Efficacy of Handwriting for Heroes, a novel hand dominance transfer intervention

Abstract

Introduction Handwriting For Heroes is a six-week hand dominance transfer intervention for adults who sustain injuries that result in permanent loss of dominant hand function. While used in military treatment facilities, the efficacy of this intervention has not been established. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of Handwriting For Heroes. Methods A single-subject research design was utilized with replication across five non-impaired right-hand dominant participants ( N = 5). A leftward transfer of hand dominance for handwriting skill was simulated utilizing Handwriting For Heroes. Multiple probes were taken across baseline, intervention and maintenance phases to measure performance during five functional handwriting tasks. Visual and statistical analysis was performed on variables related to the writing process (pressure, velocity, time and displacement) and the written product (letters-per-minute and legibility). Results All participants improved one grade-level in writing speed. Four of five participants improved in handwriting legibility. Following the intervention, participants achieved greater than 50% of their dominant hand's writing ability. Discussion Handwriting is a functional task that was shown to be transferable to the non-dominant limb using a commercially available, six-week intervention. Positive results, replicated across five non-impaired participants during this efficacy study, warrant a clinical effectiveness study.