Effectiveness of Psychomotor Therapy among Children with Graphomotor Impairment with and without DCD-Diagnosis
In Switzerland, psychomotor therapy (PMT) is a standard treatment for children with graphomotor impairments, but scientific evidence of its effectiveness is rare. To investigate the effectiveness of PMT, we conducted a randomised field trial (RFT). The sample consisted of 121 first and second grader...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-05-01
|
| Series: | Children |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/6/964 |
| _version_ | 1797595470690779136 |
|---|---|
| author | Sibylle Hurschler Lichtsteiner Melanie Nideröst Carlo Di Brina Christian Marquardt Stefanie Wyss Alois Buholzer Werner Wicki |
| author_facet | Sibylle Hurschler Lichtsteiner Melanie Nideröst Carlo Di Brina Christian Marquardt Stefanie Wyss Alois Buholzer Werner Wicki |
| author_sort | Sibylle Hurschler Lichtsteiner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Switzerland, psychomotor therapy (PMT) is a standard treatment for children with graphomotor impairments, but scientific evidence of its effectiveness is rare. To investigate the effectiveness of PMT, we conducted a randomised field trial (RFT). The sample consisted of 121 first and second graders with graphomotor impairments, some of whom met the criteria of developmental coordination disorder, while the remaining suffered from developmental dysgraphia. The treatments lasted over 5 months. Handwriting fluency and consistency were measured five times on a digitising tablet. All participating children completed a self-concept interview, and a standardised fine motor performance test twice. Psychomotor therapy significantly improved the fine motor skills of the therapy group compared to those of the waiting group. However, there was no evidence that the treated children improved more than the waiting children in terms of their graphomotor skills such as frequency, automaticity, and consistency of forming letters. Finally, the children of the therapy group showed partial improvements in their handwriting self-concept, while those of the waiting group children remained stable. This short-term RFT demonstrated the effectiveness of PMT in terms of fine motor skills and some aspects of the handwriting self-concept but showed no effects on handwriting fluency and consistency. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:37:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f4eae2a3ef744c6ad3675c5fe3f18f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:37:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f4eae2a3ef744c6ad3675c5fe3f18f42023-11-18T09:49:41ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672023-05-0110696410.3390/children10060964Effectiveness of Psychomotor Therapy among Children with Graphomotor Impairment with and without DCD-DiagnosisSibylle Hurschler Lichtsteiner0Melanie Nideröst1Carlo Di Brina2Christian Marquardt3Stefanie Wyss4Alois Buholzer5Werner Wicki6Languages Research Group, University of Teacher Education Lucerne, CH-6003 Lucerne, SwitzerlandInstitute for Educational Support for Behaviour, Social-Emotional, and Psychomotor Development, University of Teacher Education in Special Needs Zurich, CH-8050 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, I-00185 Rome, ItalyScience&Motion GmbH, D-81547 Munich, GermanyLanguages Research Group, University of Teacher Education Lucerne, CH-6003 Lucerne, SwitzerlandInstitute for Diversity in Education, University of Teacher Education Lucerne, CH-6003 Lucerne, SwitzerlandLanguages Research Group, University of Teacher Education Lucerne, CH-6003 Lucerne, SwitzerlandIn Switzerland, psychomotor therapy (PMT) is a standard treatment for children with graphomotor impairments, but scientific evidence of its effectiveness is rare. To investigate the effectiveness of PMT, we conducted a randomised field trial (RFT). The sample consisted of 121 first and second graders with graphomotor impairments, some of whom met the criteria of developmental coordination disorder, while the remaining suffered from developmental dysgraphia. The treatments lasted over 5 months. Handwriting fluency and consistency were measured five times on a digitising tablet. All participating children completed a self-concept interview, and a standardised fine motor performance test twice. Psychomotor therapy significantly improved the fine motor skills of the therapy group compared to those of the waiting group. However, there was no evidence that the treated children improved more than the waiting children in terms of their graphomotor skills such as frequency, automaticity, and consistency of forming letters. Finally, the children of the therapy group showed partial improvements in their handwriting self-concept, while those of the waiting group children remained stable. This short-term RFT demonstrated the effectiveness of PMT in terms of fine motor skills and some aspects of the handwriting self-concept but showed no effects on handwriting fluency and consistency.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/6/964handwritingdevelopmental coordination disorderdysgraphiapsychomotor therapyeffectiveness of psychomotor therapy |
| spellingShingle | Sibylle Hurschler Lichtsteiner Melanie Nideröst Carlo Di Brina Christian Marquardt Stefanie Wyss Alois Buholzer Werner Wicki Effectiveness of Psychomotor Therapy among Children with Graphomotor Impairment with and without DCD-Diagnosis Children handwriting developmental coordination disorder dysgraphia psychomotor therapy effectiveness of psychomotor therapy |
| title | Effectiveness of Psychomotor Therapy among Children with Graphomotor Impairment with and without DCD-Diagnosis |
| title_full | Effectiveness of Psychomotor Therapy among Children with Graphomotor Impairment with and without DCD-Diagnosis |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness of Psychomotor Therapy among Children with Graphomotor Impairment with and without DCD-Diagnosis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness of Psychomotor Therapy among Children with Graphomotor Impairment with and without DCD-Diagnosis |
| title_short | Effectiveness of Psychomotor Therapy among Children with Graphomotor Impairment with and without DCD-Diagnosis |
| title_sort | effectiveness of psychomotor therapy among children with graphomotor impairment with and without dcd diagnosis |
| topic | handwriting developmental coordination disorder dysgraphia psychomotor therapy effectiveness of psychomotor therapy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/6/964 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sibyllehurschlerlichtsteiner effectivenessofpsychomotortherapyamongchildrenwithgraphomotorimpairmentwithandwithoutdcddiagnosis AT melanieniderost effectivenessofpsychomotortherapyamongchildrenwithgraphomotorimpairmentwithandwithoutdcddiagnosis AT carlodibrina effectivenessofpsychomotortherapyamongchildrenwithgraphomotorimpairmentwithandwithoutdcddiagnosis AT christianmarquardt effectivenessofpsychomotortherapyamongchildrenwithgraphomotorimpairmentwithandwithoutdcddiagnosis AT stefaniewyss effectivenessofpsychomotortherapyamongchildrenwithgraphomotorimpairmentwithandwithoutdcddiagnosis AT aloisbuholzer effectivenessofpsychomotortherapyamongchildrenwithgraphomotorimpairmentwithandwithoutdcddiagnosis AT wernerwicki effectivenessofpsychomotortherapyamongchildrenwithgraphomotorimpairmentwithandwithoutdcddiagnosis |