoms, but also have movement problems, which might also be associated with their reduced quality of life. Little is known about how to improve their movement performance for patients. Manipulating object size and distance is common in occupational therapy practice to evaluate and optimize reaching performance in patients with physical disabilities, but effects of the manipulation in patients with schizophrenia remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine whether object size and distance could change performance of reaching kinematics in patients with mild schizophrenia.MethodsTwenty-nine patients with mild schizophrenia and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were required to reach for, as quickly as possible, a small or large object that was placed at a near or far distance. We measured movement time, peak velocity, path length ratio, percentage of time to peak velocity, and movement units to infer movement speed, forcefulness, spatial efficiency (directness), control strategies, and smoothness.ResultsPatients’ reaching movements were slower (p = .017) and less direct (p = .007) than those of controls. A larger object induced faster (p = .016), more preprogrammed (p = .018), and more forceful (p = .010) movements in patients. A farther object induced slower, more feedback dependent, but more forceful and more direct movements (all p < .001).ConclusionThe results of kinematic deficiencies suggest the need of movement training for patients with mild schizophrenia. Occupational therapists may grade or adapt reaching activities by changing object size and distance to enhance movement performance in patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia affects not only mental function but also movement. We compared the movement of patients with mild schizophrenia and healthy control participants during a bimanual assembly task and examined whether changes in object size affected unimanual and bimanual movements. Fifteen patients with schizophrenia and 15 age- and gender-matched control participants were instructed to bimanually reach for and assemble objects. We manipulated the object size for the left hand (large vs. small) and measured movement time, peak velocity, and bimanual synchronization to represent movement speed, forcefulness, and bimanual coordination. Patients with schizophrenia showed slower and less forceful unimanual movements and less coordinated bimanual movements than control participants. Increasing the object size elicited faster and more forceful unimanual movements and more coordinated bimanual movements in patients. The results suggest the need for movement rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia and the possibility of manipulating object size to optimize patients' movements. These results benefit the practice of evidence-based therapy.

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A fast-moving target might elicit faster, smoother, and more synchronized movements than might a slow-moving target during a bimanual assembly task for patients with mild schizophrenia. The findings of impaired movement kinematics under the slow-target condition suggest that patients with schizophrenia need movement training.

Background. Knowledge regarding the relationship between writing kinetics and the difference among writing tasks is limited. Purpose. This study examined the differences in handwriting performance when doing tasks with different levels of challenge from both temporal and kinetic perspectives among children in four different age groups. Method. The cross-sectional design introduced a force-acquisition pen to detect differences of pen grip and writing kinetics among 170 school-age children doing writing tasks at different difficulty levels. Data were obtained on the force information of the digits and pen tip and the kinetic parameters to examine the coordination-and-control mechanism between the digits and pen. Statistical analyzes were carried out to indicate the differences in writing performance among groups and tasks. Findings. Statistical differences in the pen-grip forces, force fluctuation, and force ratio between grip and pen-tip forces were found when performing different writing tasks and among different age groups. Implications. The study provides an alternative method to explore how writing performance among school-age children can vary according to the difficulty of the writing tasks. Abré gé Description. Les connaissances concernant la relation entre la cinétique de l'écriture et la différence entre les tâches d'écriture sont limitées. But. Cette étude examinait les différences entre les performances à l'écrit d'enfants de quatre groupes d'âges différents, lors de l'exécution de tâches ayant différents degrés de difficulté, d'un point de vue temporel et cinétique. Mé thodologie. Ce devis transversal comprenait un stylo muni d'un système permettant de recueillir des données sur la force, afin de détecter les différences entre les forces de préhension et la cinétique d'écriture de 170 enfants d'âge scolaire pendant qu'ils effectuaient des tâches d'écriture ayant différents degrés de difficultés. Des données ont été obtenues sur la force exercée par les doigts sur le barillet et la force exercée sur la pointe du stylo et sur les paramètres de la cinétique, en vue d'examiner le mécanisme de coordination et de contrô le entre les doigts et le stylo. Des analyses statistiques ont été effectuées pour indiquer les différences entre les différents groupes et tâches, en ce qui concerne la performance à l'écrit. Ré sultats. Des différences statistiques ont été constatées entre les forces de préhension exercées sur le stylo, la fluctuation des forces et le rapport entre la force de préhension et les forces exercées sur la pointe du stylo lors de l'exécution de différentes tâches d'écriture et dans les différents groupes d'âges. Conséquences. L'étude propose une méthode différente pour explorer comment la performance à l'écrit des enfants d'âge scolaire peut varier en fonction du degré de difficulté des tâches d'écriture.

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