The Effectiveness of a Multisensory Writing Programme for Improving Cursive Writing Ability in Children with Sensorimotor Difficulties

Children with sensorimotor difficulties experience significant challenges in the ability to write adequately. A single case experimental design with multiple baselines across behaviours was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a multisensory writing programme for improving the cursive writing ability of four children with sensorimotor difficulties. Five distinct letter groups were taught in random order, one group every two weeks. Repeated measurements of writing speed and quality for each letter group were made. Visual analysis indicated that specific letter groups for all of the children changed following intervention. Statistical analysis indicated that quality scores of one child changed significantly while there were no significant changes in overall speed scores. Teacher reports before and following the programme suggest that intervention may have had a positive effect on self-confidence in written output. Further research is needed to evaluate the use of multisensory writing programmes by occupational therapists working with this specific population.