Addressing dysgraphia with a mobile, web-based software with interactive feedback

摘要

Learning disabilities affect an increasing number of students. Among these disabilities, dysgraphia has a nonindifferent role since it undermines the writing communication abilities of the students, with side effects on their self-esteem and a great risk of reduced school performance and more difficult relationships with classmates. It is the opinion of many people that the right way to prevent students from losing the writing gesture and allow for the acquisition of the correct writing automatism is through supporting exercises and activities. With these aims in mind we have designed and developed a client-server web-based software system, usable through modern devices such as tablets and smartphones using cutting edge Javascript libraries and framework and sophisticated algorithms for multiple hand gesture recognition, namely the Dynamic Time Warping algorithm that has been modified to recognize composite gesture. The software tool offers the users the possibility to execute sets of different exercises types, organized in levels, from simple connect the dots to complete writing a word, and the writing is compared with a reference trace done by an expert. The software tool offers immediate feedback on the basis of objective parameters, as well as a comprehensive collection of data stored both in JSON and INKML format, useful for identifying, studying and rehabilitating dysgraphic handwriting.