Many cognitive elements are involved in handwriting. However, it has not yet been clarified how handwriting changes as cognitive ability improves.
This study is a preliminary study of the cognitive activity of handwriting and attempts to clarify the changes in handwriting between children and adults. This study investigated the relationship between development changes in writing dynamics and tendency of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/autism spectrum disorder (ADHD / ASD) in typical developing participants.
A pen tablet was used to examine developmental changes in writing dynamics. Participants included 27 children and 26 adults. Participants wrote 30 hiragana words dictated by a Japanese woman on a pen tablet. The write process collected on writing time, writing pressure, on-screen coordinates, and pen angle. In addition, participants answered a questionnaire to investigate trends in developmental disorders. We analyzed the writing dynamics of hiragana characters to investigate the difference between children and adults. They differed in writing speed which suggested developmental changes in writing dynamics. Correlation with developmental disorders suggests that ASD and ADHD affect writing dynamics. Writing dynamics showed the specificity of ASD and ADHD, which suggests it may serve as an index for screening these conditions.
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