USE OF NONVERBAL TESTS TO SCREEN FOR WRITING DYSFLUENCY IN SCHOOL-AGE-CHILDREN

Writing fluency, the ability to write rapidly and easily, is critical for the timely completion of written assignments in the classroom. Chi ldren who possess basic writing skills and have an ability to communic ate ideas are often penalized for slowness in completing written tasks . The present study used frequently administered nonverbal tasks to pr edict performance on the Writing Fluency subtest of the Wood-cock-John son Tests of Achievement-Revised for 146 subjects from 6 to 16 years o ld. A stepwise-regression analysis indicated the Coding subtest of the WISC-R, Beery Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration, the Gro oved Pegboard, and gender accounted for 32% of the variance. Logistic regression suggested cut-off scores falling one standard deviation bel ow the mean on Coding and Beery's visuomotor test would signal need fo r further evaluation of writing dysfluency, particularly for boys.