Poor Handwriting in Children with and Without DCD: Exploring the Relationship Between Product and Process Characteristics

Poor handwriting is a common issue in the general school population, particularly among children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). A comprehensive handwriting assessment could combine traditional paper-and-pencil methods with computer-based analyses that objectively evaluate factors such as writing speed, pressure, and letter height. However, the literature provides mixed evidence on the relationship between these process-based factors and handwriting legibility. This study explores the relationship between selected process-based factors and traditional product-based measures of handwriting quality in children with DCD and typically developing (TD) children. We evaluated 96 typically developing children (mean age: 113.64 months, SD: 7.68) and 22 children with DCD (mean age: 110.28 months, SD: 9.12) from the 3rd and 4th grades, matched by age. Traditional product-based handwriting assessments, including the BHK (which evaluates legibility and speed) and the VMI (which assesses visual-motor integration), were conducted. These were compared with computer-based measures of the handwriting process, including writing velocity (V), axial pen pressure (APP), and letter height (LH). The tasks involved three handwriting exercises (repeating letters under normal, fast, and accurate conditions) and two drawing exercises (repeating wheels and eggs). In nearly all tasks, we observed a moderate positive correlation between BHK legibility scores and two process-based variables: V and LH. No significant correlation was found between legibility and APP. Our preliminary results suggest that higher writing velocity and larger letter dimensions may serve as key indicators for identifying poor handwriting. These findings underscore the importance of further investigation into letter dimension analysis in both children with DCD and typically developing populations.