Information on the diagnosis and treatment of Dysgraphia, a specific learning disability in the area of writing.
Dysgraphia is a specific learning disability in the area of written expression. There are three types of Dysgraphia:
Dyslexic Dysgraphiais where the first draft of a paper is illegible but copied work is acceptable. A child with this type of disgraphia will have difficulty with spelling as well. Dyslexic dysgraphia does not necessarily mean that the child has dyslexia, a reading disability.
Motor Dysgraphia is defined as having a deficit in fine motor skills, poor dexterity and poor muscle tone. A child with motor dysgraphia will usually illegible handwriting, even when the work is copied. Letter formation in isolation is okay, but it takes a lot of time and effort. Spelling is generally okay for this child.
Spatial dysgraphia would present itself in illegible written work, even when the work is copied. In contrast, a child with spatial dysgraphia usually has normal spelling skills.
(Deuel, Ruthmary K., M.D. Developmental Dysgraphia and Motor Skills Disorders. Journal of Child Neurology, Vol. 10, Supp.1. January 1995, pp. S6-S8)
General Symptoms that Accompany Dysgraphia
Students who have a specific disability in writing often lack basic spelling skills. They may often confuse the letters: b, q, p, and d. These students will often write the wrong words when attempting to put their thoughts down on paper, as well. A teacher may notice that the student’s letters are inappropriately spaced, are incomplete or are a mixture of upper and lower case letters all in the same word.
The student may have an odd grip on pencil or pen, complain about pain while writing, or simply refuse to write. In addition, the writing itself may simply be illegible. Even so, illegibility should not be the sole qualifying factor in diagnosing a writing disability.
How is Dysgraphia Diagnosed?
Causes of Dysgraphia include genetics, head trauma, brain damage and disease. In order to diagnose dysgraphia, a parent or teacher would first be aware of the problem. A family physician will then generally refer the child to an occupational therapist who will do a battery of tests. These tests will look for pre-writing skills including:
Fine motor skills
Visuomotor integration (which involves being able to coordinate your hand and eyes together)
Smooth strokes
Perceptual discrimination of shapes/letters/numbers
Orientation to printed page
Ability to recognize letters
Professionals involved in the diagnosis include the occupational therapist, school psychologist, and special educator. Once a writing disability is identified, the student should begin to receive help to improve their writing skills.
How is Dysgraphia Treated?
An occupational therapist will often work with a child diagnosed with dysgraphia, teaching letter formation with directional sequence first, then blending those letters into words. Often, multi-sensory programs are used to teach reading and writing, and the Orton-Gillingham Method has shown to be helpful.
What Can You do to Help?
There are many things that can easily be done in the classroom and at home to reinforce skills or teach a child with dysgraphia. These include:
Use paper with clear lines printed for height and depth of letters (this means the child knows where the top middle and bottom of each letter should go).
Have the child write daily – and allow choice in what he writes.
Encourage letter writing.
Avoid making writing a punishment or negative activity.
Any other activities that help work on fine motor skills.
To help with hand-eye coordination, encourage activities that require cutting, making crafts, cooking, baking and participating in sports. To help with visual memory, play card games, marbles and jacks.
The copyright of the article Diagnose and Treat Dysgraphia in Special Needs Education is owned by Jennifer Wagaman. Permission to republish Diagnose and Treat Dysgraphia in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Last week my English teacher talked to saying I might have a slight case of
dysgraphia. Her son (who is now in med school) has this disability and she
says I display many of the same symptoms. When my teacher told me of this I
had a strange feeling I can’t describe. My mind I find my greatest
attribute, and have never known it to truly fail me before. I am a
sophomore in high school, taking a slew of honors courses. Almost every
report card greats me with strait A’s, but this comes with extreme stress.
