[in Japanese]

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(Purposes) The purposes of this study were to clarify the developmental change of drawing skills in the preschool and school aged children by using quantitative method. (Subjects and Methods) One hundred nineteen children aged from 4 to 12 years old and 20 healthy adults participated in this study. They were instructed to draw a line carefully between two paralleled lines by using the pen built-in pressure monitoring device. Besides of the continuous measurement of the writing pressures and achievement times, we estimated the accuracy of drawing by calculating how far the lines were from the center of paralleled lines using original computer software. (Results) The drawing pressure increased until 7 years old and reached almost the same level as adults. On the other hand, achievement time was prolonged until 7 years old, and later the time was shortened. When we estimated the ratio of accuracy to achievement time, the ratio was gradually increased during the period of preschool and school age. (Conclusion) In the development of drawing skills, the accuracy was developed at the first step, and later the speed followed. The ratio of accuracy to achievement time might be a good scale for estimating drawing skills.

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The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a new Numerical Fundamentals Test to detect dyscalculia early and thereby enable early intervention. The test consists of three components, namely, cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers, and numerical facts. The subjects were 68 students in the first grade of elementary school with normal development. The test was administered in December to first year students, and its results were compared with those of the mathematical aptitude test given at the end of the school year and again at the end of the second year of elementary school. The efficacy of the Numerical Fundamentals Test to predict the subjects’ mathematical ability was then analyzed by ROC analysis. As a result, the Numerical Fundamentals Test administered in the first year of elementary school was found to be able to predict the low-scoring group in the mathematical aptitude test given in the second year of elementary school. This finding demonstrated the utility of this test for the early detection of dyscalculia and will facilitate early intervention.

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[in Japanese]

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