Abstract
Background and aims. Studies on writing acquisition indicate that fine motor abilities and visual motor integration are considered as foundational skills for handwriting readiness. Kindergarten children with poor manual dexterity and lacking visual perceptual skills have been found to be at risk of handwriting problems in later school years as well as far-reaching consequences on academic success and self-esteem (Sharp & Titus, 2016). An intervention program aiming at training foundational skills in kindergarten children was set down and tested for efficacy.
Methods. A quasi experimental study design involved 192 preschool children (M=58.9%; F=41.9%) of Southern Switzerland (age range in months: 35-73) assigned to experimental and control group. Children were tested pre and post-intervention at a gap of eight months from initial assessment on the Visual Motor Integration (Beery & Buktenica, 2010) and on the three Manual Dexterity tasks of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 (Henderson, Sugden, & Barnett, 2007). No statistical differences between groups have been found with respect to mothers’ and fathers’ educational level, parent actual employment and fathers’ age. Mothers in the experimental group were significantly younger than in the control group (p<.05).
Results. Baseline comparisons with independent t test revealed no significant differences between groups at the beginning of the program in overall visual motor integration and total dexterity score. Significant changes were detected with paired sample t tests in the experimental group showing significantly higher mean scores after training respectively in VMI (p=.002), VMI Motor Coordination subtest (p=.009) and all MABC-2 subdomains (Manual Dexterity 1 p<.001; Manual Dexterity 2 p=.004; Manual Dexterity 3 p=.001).
Conclusions. Results of this study suggest the efficacy of this training on fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination in preschool children. The study sets a foundation for future in planning and developing kindergarten prewriting skills.