Category Archives: Assessments

Explore therapeutic and educational assessments designed to evaluate a wide range of skills, including motor, cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, and developmental functioning. These tools help professionals tailor treatment plans for individuals of all ages and abilities.

The DASH-2: Assessing Handwriting Speed and Legibility

The DASH2- Detailed Assessment of the Speed of Handwriting

Handwriting remains an important skill for recording information, expressing one’s thoughts on paper and communicating ideas to others, despite the increasing use of technology in educational settings. Writing demands placed upon students increase as they progress from primary, through secondary, to further and higher education. Confident, legible, and fast handwriting can support success both within the educational system and in workplace settings that still require the ability to write legibly and fast.

The most important objective in acquiring the skill of handwriting is to be able to write legibly, however, in many situations, the speed of handwriting is also important.

Based on this realization, the authors of the DASH-2 (who are experts in motor control) wanted to provide a reliable measure of the speed of handwriting while at the same time accounting for legibility. Thus, when measuring the speed of production, only letters/words that are legible within the context of the writing are counted. 

Uses of the DASH-2

The primary aim of the DASH-2 is to provide a reliable age-appropriate measure of handwriting speed and legibility. Data from the DASH-2 can be used to:

  • identify individuals with handwriting difficulties
  • determine eligibility for extra support 
  • provide a detailed description of handwriting performance
  • contribute to diagnostic assessment (e.g. Dysgraphia)
  • monitor progress and evaluate intervention effectiveness
  • aid research

DASH-2 Tasks

The DASH-2 contains five handwriting tasks:

  • Copy Best: Copying a sentence in ‘best’ handwriting for 2 minutes
  • Alphabet Writing: Writing lower case letters in alphabetic order from memory continuously for 1 minute
  • Copy Fast: Copying letters in words and words in sentences from a model sentence that contains all the letters of the alphabet quickly for 2 minutes. This is the same sentence used in Copy Best.
  • Graphic Speed: Drawing X’s in circles for 1 minute
  • Free Writing: Writing on the topic of My Life of Past/Present/Future for 10 minutes

Interpretation of Test Results: The 7Ss and 4Ps

Although the main focus is on speed and legibility, the authors encourage obtaining other useful information about an individual’s handwriting and written expression. They offer a format that is part of the Record Form for making Qualitative Observations during the testing.

The 7Ss are features of the examinee’s handwriting that can be observed in the finished product:

  1. Shape/letter formation
  2. Size
  3. Spacing
  4. Slant/slope
  5. Stringing together/joining
  6. Site/sitting on the line
  7. Shakiness

The 4Ps have been associated with poor handwriting outcomes.

  1. Posture
  2. Paper Position
  3. Pen/Pencil Grip
  4. Pressure 

Types of Scores:

The DASH-2 yields different types of scores pertaining to the five DASH-2 tasks:

  • Raw scores and scaled scores for each of the four core tasks
  • A total Standard Score
  • Percentile equivalents for the total standard score

The four types of supplementary scores provide:

  • A scaled score for the Graphic Speed task
  • a Copy Speed Difference score for the Copy Best/Copy Fast tasks
  • The percentage of illegible words from Free Writing
  • A WPM score for each section on the Free Writing task, to provide a profile of the whole Free Writing task

Summary:

This relatively new handwriting assessment fills a gap in our tools for the evaluation of handwriting speed and legibility for older students. Developed by the same authors of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Third Edition who are experienced in observing motor control and evaluation development, we can feel comfortable in getting reliable results from the DASH-2. It is being used in some exciting research projects at the University of Washington. We think it is an important component in our ability to identify handwriting difficulties with a standardized and reliable assessment.

Guest Blogger: Karen Conrad Weihrauch, ScD, OTR/L 

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Using Schoodles School Fine Motor Assessment (SFMA) as Part of a Strengths-Based Assessment


What does a ‘strengths-based’ assessment mean to you? In the past, it may have simply
involved listing a student’s strengths and then moving on to their needs. However, a
strengths-based assessment can be a powerful tool for promoting self-confidence,
motivation, and independence. This type of assessment highlights areas for growth and
improvement, while simultaneously showcasing a student’s positive attributes. By utilizing
a strengths-based approach, parents, staff, and students can all view the student in a
different, more positive light.

