Reliability of the detailed assessment of speed of handwriting on Flemish children.

PURPOSE

This study evaluates the reliability of the Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (DASH) in a Dutch-speaking sample of children.

METHODS

The sample included 650 boys and 513 girls (age range = 9-16 years). Handwriting speed measurements were obtained using the DASH. Interrater agreement, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency were calculated; gender and age effects were analyzed.

RESULTS

Interrater agreement shows excellent reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients of at least 0.94. Test-retest correlations ranged from r = 0.65 to r = 0.81. The internal consistency measures, calculated with Cronbach's alpha, were between 0.88 and 0.94. Both gender and age have a significant effect on handwriting speed, with F (7.1144) = 17.43 (P < .001) for gender and F (7.1144) = 21.8 (P < .001) for age.

CONCLUSION

The DASH is a reliable assessment tool to evaluate handwriting speed of Dutch-speaking children. There is a tendency of girls to write faster than boys.