Phenotyping features in the genesis of pre-scriptural gestures in children to assess handwriting developmental levels

Abstract

Acquiring writing skills is a long developmental process that is conditioned by both the mastery of the gesture and the spatio-temporal arrangement of characters across the page. While the researches in the literature mainly focused on spatio-temporal and kinematics parameters of tracing letters or words using digitizing tablets, no recent research has previously studied the developmental prerequisites of the organization of handwriting useful for clinical assessment and remediation. Aims of the present study was to investigate and validate the phenotyping of the developmental genesis of pre-scriptural graphomotor gestures among school-aged children in achieving correct handwriting. The subject was examined in depth in an ecological setting similar to school, with the objective of assessing handwriting developmental levels. The pre-scriptural graphomotor task studied was to copy a line of cycloid loops on a paper sheet put on the table. This task was chosen because it reflects the execution of the hand movements from one end of the line to the other and in an anti-clockwise direction, as in handwriting. A new methodological approach was applied incorporating both the maturative evolution of postural-gestural features (video-recorded for analysis in 2D reconstruction) and spatio-temporal/kinematic measures collected with a digital pen connected to an analysis software tool to assess the developmental level and provide an understanding of the phenotypical features of the graphomotor gesture. And we also evidence the concurrent validity of the data in displacements, and the better are the spatio-temporal and kinematic measures. Consequently there are phenotypical features, both postural-gestural and spatio-temporal/kinematic in the developmental genesis of the graphomotor gesture with an easy pre-scriptural task. Typically developing school children from 1st to 5th grade, was collected from elementary schools. Five main patterns of displacement gestures were found for the production of the line of loops with a significant developmental progress from 1st to 5th grade. In addition, significant results in comparisons with spatio-temporal and kinematic age-related normative data were highlighted, associated with the quality of the coordination gesture. Lastly external validity in relation to normative values with the standardized handwriting scale BHK (French adaptation of the Concise Evaluation Scale for Children’s handwriting) showed certain significant correlations with spatio-temporal and kinematic measures and the evolution of the displacement gestures (five patterns) used to draw the loops. The better the motor control of the handwriting gesture, the less variety there is in inter-segmental and joint-scriptural task, enabling handwriting developmental levels to be assessed in screening for handwriting disorders, possibly co-occurring with other learning disabilities, and also useful in clinical decision-making processes for handwriting remediation, or simply to assist handwriting gesture acquisition in elementary school.

Influence of visual control on the quality of graphic gesture in children with handwriting disorders

“…Indeed, when children close their eyes and move away from visual control, the postural and gestural organization becomes significantly more mature and relaxed: straightening the head and trunk, relaxing the shoulders, more academic position of the hand and more frequent flexion–extension movements of the fingers. This follows the evolution of postural and gestural norms highlighted from first to fifth grade in Vaivre-Douret et al 10 and Vaivre-Douret and Lopez 11 . On the other hand, closing the eyes had no significant influence on the spatial, temporal and kinematic organization of the loops.…”

“…The children in our study were assessed using a simple, repetitive and early automated test (derived from a previously validated open-eye pregraphic task 10 , 11 ) consisting in drawing a line of cycloid loops with eyes closed. Unlike handwriting, this task assesses the organization of the graphomotor gesture without requiring memorization, phonological integration, spelling, and long-term memory skills for the letter motor programs.…”

“…Visual feedback provides information about the spatial characteristics of the letters, while proprioceptive/kinesthetic feedback provides information about the position and coordination of the segments and joints of the writing arm and the pressure exerted on the pen 9 . At around 8–9 years of age, the child begins to integrate the shape of the letters into long-term memory and thus to automate the trajectories of the letters, their execution and gestural control are dependent on both sensory feedback and the internal representation of the movement 5 , using a more mature scheme of the postural and segmental and articular organization of the writing arm 10 , 11 . With practice according to school levels, and therefore age, handwriting becomes more automatic and the control of movement becomes more and more proactive 10 – 12 .…”

“…At around 8–9 years of age, the child begins to integrate the shape of the letters into long-term memory and thus to automate the trajectories of the letters, their execution and gestural control are dependent on both sensory feedback and the internal representation of the movement 5 , using a more mature scheme of the postural and segmental and articular organization of the writing arm 10 , 11 . With practice according to school levels, and therefore age, handwriting becomes more automatic and the control of movement becomes more and more proactive 10 – 12 . Thus, from the age of 9–10 years, the size of the strokes progressively increases and the gesture is less dependent on the visual control resulting from an internal representation of the movement.…”

“…In the present study, we compared the graphomotor gesture of typically developing children and children with handwriting disorders during a prescriptural task of copying a line of loops (previouly validated 10 , 11 ) performed in two conditions: one with eyes openned, the other with eyes closed. We analyzed the effect of vision suppression both on the children’s postural and gestural organization and on the spatial, temporal and kinematic parameters of the loop drawings.…”