All though my school days I’ve heard so may “She is so bright, but her
handwriting and spelling is atrocious.” Though I haven’t yet been
diagnosed, I feel both a burden lifted and a burden given. On one hand I’m
worried, for lack of a better word, about my “learning disability” (those
seem like such strong words for one would loves to learn as much as
myself). Alternatively, it’s good to know that soppiness may not be to
blame for your incompetent spelling and illegible handwriting. (I’ve been
trying to tell my teachers that for years). I hope to be a Geriatric doctor
after school, and if I have this condition, I won’t let it get in the way.
Dec 7, 2008 3:34 PM
Guest :
hi, im 15 + i was diagnosed with dysgraphia by a child sycolagist, if there
are any other people who are dysgraphic aswell, do you find it hurts when
you write? I do alot, but ive actally lernt to toch tipe + i i got a
notebook for my bday and its really helping with school + homework. But im
also starting to wonder if I really iam dysgraphic, you never know, it
might be because i am also left handed. but i liek being left handed. Oh
yeah + the learning sepport techer at school is a reader/scribe for me in
exsams aswell.
Dec 7, 2008 5:59 PM
Jennifer Wagaman :
Depending on how you hold your pencil, the left-handedness may or may not
be a part of your problem. When writing, attempt to keep your arm, wrist
and hand in a straight line instead of bending at the wrist to hold the
pencil. Otherwise, pain while writing is very much a symptom of Dysgraphia,
and is most often the first symptom students will complain of and the first
symptom teachers will dismiss.
Dec 30, 2008 4:50 PM
Guest :
Jennifer, I have a question: The National Center for Learning Disabilities
carries the description of dysgraphia beyond the mechanics of letter
formation and spelling to difficulties in written composition, such as
organizing thoughts, grammar and syntax, and a gap between written ideas
and understanding as demonstrated through speech. How would these aspects
of dysgraphia be tested/diagnosed?
Dec 30, 2008 5:04 PM
Jennifer Wagaman :
The difficulty that students have in writing beyond the mechanics of letter
formation are indeed a large part of a writing disability. When a student
is referred for testing at the school level, a school psychiatrist and a
special educator will both give the student a battery of tests such as the
Woodcock Johnson and others, to make a diagnosis. Many things go into the
diagnosis of a disability, including these tests, observations, and
classwork.
Jan 19, 2009 7:12 AM
Guest :
After reading about Dysgraphia, I think my son may have this problem,
although he doesn't seem to fit all the criteria. He is in the third
grade, and is very bright, tested to be gifted. His reading and
comprehension are well above grade level as well as his verbal
communication. However, his handwriting and spelling are terrible. We
work on his spelling lists until I think he knows them, but when the test
comes home he has missed half of them - either misspelled or so messy his
teacher couldn't read it. When I insist on better handwriting, he is very
slow - and it is still pretty messy. Also, when I read his writing, he
leaves out words, misspells words he should know or spelled correctly two
lines above. I have asked his teacher about his writing and how to help
him, and she is dismissive saying that he will do better when it is
important to him. I think she assumes he is just being lazy - which I have
thought before. I am unsure if I should pursue this further at school, or
go to our pediatrician. Any suggestions? One other thing, he did have
some developmental visual problems when he younger - tracking, etc... We
did therapy at home for six months, and he improved. After that is when
his reading took off. Could the two be related?
Jan 20, 2009 2:37 PM
Jennifer Wagaman :
The one thing you did not mention was any details about his writing
ability. If his difficulty is purely handwriting, it may not be dysgraphia.
If you would like to pursue this further, you can either talk to a
pediatrician or request testing from the school. You will most likely have
to provide some information explaining your concerns (sample papers and
other work). More important than having your child labeled, is ensuring
that your child has all opportunities to excel.
