The Effect of Combining a Selected Movement Program Course with Fernald's Multisensory Training Method on the Handwriting Status of Elementary School Students with Dysgraphia

Bahrami, Alireza; Rafeinisiyani, Akram; Malekirad, Aliakbar; Soleimani Rad, Mohammad

doi:10.22089/mbj.2025.15248.2113

The Effect of Combining a Selected Movement Program Course with Fernald's Multisensory Training Method on the Handwriting Status of Elementary School Students with Dysgraphia

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Alireza Bahrami ¹

Akram Rafeinisiyani ²

Aliakbar Malekirad ³

Mohammad Soleimani Rad ⁴

¹ Associate Professor, Faculty of Sport Sciences,Arak University, Arak, Iran

² Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch, Faculty of Humanities

³ Associate professor of physiology and Phd of cognitive neuroscience Payame Nour University Tehran Iran

⁴ Arak University

https://doi.org/10.22089/mbj.2025.15248.2113

Abstract

Writing disorder is one of the most important learning disabilities that may affect students' academic performance. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of adding a selected movement program to Fernald's multisensory training method on the handwriting status of elementary students with dysgraphia. The research method was a semi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all students with dysgraphia and normal intelligence in the elementary level of district 15 of Tehran city. A number of 45 students with an average age of 8.4 years were selected by available sampling method and were randomly selected into two groups of Fernald and combined method and a control group. Interventions were implemented in each of the experimental groups for 5 weeks with 3 sessions and each session was 45 minutes. A check list of dysgraphia and Kettle's Intelligence Test were used. In order to analyze the data, mixed analysis of variance test was used. The results showed that in each of the experimental groups, dysgraphia scores in the post-test were significantly lower than the pre-test. After the intervention, the dysgraphia scores of the experimental groups decreased significantly compared to the control group. Also, the combined educational method led to a greater decrease in dysgraphia scores than Fernald's educational method. The results showed that enriching the educational environment with movement activities can affect the way students write, so these methods can be used in schools to improve the handwriting of poor students

Keywords

Dysgraphia

Fernald

Mixed approach

Motor skills

Subjects