Is dysgraphia diagnose correctly in Japan? "Establishment of diagnostic method for Japanese writing disorder"

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K04958
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Special needs education
• Research Institution: Osaka Medical College
• Principal Investigator: Shimakawa Shuichi 大阪医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (40465620)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 福井 美保 大阪医科大学, 医学部, 特別職務担当教員(助教) (70782241)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 学習障害 / 書字障害 / 発達性協調運動障害 / 書字のみだれ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V) states described that dysgraphia consists of two types. One is "difficulty in spelling and writing due to specific learning disorder", and the another is "writing disorder due to developmental coordination disorder". In "writing disorder due to developmental coordination disorder", "easy to read" and "writing speed" are impaired. However, the "diagnosis method for writing disorder" has not been established in Japan. Therefore, even if the the students have the writing disorder, early and appropriate learning support is not provided. In this study, in order to establish an accurate diagnostic method for "writing disorder", we collected basic data for creating a new battery to evaluate "readability of written Japanese characters".

Free Research Field

小児神経学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

小学2-6年生518名が書字課題を施行し、10種のパラメータで書かれた文字を評価した。また、小学校担任教師30名に前述の518人分の書字データの読みにくさ・みだれを評価したデータを収集した。今後、児童の書字した文字のパラメータと教員の評価との相関を分析し、主観的な「みだれた字」がもつ文字の特徴を見いだす。基準となる文字と異なる程度を評価する「みだれ」の指標はすでに存在するが、人が「乱れた文字」と感じることを基準とした「みだれ」の指標は新規性があり、より乱れを実質的に評価した指標である点で、「書字の乱れ」の正確な診断ツールとなると考えており、このような診断ツールの学術的、社会的意義は大きい。