Computerised assessment of handwriting and typing speed

computers in schools, the majority of students still write by hand rather than using a keyboard. Children spend 31 to 60 per cent of their school day engaged in handwriting tasks (McHale & Cermak, 1992) and consequently handwriting ability remains an important factor in learning and assessment. Handwriting is a complex perceptualmotor skill that is vulnerable to a wide variety of dysfunctions, including weak fine motor control, poor sensory awareness of the fingers, problems with timing of movements, difficulties in integrating visual and kinaesthetic information, inadequate pen grip and limitations of attention (Cornhill & CaseSmith, 1996; Exner, 1989; Feder & Majnemer, 2007; Karlsdottir & Stefansson, 2002; Maeland, 1992; Malloy-Miller, Polataijko & Ansett, 1995; Schoemaker et al., 2005; Tseng & Cermak, 1993; Tseng & Chow, 2000). All these factors contribute to the speed as well as the legibility of handwriting (Volman, van Schendel & Jongmans, 2006), and both components have been shown to have a wider impact on educational attainment throughout schooling and on into higher education (Berninger & Graham, 1998; Berninger, Mizoikowa & Bragg, 1991; Connelly et al., 2006; Dockrell & Barnett, 2005; Graham, Harris & Fink, 2000; Jones & Christensen, 1999; Roaf, 1998). Prevalence of handwriting difficulties varies from five per cent to 27 per cent of school-age children, depending on age and method of assessment used (Alston, 1985; HamstraBletz & Blöte, 1993; Karlsdottir & Stefansson, 2002; Maeland, 1992; Smits-Engelsman & Van Galen, 1997). However, a deficit in the integration of visual and motor information (commonly associated with dyslexic and