Relationship between evaluations of teacher and therapist on handwriting performance of elementary school children

Background: Handwriting dysfunction may harm children’s wellbeing. Therapists and elementary school teachers help to identify and improve childrenchr('39')s handwriting performance. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between therapistschr('39') assessment and teacherschr('39') perception of handwriting performance in first graders. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved (n=31) first-grade students, aged 6-8 years from an international school in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. Teachers evaluated the handwriting proficiency using the Handwriting Proficiency Screening Questionnaire (HPSQ), and the explored students were rated as proficient and non-proficient hand writers. Furthermore, therapists assessed studentschr('39') handwriting proficiency using the Minnesota Handwriting Assessment (MHA) (manuscript & Dchr('39')Nealian styles) scores. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to assess the differences in MHA scores between proficient and non-proficient hand writers. Moreover, Spearmanchr('39')s correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between the scores of MHA and HPSQ. Results: There was a significant difference in all component scores of MHA (except the rate) and both writing styles between the proficient and non-proficient writers (P<0.05). There was also a significant relationship between the MHA and the HSPQ scores (P<0.05). However, further analysis of these scaleschr('39') components suggested no significant association between teacherschr('39') and therapistschr('39') evaluation of the handwriting speed domain. Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between the teacherchr('39')s and therapistchr('39')s evaluation of handwriting performance using standardized measures. Thus, therapists should work in collaboration with teachers to identify and treat handwriting difficulties in school children.