ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate motor performance in children with ADHD using a size-scaling handwriting task. METHOD: In all, 14 male children with ADHD and 14 typically developing (TD) children (age 7-15) wrote 10-mm and 40-mm cursive letter "l." RESULTS: Children with ADHD were unable to maintain their writing accurately at 40 mm, falling short by several millimeters; this was not evident in the TD children. Children with ADHD also had slightly faster and more fluent writing than TD children. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that children with ADHD have difficulties scaling handwriting movement in the larger 40-mm condition that may reflect poor planning and modulation of movement, despite having faster and more fluent movements.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/physiopathology , Handwriting , Motor Skills Disorders/physiopathology , Motor Skills/physiology , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Adolescent , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/complications , Child , Disability Evaluation , Humans , Male , Motor Skills Disorders/complicationsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Children with ADHD-combined type (ADHD-CT) display fine and gross motor problems, often expressed as handwriting difficulties. This study aimed to kinematically characterize the handwriting of children with ADHD using a cursive letter l's task. METHOD: In all, 28 boys (7-12 years), 14 ADHD-CT and 14 typically developing (TD), without developmental coordination disorder (DCD) or comorbid autism, wrote a series of four cursive letter l's using a graphics tablet and stylus. RESULTS: Children with ADHD-CT had more inconsistent writing size than did TD controls. In addition, ADHD-CT symptom severity, specifically inattention, predicted poorer handwriting outcomes. CONCLUSION: In a sample of children with ADHD-CT who do not have DCD or autism, subtle handwriting differences were evident. It was concluded that handwriting might be impaired in children with ADHD in a manner dependent on symptom severity. This may reflect reports of underlying motor impairment in ADHD.