ABSTRACT
Writing occupies a special place within the repertoire of learned motor skills. The purpose of writing is to communicate ideas by producing conventional graphic signs that represent various sized elements of spoken language (i.e. words, syllables, or phonemes). Defined in this way, writing is probably about 5 000 years old (Gelb, 1963) whereas picture drawing, the antecedent of writing, can be traced back almost 35 000 years (Putnam, 1989). Consistent with its relatively recent appearance in evolutionary history, writing is also a late accomplishment on the ontogenetic time scale. In most literate cultures children start to write after the age of six, but the normal adult speed of writing is not achieved until about 15 years of age (Sassoon, Nimmo-Smith, & Wing, 1986). This is long after children master the motor skills necessary for drawing, using various tools, playing musical instruments, and performing sports activities (Van Galen, 1991).
