Handwriting Training with a Board Prototype: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: This study investigated whether handwritten characters differ between letter tracing on a handwriting training system developed by the authors and letter tracing training on a paper. This study is registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (Trial registration number: UMIN000055578). Materials and methods: This study developed a training system in which patients traced lines and figures carved onto a board. A training board and a paper sheet with similar lines and shapes were prepared. In total, 62 randomly selected participants traced lines and shapes with their nondominant hand for 10 min daily for 2 weeks. Subsequently, an optical character recognition software (Yonn de CoCo! Personal v.4) was used to evaluate the shape of the characters. The writing pressure was assessed using Trace Coder, and the fixation numbers were assessed using SMI BeGaze (SensoMotoric Instruments). Results: The number of fixations decreased, whereas the change in writing pressure per unit time increased after intervention. The character shapes did not change after training on paper. However, the character shapes improved, and the average writing pressure increased after practicing on a board. Conclusions: Tracing lines and shapes carved on a board can effectively improve handwriting with the nondominant hand