Typing Versus Handwriting: A Preliminary Investigation of Modality Effects in the Writing Output of People With Aphasia

Purpose: Handwriting and typing have different cognitive and motor demands; however, questions remain as to whether performance in people with aphasia varies based on modality. This study compares written discourse production across handwritten and onscreen typed modalities for a large sample of people with aphasia. We also aimed to explore potential variables that predict the number of written words generated by participants and determine if modality differences emerge when these variables are included as predictors. Method: Writing samples, via handwriting and onscreen typing, elicited in a picture description task were collected from 52 participants with chronic aphasia and coded for number of words. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to model the data. Aphasia type, severity of aphasia, writing severity, and use of nondominant hand for writing or onscreen typing were included as predictor variables. Results: There were no significant differences between the number of words generated in the typed modality versus handwritten modality for the sample. Of the predictor variables examined, Western Aphasia Battery-Revised writing scores significantly predicted the number of words produced (p >.001). However, the interaction of writing severity with modality was not significant. Conclusions: This preliminary study suggests that there was no effect of modality on one measure of written production, number of words. Future research is needed to evaluate if there are meaningful differences between modalities when additional measures, such as writing informativeness, are considered.