The internal structure of handwriting proficiency in beginning writers.

Fluent and automatized handwriting frees cognitive resources for more complex elements of writing (i.e., spelling or text generation) or even math tasks (i.e., operating) and is therefore a central objective in primary school years. Most previous research has focused on the development of handwriting automaticity across the school years and characteristics of handwriting difficulties in advanced writers. However, the relative and absolute predictive power of the different kinematic aspects for typically developing beginning handwriting remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether and to what extent different kinematic aspects contribute to handwriting proficiency in typically developing beginning handwriters. Further, we investigated whether gender, socioeconomic background, or interindividual differences in executive functions and visuomotor integration contribute to children's acquisition of handwriting. Therefore, 853 first-grade children aged seven copied words on a digitized tablet and completed cognitive performance tasks. We used a confirmatory factor analysis to investigate how predefined kinematic aspects of handwriting, specifically the number of inversions in velocity (NIV), pen stops, pen lifts, and pressure on the paper, are linked to an underlying handwriting factor. NIV, pen stops, and pen lifts showed the highest factor loadings and therefore appear to best explain handwriting proficiency in beginning writers. Handwriting proficiency was superior in girls than boys but, surprisingly, did not differ between children from low versus high socioeconomic backgrounds. Handwriting proficiency was related to working memory but unrelated to inhibition, shifting, and visuomotor integration. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of considering different kinematic aspects in children who have not yet automatized pen movements. Results are also important from an applied perspective, as the early detection of handwriting difficulties has not yet received much research attention, although it is the base for tailoring early interventions for children at risk for handwriting difficulties.

From Scribbles to Script: Graphomotor Skills' Impact on Spelling in Early Primary School.

The acquisition of handwriting skills is a crucial goal in early primary school. Yet our comprehension of handwriting development, encompassing graphomotor skills and spelling, remains fragmented. The identification of predictors for handwriting skills is essential for providing early support. This longitudinal study aimed to explore the predictive roles of gender, working memory, and motivation to handwrite for graphomotor skills six months later and spelling skills one year later. Paper-and-pencil tasks (graphomotor skills, spelling), a tablet task (working memory), and a questionnaire (teachers' ratings of children's handwriting motivation) were employed. This study included 363 first-grade children (49.8% girls) aged 6-9 years. Results from a structural equation model, controlling for age and socioeconomic background, revealed that girls exhibited superior performance in graphomotor skills, while boys tended to spell more accurately. Furthermore, working memory predicted graphomotor skills but not spelling. Additionally, motivation to handwrite predicted both first-grade graphomotor skills and second-grade spelling. This study extends contemporary evidence, demonstrating that graphomotor skills predict spelling while considering gender and motivation. The findings underscore the pivotal role of graphomotor skills in spelling acquisition and suggest their contribution to spelling difficulties.

Is the fine motor-executive functions link stronger for new compared to repeated fine motor tasks?

Although the motor-executive function (EF) link is actively being investigated, there remain open questions surrounding why some studies found associations between specific motor and specific EF tasks, while others did not. Furthermore, it is also yet unknown which factors impact the magnitude of the motor-EF link. Findings from neuroimaging studies have proposed that neural activity in networks that are important for motor and cognitive tasks is especially strong when a task is new. In the present behavioral study, we systematically investigated the impact that task novelty had on the motor-EF link. In our study, n = 124 kindergarten children aged five to six administered in a within-subject design three fine motor tasks of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (Posting Coins, Threading Beads, and Drawing Trail) twice in succession (new vs. repeated), and three EF tasks (adapted versions of a Flanker, a N-back, and the Advanced Dimensional Chance Card Sort task). Results not only replicated the fine motor-EF link, but also showed a significantly stronger association between EF and the new task compared to the repeated Drawing Trail task. However, for the time-based task of Posting Coins and Threading Beads, motor-EF associations did not differ between the new task and the repeated task. Future investigations of more than two repetitions will provide further insights into the assumption that the motor-EF link is mainly driven by the EF processes triggered when a task is new, demands attention, and requires fast and flexible adaptation.

Towards a better understanding of the association between motor skills and executive functions in 5- to 6-year-olds: The impact of motor task difficulty.

Different lines of evidence suggest an association between motor skills and executive functions (EFs) in kindergarten children. Comparatively little is known about the specific nature of this relationship. In the present study, using a within-subjects design, a sample of 124 five- to six-year-old children completed 12 fine and gross motor tasks of varying nominal difficulty and three EFs tasks. We assumed that difficult motor tasks are less automated than easy motor tasks. Therefore, EFs should be involved more strongly in difficult compared to easy motor tasks. Firstly, results replicated the association between motor skills and EFs. Secondly, results provided a new and differentiated perspective on the evidence of this link. Performance on both easy and difficult fine motor tasks was significantly related to EFs. However, only performance on the difficult, but not on the easy gross motor tasks was significantly correlated with EFs. The findings demonstrate that the challenges and demands inherent in any motor task influence the magnitude of the motor-EFs link. That is, difficult (i.e., less automated) motor tasks require EFs more substantially than easy (i.e., more automated) motor tasks. Results will be discussed with regard to further candidate processes underlying the motor-EFs link.