Biomaterial Database

Copy Skills and Writing Abilities in Children With and Without Specific Learning Disabilities. 2023

Anna Maria Re, and Francesca De Vita, and Cesare Cornoldi, and Susanna Schmidt

University of Turin, Italy.

Copying a text quickly and accurately is important both in school and in daily life. However, this skill has never been systematically studied, either in children with typical development (TD) or in children with specific learning disabilities (SLD). The aim of this research was to study the features of a copy task and its relationship with other writing tasks. For this purpose, 674 children with TD and 65 children with SLD from Grades 6 through 8 in Italy were tested with a copy task and other writing assessment tasks, measuring three aspects of writing: handwriting speed, spelling, and expressive writing. Children with SLD performed worse on the copy task, both in terms of speed and accuracy, than children with TD. Copy speed was predicted by grade level and by all three major writing skills for children with TD but only by handwriting speed and spelling for children with SLD. Copy accuracy was predicted by gender and the three major writing skills for children with TD but only by spelling for children with SLD. These results suggest that children with SLD also have difficulty copying a text and benefit less than children with TD from their other writing skills.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007558	Italy	A country in southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. The capital is Rome.	Sardinia
D007802	Language	A verbal or nonverbal means of communicating ideas or feelings.	Dialect,Dialects,Languages
D007859	Learning Disabilities	Conditions characterized by a significant discrepancy between an individual's perceived level of intellect and their ability to acquire new language and other cognitive skills. These may result from organic or psychological conditions. Relatively common subtypes include DYSLEXIA, DYSCALCULIA, and DYSGRAPHIA.	Adolescent Learning Disabilities,Adult Learning Disabilities,Child Learning Disabilities,Developmental Academic Disability,Developmental Academic Disorder,Developmental Disabilities of Scholastic Skills,Learning Disabilities, Adolescent,Learning Disabilities, Child,Learning Disorders,Academic Disorder, Developmental,Adult Learning Disorders,Developmental Disorders of Scholastic Skills,Learning Disorders, Adult,Learning Disturbance,Scholastic Skills Development Disorders,Academic Disabilities, Developmental,Academic Disability, Developmental,Academic Disorders, Developmental,Adolescent Learning Disability,Adult Learning Disability,Adult Learning Disorder,Child Learning Disability,Developmental Academic Disabilities,Developmental Academic Disorders,Disabilities, Adolescent Learning,Disabilities, Adult Learning,Disabilities, Child Learning,Disabilities, Developmental Academic,Disabilities, Learning,Disability, Adolescent Learning,Disability, Adult Learning,Disability, Child Learning,Disability, Developmental Academic,Disability, Learning,Disorder, Learning,Disorders, Adult Learning,Disorders, Learning,Disturbance, Learning,Disturbances, Learning,Learning Disabilities, Adult,Learning Disability,Learning Disability, Adolescent,Learning Disability, Adult,Learning Disability, Child,Learning Disorder,Learning Disorder, Adult,Learning Disturbances
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D006236	Handwriting	Manual writing with a pen or pencil.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012574	Schools	Educational institutions.	Primary Schools,Schools, Secondary,Secondary Schools,Primary School,School,School, Primary,School, Secondary,Schools, Primary,Secondary School
D014956	Writing	The act or practice of literary composition, the occupation of writer, or producing or engaging in literary work as a profession.