Demands for the production of legible handwriting produced in a timely manner increase as children progress through school. Despite the considerable number of children faced with handwriting difficulties, there is no quick and practical tool to assess legibility in this population. The aim of this study was to develop the Handwriting Legibility Scale (HLS) and to establish the scale's reliability and validity. The HLS is a non-language dependent scale which assesses global legibility, based on five criteria applied to samples of 'free writing'. Content validity, inter-rater reliability and internal consistency were initially examined using scripts from 20 children aged 8-14 years. Construct validity was established by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of data from 150 school children aged 9-14 years, with an additional examination of gender effects. Discriminant validity of the HLS score was examined in 29 children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and 29 typically developing (TD) children. The results indicated high internal consistency (α=0.92). The inter-rater reliability was acceptable but indicates the need to refine the scoring instructions. PCA of the five components revealed a one factor solution explaining 61% of the variance. In the discriminant analysis, 86.2% of the children with DCD and 89.7% of the TD children were correctly classified to their groups based on the total HLS score. The overall findings suggest that the HLS may be a useful tool to identify poor handwriting legibility, with application across different languages and writing scripts.

Several studies have shown that Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a condition that continues beyond childhood. Although adults with DCD report difficulties with dynamic balance, as well as frequent tripping and bumping into objects, there have been no specific studies on walking in this population. Some previous work has focused on walking in children with DCD but variation in the tasks and measures used has led to inconsistent findings. The aim of the current study therefore was to examine the characteristics of level walking in adults with and without DCD. Fifteen adults with DCD and 15 typically developing (TD) controls walked barefoot at a natural pace up and down an 11 m walkway for one minute. Foot placement measures and velocity and acceleration of the body were recorded, as well as measures of movement variability. The adults with DCD showed similar gait patterns to the TD group in terms of step length, step width, double support time and stride time. The DCD group also showed similar velocity and acceleration to the TD group in the medio-lateral, anterior-posterior and vertical direction. However, the DCD group exhibited greater variability in all foot placement and some body movement measures. The finding that adults with DCD have a reduced ability to produce consistent movement patterns is discussed in relation to postural control limitations and compared to variability of walking measures found in elderly populations.

A description of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is included in the Diagnostic Manual of the American Psychiatric Association fourth edition (DSM‐IV‐TR). The major feature of this condition is impairment in motor skill, which has a negative impact on the performance of everyday life tasks. The present review outlines major issues concerning the assessment of motor performance in DCD. First, the psychometric principles of reliability and validity are considered, together with a discussion of test norms. This is followed by a review of 5 major purposes of assessment: screening and identification, measurement of motor performance, making a diagnosis, understanding the nature and mechanisms of the condition, and planning for intervention. In each case, the relevant assessment tools are identified and their application discussed. The article concludes with recommendations for future work, which include the need to refine the DCD diagnostic criteria in order to offer a more principled approach to the selection of assessment techniques.