The study was done in Rome, but digitization has taken over the world and the figures can apply to everyone.
1 in 5 primary school children do not know how to write by hand. Others who write, do so with great difficulty. Who is to blame? Technology. Tablet and smartphone screens.
The research was carried out by Carlo Di Brina, director of child neuropsychiatry at the Umberto I Polyclinic, by Barbara Caravale of the Department of Developmental and Social Psychology at La Sapienza University and by Nadia Mirante from the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit at "Jesus Children" .
The research involved 594 students between the ages of 7 and 11, from 31 classes of 16 public primary schools in the Italian capital. The aim was to identify possible learning difficulties in children.
The children were asked to copy a text in five minutes using cursive letters. 32 participants, 5.3%, were excluded from the study for using capital letters or producing shorter text. While 10% instead turned out to be dysgraphic.