Using a criterion-reference tool like Schoodles, you can more effectively locate areas where
a student excels, as well as areas that require further support. Unlike standardized tools,
Schoodles offers the flexibility to provide verbal prompts, visual demonstrations, task
grading, or other aids to help students complete challenging tasks.
Here are some strengths/needs we can observe during testing:

  • Good attention to task/ may need support to move from activity to activity
  • Demonstrates interest and curiosity about all of the materials/may need a limited amount of materials in front of him to work to his potential
  • Highly sociable/may need some social time before beginning hands-on tasks
  • Quick learner/excellent candidate for 6-10  week burst of service to improve skills
  • Easily understands and follows visual versus verbal directions/may benefit from visual supports to move through the day
  • Loves to use his hands/ may benefit from fidgets or may need to be presented with one task at a time and given extra time to explore hands-on activities.

To effectively support students, we must shift our attention from their limitations to their capabilities. It is a common misconception that a strengths-based focus disregards a student’s challenges. We can describe a student’s skills in neutral or positive terms, highlighting attributes that help them succeed. While we do not ignore struggles or weaknesses, we strive to reframe them in a constructive manner.

You could start by reviewing your previous documentation to initiate a shift toward strengths. Highlight all the positive statements in green, all neutral statements in yellow, and all negative statements in red. By doing this, you can aim to minimize negative statements and ultimately eliminate them altogether.

When writing reports, it’s important to provide a positive summary of your data while still including any challenges. Here are some helpful tips:

  • Place all test scores at the bottom of your report.
  • Use positive or neutral descriptive language only.
  • Focus on what the student CAN do.
  • Reframe subjective language into objective language.
  • Highlight areas of potential growth.

By using Schoodles‘ SFMA alone or in combination with other tools, you can gain valuable
information about student strengths in a relatively short amount of time. Focusing on
student strengths during information gathering, report writing, and sharing will help
facilitate a sense of student efficacy in the students, their parents, and staff.

Guest Blogger Marie Frank OTR/L, Schoodles Co-Owner

An Overview of the Cognitive Performance Test

What Is the Cognitive Performance Test?

The Cognitive Performance Test (CPT) is a standardized, performance-based assessment that evaluates how cognitive impairments affect a person’s ability to complete everyday tasks. Widely used by occupational therapists, the CPT provides valuable insight into functional cognition, helping guide treatment planning and care recommendations.

Who Benefits from the Cognitive Performance Test?

The CPT is ideal for use in skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and community-based settings. It’s especially useful for evaluating individuals with:

  • Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  • Stroke or neurological conditions
  • Psychiatric disorders affecting cognition

This tool helps clinicians make informed decisions about discharge planning, level of supervision, and rehabilitation potential.

Quck Facts

Age Range: Adult/Geriatric

Test Type: Standardized & performance-based

Administration Time: 45 minutes

Publication Year: Manual revision 2018

Author: Developed by author and researcher Theresa Burns, OTR

Administration Time: Individual

Scoring: Range from intact performance (level 6 or 5) to profound disability (level 2)

Subtest

Each subtest repeatedly measures working memory and executive functions at progressively more complex levels. The specific task is less important than the way in which the client responds to gradually increasing task demands and task complexity. The seven subtests are:

Cognitive Performance Test
Cognitive Performance Test
Cognitive Performance Test
Cognitive Performance Test
  • Medbox
  • Phone
  • Travel
  • Shop
  • Wash
  • Toast
  • Dress

Scoring

Each subtask is rated with a performance level score (e.g. 6.0;5.0; 4.5 etc.). Subtest scores are then averaged, providing a total score.  Scores are based on average performance over time.

Profiles & Performance Patterns

The CPT profiles identify corresponding issues of IADL concern.  A half-level profile system is used  (5.6;5.0;4.5;4.0;3.5;3.0;2.5;1)

Burns, Thereasa (2018). Cognitive Performance Test (CPT) Revised Manual 2018 Maddak.