Effect of “Getting It Write” Program on Handwriting Legibility Among Ten Filipino Children Five to Eight Years Old

Anna Liza Yap, MRS, OTR, OTRP

This study was conducted to determine improvement in handwriting legibility among ten Filipino children aged 5 to 8 years old using the "Getting it Write" (GIW) program.

Changes in terms of neatness, proportionate size, alignment, uniform spacing, uniform slant, and the line quality were assessed to determine which of the legibility components show the most change. Changes in handwriting were also described in relation to age, sex, medical diagnosis, educational attainment of parents, concurrent services such as occupational therapy or educational services, and family involvement.

Writing samples were obtained from the subjects at the start and at the end of the GIW program. These were scored using a revised Legibility Components checklist. T-tests were done to compare total over-all pre- and post-test scores. P-value derived was 0.07, which is smaller than the alpha value of 0.10. This means there was significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores at 90% confidence level.

Among the legibility components, only proportionate size and alignment showed significant difference. No conclusions could be drawn regarding the effect of subjects' sex, parents' educational attainment, and family involvement. Age and concurrent services do not appear to have any effect on the subjects' ability to benefit from the GIW program. The presence or absence of a medial condition likewise does not seem to influence ability to benefit from the GIW program.

Results of this study are exploratory in nature given the small population size. It is further recommended that a future study be conducted, with a minimum of 30 subjects, so that conclusions about the effect of the GIW program on handwriting legibility may be generalized to a larger population.