Effect of Pencil Grasp on the Speed and Legibility of Handwriting in Children

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. Pencil grasps other than the dynamic tripod may be functional for handwriting. This study examined the impact of grasp on handwriting speed and legibility. METHOD. We videotaped 120 typically developing fourth-grade students while they performed a writing task. We categorized the grasps they used and evaluated their writing for speed and legibility using a handwriting assessment. Using linear regression analysis, we examined the relationship between grasp and handwriting. RESULTS. We documented six categories of pencil grasp: four mature grasp patterns, one immature grasp pattern, and one alternating grasp pattern. Multiple linear regression results revealed no significant effect for mature grasp on either legibility or speed. CONCLUSION. Pencil grasp patterns did not influence handwriting speed or legibility in this sample of typically developing children. This finding adds to the mounting body of evidence that alternative grasps may be acceptable for fast and legible handwriting.

Writing Forces Associated With Four Pencil Grasp Patterns in Grade 4 Children

“…The difference may be the result of the need to increase digit force to compensate for the lack of thumb opposition when the tripod or quadrupod is lost (Soechting & Flanders, 2008). That being said, the difference in mean grip force occurred only during CHES 1, which, because no difference was found in legibility or speed of writing among the four grasp patterns, corroborates previous results of similarity in function of grasp patterns (Koziatek & Powell, 2003;Schwellnus et al, 2012). Further research could investigate a similar protocol with an even longer copy task to determine whether these results hold for older students who may be required to write >14 min.…”

“…Other research has found similar results (Dennis & Swinth, 2001;Koziatek & Powell, 2003;Schwellnus et al, 2012), which further supports the need to determine whether these grasp patterns can be treated as kinetically equivalent. Note.…”

“…Three other pencil grasp patterns-namely, the dynamic quadrupod (DQ), the lateral tripod (LT), and the lateral quadrupod (LQ) pencil grasps-are suggested to be mature grasps that are functional in terms of speed or legibility for writing (Dennis & Swinth, 2001;Koziatek & Powell, 2003). The prevalence of each of these grasp patterns in children is comparable to that of the DT grasp (Koziatek & Powell, 2003;Schwellnus et al, 2012). In mature pencil grasps, the intrinsic muscles of the hand are responsible for the movement of the pencil within the hand (Elliott & Connolly, 1984).…”

“…All children completed the CHES twice, once before a 10-min copy task (CHES 1) and once after the copy task (CHES 2). A 10-min-long copy task was previously found to be sufficient to fatigue Grade 3 students (Parush, Pindak, et al, 1998), and this duration of writing did significantly alter scores for perceived effort in Grade 4 students (Schwellnus et al, 2012).…”

Análise psicométrica dos itens da Avaliação da Coordenação e Destreza Motora (ACOORDEM) em crianças de 4 anos

“…Além de itens motores e dos questionários para pais e professores, a ACOORDEM inclui duas provas de escrita -cópia do alfabeto e de sentença simplesnas quais são avaliadas questões como velocidade e legibilidade, sendo também registrado o padrão de preensão no lápis, dentre os dez padrões descritos por Schneck e Henderson 14 . Embora não exista consenso na literatura acerca da influência dos diferentes padrões de preensão no lápis na qualidade da escrita 15 observase maior frequência de padrões atípicos entre crianças com problemas de coordenação motora 16 . Assim, é importante registar os padrões de preensão no lápis observados em crianças brasileiras, pois isso pode contribuir para o diagnóstico motor.…”