Randomised controlled trial comparing two school furniture configurations in the printing performance of young children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

This randomised controlled trial compared the same-session effects of two different school furniture configurations on printing legibility. A total of 30 school-age children with ambulatory cerebral palsy participated in this study. Each child provided one near-point printing sample of up to 34 letters while positioned on Mandal-type specialty school furniture and on standard school furniture. An assessor who was unaware of the intervention assignment scored printing errors. No significant difference in legibility score mean values between the interventions was detected and the effect size was small. Compared with standard school furniture, the use of specialty school furniture did not lead to immediate gains in printing legibility and other printing performance areas for children with cerebral palsy. Further study of the influence of functional abilities, other contextual factors and the longer-term use of school furniture on handwriting performance is recommended.