Children with Autism and Handwriting

The current issue of Neurology published research on handwriting abilities in children with autism (14 children with autism and 14 children without autism). The research indicated that children with autism displayed poorer quality in forming letters but size, alignment and spacing were similar to their peers without autism. In the study, motor skill level was predictive of handwriting performance but age, IQ, gender and visuospatial abilities were not predictive of handwriting performance. The researchers recommend training in letter formation and fine motor skills.

Reference: Fuentes, Christina T., Mostofsky, Stewart H., Bastian, Amy J.
Children with autism show specific handwriting impairments Neurology 2009 73: 1532-1537