The Impact of Speed and Scale on Spiral Drawing in Children with Developmental Dysgraphia

The Impact of Speed and Scale on Spiral Drawing in Children with Developmental Dysgraphia

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Developmental dysgraphia (DD) is characterized by impaired handwriting fluency and motor control. While graphomotor deficits in DD are well-documented, the impact of movement scale and speed remains underexplored. This study examines how children with DD adapt to drawing spirals of different sizes under explicit time constraints, aiming to identify key motor impairments. We enrolled 269 children (3rd and 4th grade of primary school) who completed two Archimedean spirals (big and small) as quickly as possible. We then extracted features assessing fluency, velocity, and spiral regularity. Statistical and classification analyses were applied to identify key distinguishing features between children with DD and their typically developing peers. Results indicate that children with DD exhibited significantly higher velocity and more frequent velocity fluctuations in the small spiral. A classification model based on small spiral features achieved a balanced accuracy of 61%, with a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 45%. Our findings suggest that increased movement speed in DD does not indicate motor fluency but rather reflects reduced control and automation. The significant role of movement scale in graphomotor execution suggests that fine motor deficits in DD become more pronounced in tasks requiring higher precision. These insights contribute to a better understanding of the motor basis of DD and support the development of decision-support systems for graphomotor difficulties.

Developmental dysgraphia (DD) is characterized by impaired handwriting fluency and motor control. While graphomotor deficits in DD are well-documented, the impact of movement scale and speed remains underexplored. This study examines how children with DD adapt to drawing spirals of different sizes under explicit time constraints, aiming to identify key motor impairments. We enrolled 269 children (3rd and 4th grade of primary school) who completed two Archimedean spirals (big and small) as quickly as possible. We then extracted features assessing fluency, velocity, and spiral regularity. Statistical and classification analyses were applied to identify key distinguishing features between children with DD and their typically developing peers. Results indicate that children with DD exhibited significantly higher velocity and more frequent velocity fluctuations in the small spiral. A classification model based on small spiral features achieved a balanced accuracy of 61%, with a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 45%. Our findings suggest that increased movement speed in DD does not indicate motor fluency but rather reflects reduced control and automation. The significant role of movement scale in graphomotor execution suggests that fine motor deficits in DD become more pronounced in tasks requiring higher precision. These insights contribute to a better understanding of the motor basis of DD and support the development of decision-support systems for graphomotor difficulties.

developmental dysgraphia, graphomotor disabilities, spiral, online handwriting, speed, scale

developmental dysgraphia, graphomotor disabilities, spiral, online handwriting, speed, scale

MEKYSKA, J.; MUCHA, J.; ZVONĆÁKOVÁ, K.; GALÁŽ, Z.; FAÚNDEZ ZANUY, M.

2026

05.06.2025

Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal / Presses Internationales Polytechnique

Montréal, Canada

978-2-7606-5509-6

Proceedings IGS 2025: Investigating Human Movements - Handwriting and Beyond

236

240

5

https://pum.umontreal.ca/catalogue/proceedings_igs_2025