Anna Barnett
BA (Hons.), PhD, Cpsychol. Reader in Psychology
Anna is a Professor in Psychology at Oxford Brookes University. Her research focuses on various aspects of perceptual-motor development but she has a special interest in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and in the assessment, teaching and learning of handwriting. Anna has been involved in producing the second edition of the popular Movement ABC test and is principal author of the Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting (the DASH). These tools are being widely used by health and educational professionals to identify and help children with movement and handwriting difficulties. Anna’s other publications include work on the assessment, description and developmental course of DCD, handwriting difficulties in children with DCD, and the teaching of handwriting in primary schools.
Anna was on the NHA committee from 1995–2013 and currently acts as Academic Advisor to the committee.
Sheila Henderson
Dip PE, BA, MA, PhD, Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow, British Psychological Society; Member of the UK Academy of Social Sciences; International Fellow of the American Academy of Kinesiology
Sheila is currently an Emeritus Reader at University College Institute of Education. The main focus of her research is on movement difficulties in children. The topics covered range from the motor difficulties of children born prematurely to the psycho-social and educational concomitants of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (2nd edition), of which she is principal author, has been translated into 16 languages and is one of the most widely used measures of developmental coordination disorders in the world. It has recently been nominated as the test of choice in the European Guidelines for the assessment of children with movement difficulties. Sheila has worked closely with Anna Barnett for many years, most recently one the Detailed Assessment Speed of Handwriting (DASH). She has also worked with both former and current members of the NHA committee on research projects and on NHA publications.
Sheila was one of the founding members of the NHA.
Rhona Stainthorpe
Professor in the Institue of Education at the University of Reading
Rhona Stainthorp is a professor in the Institute of Education at the University of Reading. She has been involved in the training of teachers and speech and language therapists for most of her professional life, but she began work as a teacher in an all-boys secondary modern school in a London Borough. Whilst working there she attended a very stimulating In Service day on the teaching of handwriting and has been interested in this aspect of literacy ever since. Her empirical research included the learning and teaching of reading and writing including spelling and handwriting. Her most recent study has been an investigation of individual difference in handwriting in Year 7 and its impact on writing quality. She sat on the committee of the Handwriting Interest Group (now the NHA) and edited the Handwriting Review.
Dr Angela Webb
B.Ed (Hons.) MA, PhD
Angela is a psychologist who specialises in the cognitive and academic needs of children with developmental disorders, particularly Developmental Coordination Disorder. This has led to her interest in children with handwriting difficulties. She works in a multi-disciplinary team at The Queen Anne Street Practice in Central London and as an advisor in schools. She also lectures part-time at the UCL Institute of Education where her research focus is the link between handwriting and written composition. She chaired NHA from 2006 to 2018.
