Effects of Hand-Over-Hand Physical Guidance and Tracing on Prewriting Skills of Preschool-Aged Children

Vol. 6 No. 2

Year: 2012

Issue: August-October

Title: Effects of Hand-Over-Hand Physical Guidance and Tracing on Prewriting Skills of Preschool-Aged Children 

Author Name: Josie Wilson, Thomas McLaughlin, K. Mark Derby, Diane Conley 

Synopsis:  

The purpose of this study was to increase the formation of the pre-handwriting skill of imitating lines and circles with two 2-year-old preschool students using a hand- over-hand prompting procedure.  Both students attended a preschool special education classroom in a rural school district.  During baseline, line and circle imitation for both students were scribbles on the page within no specific symbols or letters.  When hand-over-hand and tracing prompts were implemented, an increase circles and lines was found. For a second intervention, participant 1 was provided with a thick pencil for an additional intervention while participant 2 was given a specific drawing space.  After these interventions, pre-handwriting skills further improved for both participants. The benefits of employing these interventions, within a single subject research design, are discussed.