Sensory Motor Lateralization as Handwriting Intervention in School-Based OT (SML)

Mary H. Teng

Status: Completed

Conditions: Developmental Dysgraphia

Treatments: Behavioral: CON; Behavioral: SML

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03903614

TengM

Conventional School-Based OT (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Children who attend School-Based Occupational Therapy (SBOT) show mixed dominance and a liable decreased in the structural and functional differentiation between the two hemispheres. The lack of right-left disparity has been found to link to mirror invariance, poor spatial organization, fragmentary reversals, and handwriting difficulty. This study intends to find out, whether, Sensory Motor Lateralization (SML), "With" a rightward bias, profits handwriting more than the conventional (CON) "Without".

Full description

10 to 30% of school children suffer handwriting difficulty. Many of them are eventually referred to SBOT for remedial intervention. Among these children, 70% show mixed dominance in their hand and/or leg use, and a likely functional and structural interhemispherical asymmetry reduction. This would make them right-left symmetrical. Learning, thus, may be challenged, because people who are right-left balanced would not have a consistent reference point to process the learning materials regularly in any pre-determined directions. They are, thus, prone to suffer mirror invariance, fragmentary reversal errors, and handwriting difficulty, especially with the fast and accurate construction of asymmetrical letters from memory.

To enhance right-left disparity, dispel mirror invariance, and facilitate the automatized handwriting, SML preferentially belabors one's right eye, ear, hand and leg in therapy, that would greater engage the left hemisphere for its acclaimed vantages over learning. This study investigates, whether SML, wielding such a rightward bias, profits handwriting greater than CON.

Enrollment: 16 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Any Special or Regular Education students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), OT mandates, and handwriting goals.
• Has Intelligence Quotient (IQ) equal to or above 60.
• Ambulatory.
• Proficient in English, and fluent in naming, identifying, and accessing the sequence of letters in the alphabet.
• The students who attend Physical Therapy (PT), Adaptive Physical Education (PE), and any other programs are included, if the programs being provided are skill-, theme-, or task-oriented, not involving any muscle strengthening activities.

Exclusion criteria

• All are excluded, if the study candidates have any medical condition(s) that would prohibit them from the full physical participation in school.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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16 participants in 2 patient groups

Sensory Motor Lateralization (SML)

Experimental group

Description:

This was a group of 8 junior high school students who received SML in school for handwriting difficulty during the 2012-13 School Year. The participants received left eye-and-ear occlusion, fitness exercises, fine motor speed training, and handwriting practice on their right hand only.

Treatment:

Behavioral: SML

Conventional School-Based OT (CON)

Active Comparator group

Description:

This was a group of 8 junior high school students who received conventional school-based Occupational Therapy service for handwriting difficulty during the 2012-13 School Year. The participants received a like fitness exercises, fine motor speed training, and handwriting practice on their dominant hand instead.

Treatment:

Behavioral: CON