Handwriting assessment of Franco-Quebec primary school-age students

Background. Reasons for referring school-age children to occupational therapy mainly relate to handwriting problems. However, there are no validated tools or reference values for assessing handwriting in francophone children in Canada. Purpose. This study aimed to adapt and validate the writing tasks described in an English Canadian handwriting assessment protocol and to develop reference values for handwriting speed for francophone children. Method. Three writing tasks from the Handwriting Assessment Protocol-2nd Edition (near-point and far-point copying and dictation) were adapted for Quebec French children and administered to 141 Grade I (n = 73) and Grade 2 (n = 68) students. Findings. Reference values for handwriting speed were obtained for near point and far point copying tasks. Implications. This adapted protocol and these reference values for speed will improve occupational therapy handwriting assessments for the target population.