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Visual Perception and Handwriting

How does visual perception and handwriting work together? A recent research article took a closer look at determining if correlations exist between the eight sub-components of visual perception including eye hand coordination, position in space, copying, figure ground discrimination, spatial relations, visual closure, visual motor speed and form constancy, and handwriting ability.

The researchers also wanted to explore what sub-components of visual perceptual skills were best predictors of children’s handwriting abilities.

Components of Visual Perceptual Skills

There are many different components of visual perceptual skills that are associated with handwriting skills. Examples are:

You can read more about visual perceptual skills here.

What Does the Research Say on Visual Perceptual Skills and Handwriting?

This study evaluated 65 children in grades 1–3 were using the Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting (ETCH) and the Developmental Test of Visual Perception-2 (DTVP-2) on two different occasions.

Data analysis was completed from the results on visual perception and handwriting and it indicated the following:

  • significant relationships between four subcomponents (eye-hand coordination, copying, figure-ground, and spatial relations) of visual perception and word legibility.
  • the best predictors of handwriting legibility are spatial relations, visual closure, and position in space.

Conclusion

The researchers concluded that this study can be used to guide therapists and educators in determining which visual perceptual areas to focus on when working with children with handwriting difficulties. They recommended that when evaluating children with poor handwriting, focus on figure ground, spatial relations, visual closure, and copying because were found to correlate significantly with handwriting legibility.

Reference: Lee, S. C. (2021). Visual Perceptual Skills as Predictors of Handwriting Skills of Children Grades 1-3. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 1-9.

Read More on Visual Perceptual Skills

Motor Accuracy, Visual Perception, and Mindfulness

Link Between Reading and Visual Perceptual Skills

Relationship Between Handwriting and the Beery

Handwriting Problems – Can You Predict Them?

Visual Scanning Activities

How do you assess if a child is making progress in foundational skill areas to support handwriting performance? How do you determine if further intervention is required?  Ingrid S. King MScOT, BOT developed the Fantastic Fingers ® Handwriting Foundations Screen to identify handwriting needs fast and monitor progress.  The screen provides standardized observations of functional skills in context.

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