Handwriting skills and Sensory processing and in children aged 6 to 7 years and 11 months
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34624/id.v16i4.37621Keywords:
sensory processing, handwriting skills, school context, discriminative validityAbstract
This study investigated the relationship between sensory processing and handwriting skills in children aged 6 to 7 years and 11 months, enrolled in regular education. The sample included 191 children, assessed using the Handwriting Skills Questionnaire, developed and validated specifically for this study, and the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) – Classroom Form. During the development phase of the questionnaire, a rigorous methodology was followed, including content validation and exploratory factor analysis, resulting in a final version with 25 items distributed across four dimensions: Formation of Letters, Visuomotor and Body Awareness, Omission and Substitution of Letters, and Posture. The questionnaire demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha values above 0.80. To assess discriminative validity using known groups, comparisons were made between genders and school years. The results showed that, overall, 2nd-year students performed significantly better in handwriting skills compared to 1st-year students, especially in the factors “Formation of Letters, Numbers, and Words” and “Omission and Substitution of Letters.” In terms of gender, girls outperformed boys on the total scale, as well as in the factors “Formation of Letters, Numbers, and Words” and “Posture.” Analyzing the correlations between sensory processing and handwriting skills, it was observed that better handwriting performance was associated with fewer issues in the sensory dimensions of the SPM.
This study highlights the potential relevance of the Handwriting Skills Questionnaire for professionals across various fields and emphasizes the importance of sensory integration in academic development, underscoring the significant role of occupational therapists in this context.
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