Efficacy of Summer Handwriting Camp on Printing Performance of School-Aged Elementary Students
Graduation Date
2008
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy
Department
Occupational Therapy
Department or Program Chair
Ruth Ramsey, EdD, OTR/L
Thesis Advisor
Stacy Frauwirth, MS, OTR/L
Second Advisor
Joanne Figone, MS, OTR/L
Abstract
Approximately 20% of elementary school students demonstrate problems with handwriting (Hammerschmidt & Sudsawad, 2004). Summer handwriting camp is an increasingly popular choice for students who struggle with handwriting. Attending camp allows students an opportunity to improve their skills over the summer break (Marr & Dimeo, 2006). The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of Redwood Pediatric Therapy Associates’ Adventures in Writing Camp as an intervention approach used by occupational therapists to facilitate improvement in printing performance and students’ perceptions about their handwriting. Handwriting samples were collected from 3 third grade students on the first and last day of camp. The Print Tool™ was used to evaluate printing performance. Pretest and posttest overall and component scores were compared. Students also answered questions about their perspectives of their handwriting on pre and post camp survey. Overall scores of printing performance varied among all subjects. Changes were seen at the component level. Subjects reported both positive and negative changes in perceptions about their handwriting. Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of summer handwriting camp as an intervention approach for elementary aged students with handwriting difficulty upon printing performance and student’s perceptions.