COMPUTER RESEARCH AND INSTRUCTION IN HANDWRITING

MEEKS ASSOCIATES WILL DEVELOP A COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR RESEARCHING GRAPHIC PRODUCTION BY CHILDREN WITH LANGUAGE DISORDERS AND FOR PROVIDING AUTOMATED INSTRUCTION IN HAND- WRITING TO CHILDREN WITH WRITING DISABILITIES. IN PHASE I, A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM FOR RECORDING AS A FUNCTION OF TIME THE MOTION OF A PEN OVER PAPER DURING THE ACT OF WRITING OR DRAWING WILL BE DEVELOPED. PHASE I STUDIES WILL DEMONSTRATETHE FEASIBILITY OF MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING INSTRUCTION IN CURSIVE HANDWRITING. A CHILD USING THE SYSTEM WILL WRITE ON PAPER COVERING A PRESSURE-SENSITIVE GRAPHICS TABLET, WHICH WILL COMMUNICATE THE COORDINATES OF THE PEN TO THE COMPUTER. THE CHILD'S HANDWRITING WILL BE DISPLAYED ON THE MONITOR SCREEN, AND INSTRUCTION WILL BE GIVEN BY MEANS OF GRAPHIC DISPLAY ON THE SCREEN AND BY COMPUTER OUTPUT THROUGH A VOICE-SYNTHESIS SYSTEM. IF FEASIBILITY CAN BE ESTABLISHED IN PHASE I, THE PROPOSAL FOR PHASE II WILL BE TO DEVELOP MARKETABLE SOFTWARE PRODUCTS FOR RESEARCH, DIAGNOSIS, AND HANDWRITING INSTRUCTION.