Pre-handwriting skills and Executive Function in pre-schoolers

Background and aim Handwriting is a complex task and requires integration of cognition, graphomotor skills and Executive Functions. The role of handwriting automation and EF in the writing process is known primarily from school-based studies: there is a relationship between handwriting and EF in learning writing skills, particularly in the early years of primary school. The link between the emerging writing skills and EF in pre-schoolers isn’t so evident though. Identifying the relationship between these skills can help provide better support for children who have handwriting difficulties, as well as children with DCD. The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the relationship of pre-handwriting skills and the EF in pre-schoolers, such as Working Memory and Planning/Organization of the actions involved in the handwriting process. The study aimed to outline the developmental progress and possible gender effects underlying the processes. Method 166 typical developing pre-schoolers (aged 39 to 71 months) performed Shore Handwriting Screening (SHS), an assessment tool to evaluate pre-handwriting in children through tasks like drawing, colouring, copying of images and letters and cutting. 60 of them (aged 39 to 59 months) performed the Executive Function Battery for pre-schoolers (BAFE), this 4-task test consists of stroop-effect cards, pattern-making, card-sorting and ’spin the pots’. Meanwhile, parents answered the Behavior Rating Index of Executive Function (BRIEF-P). Results The results showed significant age and gender effects in pre-handwriting skills: older children performed significantly better than younger children and girls performed better than boys in the SHS tasks. Regarding EF, the indirect measures (BRIEF-P) showed no differences between age groups. The direct measures (BAFE) showed that 4-year-olds performed significantly better than 3-year-olds. No gender differences emerged. Prehandwriting skills and EF appeared significantly correlated both direct and indirect measurements. In particular the SHS total score correlated with the Emergent Metacognition Index (BRIEF-P) and with ”pattern-making” (BAFE). Children who have better Working Memory and Planning/Organization skills are the children that have better performances in pre-handwriting tasks. Discussion and conclusion Our data indicate a relationship between pre-handwriting skills and EF in pre-schoolers. To our knowledge, this relationship has been little investigated in literature in this age group. Our results could therefore be important to interventions with poor pre-handwriting children and to better understand the skills implicate in the writing process before primary school.