There are increasing numbers of preterm children of very low and extremely low birth weights surviving due to advances in neonatal care. The majority of these children attend mainstream classrooms and perform in the low average range on cognitive measures compared to peers. However, outcome studies document a range of subtle, clinically important impairments in their motor, visual-motor and visual perceptual performance compared to peers. The impact of these impairments on a complex, occupational task such as handwriting performance has never been investigated in the preterm population using an objective measure, except through parent or teacher questionnaires. / The primary objective of this doctoral thesis was to characterize and compare handwriting performance in preterm children (birth weight of ≤1250 grams) attending Grade One, to typically developing peers matched by age, gender and classroom. Standardized outcome measures were used to examine handwriting performance, sensorimotor component skills and psychosocial factors. Preterm survivors demonstrated significantly lower handwriting legibility and slower speed scores compared to matched peers. Visual perception and motor accuracy were identified as predictors of legibility; and in-hand manipulation (translation) and finger identification were associated with handwriting speed in preterm children. However, in typically developing children, legibility was associated with upper extremity steadiness, visual motor control and in-hand manipulation (rotation); and speed was associated with in-hand manipulation (translation) and upper limb speed and dexterity. These findings have important implications for clinical practice in guiding both evaluation approaches and intervention strategies. Clearly, preterm survivors are at high risk for developing handwriting difficulties at school-age. Increasing awareness may help with early identification and intervention with a view towards minimizing the negative effects on self-esteem and academic achievement often documented in children with handwriting difficulty.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.85068 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Feder, Katya Polena |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (School of Physical and Occupational Therapy.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002166667, proquestno: AAINR06295, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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