Marie Brossard-Racine1, Michael Shevell2, Laurie Snider2, Stacey Ageranioti Bélanger3, Marilyse Julien3, Annette Majnemer4. 1. Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. 2. McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 3. Centre Hospitalier Universitaire-Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 4. McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada annette.majnemer@mcgill.ca.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Children with ADHD often present with handwriting difficulties. However, the extent to which motor and attention skills influence performance in this group has not yet been explored. The objective of this study was to examine the factors associated with change in handwriting performance. METHOD: This study examines the factors associated with change in handwriting performance of 49 children newly diagnosed with ADHD (mean age = 8.4 [SD=1.3] years) prior to and 3 months following use of a stimulant medication. RESULTS: Handwriting legibility and speed improved significantly at follow-up evaluation. However, most of the children with legibility difficulties at baseline continued to demonstrate difficulties when evaluated 3 months after initiation of medication. Change in handwriting legibility was best determined by improvements in visual-motor integration skills (β = 0.07-0.10; p < .001), while the change in speed did not appear to be consistently related to a single factor. CONCLUSION: Handwriting difficulties are common in children with ADHD, and medication alone is not sufficient to resolve these challenges.
OBJECTIVE:Children with ADHD often present with handwriting difficulties. However, the extent to which motor and attention skills influence performance in this group has not yet been explored. The objective of this study was to examine the factors associated with change in handwriting performance. METHOD: This study examines the factors associated with change in handwriting performance of 49 children newly diagnosed with ADHD (mean age = 8.4 [SD=1.3] years) prior to and 3 months following use of a stimulant medication. RESULTS: Handwriting legibility and speed improved significantly at follow-up evaluation. However, most of the children with legibility difficulties at baseline continued to demonstrate difficulties when evaluated 3 months after initiation of medication. Change in handwriting legibility was best determined by improvements in visual-motor integration skills (β = 0.07-0.10; p < .001), while the change in speed did not appear to be consistently related to a single factor. CONCLUSION:Handwriting difficulties are common in children with ADHD, and medication alone is not sufficient to resolve these challenges.
Authors: Kristina A Neely; Amanda P Chennavasin; Arie Yoder; Genevieve K R Williams; Eric Loken; Cynthia L Huang-Pollock Journal: Exp Brain Res Date: 2016-07-09 Impact factor: 1.972
Authors: Cecilia W P Li-Tsang; Tim M H Li; Mandy S W Lau; Choco H Y Ho; Howard W H Leung Journal: Int J Methods Psychiatr Res Date: 2018-05-15 Impact factor: 4.035