The Need for a Handwriting Intervention Guideline for Occupational Therapists in the Malaysian Context

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objectives of this study are to analyze the factors of handwriting difficulties among children, the intervention strategies for handwriting problems, and the need to develop a handwriting intervention guideline for occupational therapists in the Malaysian context. The research employed individual semi-structured interviews with seven participants who offered three different sets of experiences and viewpoints, namely, the remedial school teachers’, occupational therapists’, and parents’ perspectives. A qualitative analysis approach was utilized. Thematic analysis was applied by using an inductive approach for open-ended questions in interviews. The results were presented according to research objectives. Five themes emerged to address the factors of handwriting issues among school children. The factors are motor skills deficiency, poor motor visual skills, lack of parental support, low self-motivation, and handwriting difficulties. Four themes were derived for intervention strategies to cater for handwriting problems among school children. The themes have an emphasis on developing motor skills, increasing motor visual activities, engaging occupational therapy components, and enabling active participation from parents and teachers. Finally, there is a crucial need to produce a guideline for handwriting intervention in order to improve children’s potential in handwriting skills, to provide a comprehensive guide for occupational therapists, teachers, and parents and to align practice in handwriting intervention. This study provides understanding of the factors of handwriting problem among school children and allows suitable intervention programs. Therefore, the need to develop a systematic guideline in handwriting intervention is significant, in that it would benefit the teachers, occupational therapists, and parents in the Malaysian context.