Keyboarding for students with handwriting problems: a literature review.

A literature review is presented regarding keyboarding for school students experiencing handwriting difficulties. Despite the overall dearth of research, some general conclusions appear warranted. Students need to be able to keyboard at least as fast as they can handwrite and should learn the touch-keyboarding method if possible. Appropriate instruction appears critical for the development of keyboarding competency. The upper elementary age is an appropriate time to start teaching keyboarding, with students possibly requiring 25-30 total hours of instruction. Students experiencing handwriting difficulties might need customized goals and strategies. Although the existing literature regarding the role of performance components in keyboarding provides some direction to clinicians, further investigation is required.