Study: Poor handwriting during childhood can continue into adolescence in individuals who suffer from autism

By Staff Writer

Researchers from the Motion Analysis Laboratory at the Kennedy Krieger Institute have found that handwriting problems that affect children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are likely to continue into their teenage years.

The study examined the quality of autistic children's handwriting and found that motor skills predicted deficiencies in this area. Furthermore researchers revealed that teens with an ASD have poor handwriting and motor skills impairments when compared to their peers. However, they added that perceptual reasoning - the ability to reason through problems with nonverbal material - was the main reason for this condition.

Researchers say this study can benefit educators and parents by helping them enable autistic teens to learn and utilize compensatory strategies that involve reasoning skills to improve their motor skills.

Therapeutic boarding schools can help children with autism by using education as well as recreational activities to help overcome the obstacles associated with the condition.

According to a 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 110 children in the United States suffers from an ASD.