Analysis of various fractional order derivatives approaches in assessment of graphomotor difficulties

Abstract

Graphomotor disabilities (GD) are present in up to 30% of school-aged children and are associated with several symptoms in the field of kinematics. Although the basic kinematic features such as velocity, acceleration, and jerk were proved to effectively quantify these symptoms, a recent body of research identified that the theory of fractional calculus can be used to even improve the objective GD assessment. The goal of this study is to extend the current knowledge in this field and explore the abilities of several fractional order derivatives (FD) approximations to estimate the severity of GD in the children population. We enrolled 85 children attending the 3rd and 4th grade of primary school, who performed a combined loop task on a digitizing tablet. [...]