Writing Characteristics of Taiwanese Students with Handwriting Difficulties

Author: Ying-Ti Li(Chung Hsiao Junior High School of Taipei County)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 49, No. 2
Date：October 2004
Pages：43-64
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2004104902003

Abstract：

The purpose of this study was to compare the handwriting performance and error types of third-graders with and without handwriting difficulties (HWD). Twenty-three non-dyslexic third-graders with HWD and twenty-three grade-match (GM) normal students served as subjects. All the participants were measured for their handwriting performance in six tasks: near-copying familiar (Chinese) characters, far-copying familiar characters, near-copying unfamiliar characters, far-copying unfamiliar characters, copying a short essay, and free writing.
The main findings of this research project are as follows:
(1)Ranked in decreasing order of handwriting speed for both GM and HWD subjects were: copying a short essay, copying familiar characters, copying unfamiliar characters, and free writing. The main difference between the GM and HWD groups was that while the HWD group near-copied familiar characters faster than they far-copied familiar characters, there was no significant difference in the GM group.
(2)Performances in the character copying, short essay copying and free writing tasks had a significant degree of correlation in the GM group, as did performances in the character copying and short essay copying in the HWD group.
(3)The following characteristics were observed in the HWD group: more irregular character size; more correctly formed characters with inconsistent component size and spacing in far-copying and short essay copying; more incorrectly formed characters with nonexistent components but correct configurational structures in all copying tasks; more incorrectly formed characters with the existence components and correct configurational structures in the free writing task.

Keywords：elementary school students, error types, handwriting difficulties

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