Jan 27, 2009 5:48 PM
Guest :
I can't believe I am just now hearing of this...My son has started having
issues in school. He is turning 9 and in 3rd grade. I have gone as far as
switching schools this year...this has helped so we can now work on his
issues instead of the school not wanting to deal with anything and calling
me all the time. My son gets b, q, p, and d confussed during writing all
the time. I am always saying...nope that is a b not a d. Last year he wrote
too small for the paper the teacher wanted him to use...this year he is
writing big and sloppy compared to last year. We have been working on his
penmanship...but he gets really irritated and hates to write because of it.
We are not working on anger issues because he gets so mad when he has to
write. I am going to call his school counselor tomorrow and ask her about
this. Thank you sooo much for this information. I was on this site looking
for a little help with his penmanship and you may have just helped find the
answer to my prayers. Thanks so much! If this is the case you can be sure I
will go back to the school that wanted to keep kicking him out for a few
days at a time and give them a piece of my mind...lol
Feb 7, 2009 9:06 AM
Guest :
My son is fifteen and a sophmore in highschool. We have continually had
problems with him in school and always thought it was just pure lazyness
and carelessness. In grade school he would often forget assignments in his
locker that were completed, never wanted to share what he was
learning....and never wanted to show us. We arranged to have the teachers
sign off on what books needed to go home making sure he had all that he
needed. He has managed to sweak by all these years, with comments from
teaches that he has the ability. On a recient standardized test he scored
high marks in english comprehension & reading.....strangely the one
course he has just failed. I came across a current paper of his and
noticed how he writes, the same as grade school, not on the lines but in
between. I recall commenting on it years back to him, and yet nothing has
changed. He is very withdrawn, angry, and disrespectful...yet, has many
good decent friends. I am not sure he has a learning disability or some
other problems...or just simply being a rebelious teenager.
Feb 7, 2009 10:22 AM
Jennifer Wagaman :
From what you have mentioned, it does not sound as if your son has a
learning disability. Even so, I do not know your son and have not seen his
work, so if you are concerned, I would recommend talking to his teachers
and perhaps request testing. Typically, a learning disability would show
itself in a poor grade on the standardized test as well, and the fact that
he did well on that test seems to indicate that perhaps it is not
"cool" to do well in class, or that some other issue is in play.
Feb 19, 2009 12:39 PM
Guest :
I am starting to be concerned that my 6 year old daughter might have a
learning disability, and that it might be dysgraphia. She is in first
grade and has always been one of the top readers in the class. She has
always struggled with writing.
In Montessori they recognized
that she had poor fine motor skills. We had her tested at an early
intervention programme and she tested with in her age group for all things
though they did note that her handwriting was poor.
She is now
in first grade, her writing is not improving as the school expected it to.
She still has a lot of letter reversals. She consistently mixes up b and d
in both reading and writing.She struggles to write the letter S she writes
the lower part and then adds the top bit, and the g is almost always
backwards and looks like an e. She regularly writes all of her words
backwards and has been known to write entire sentences backwards. She often
forgets to use spaces in her words, her writing is not on the line, she
does not use capital letters or full stops, the size of the letters will
vary widely and she does not spell words, that she knows, correctly. She
generally does well on spelling tests if you take into consideration that
the letters are backwards. However she does not seem to be able to transfer
her spellings into her written work.
This becomes acutely
obvious when free-writing. It took her almost a year to learn to hold
a pencil properly. She loves to paint and draw but does not colour inside
the lines well.
When given a writing task, say use the spelling
words in sentences she often gets frustrated. At school she is creative and
is advanced in her ability to write a story but it is difficult to read.
She often finishes the writing task quickly.
We live on a small
island in the Caribbean so finding testing is not easy. What would you
reccomend we do to determine wether we should have her tested?
Thank you!
Feb 19, 2009 4:43 PM
Jennifer Wagaman :
I am not sure how the school system works where you live, but my
recommendation would be to talk to your child's pediatrician or the school
about testing. Many schools are reluctant to test a young child and may
wait until second grade to begin the testing process in order to allow
teachers to gather more data regarding the child's abilities. This being
said, if you are concerned and would like your child tested, I would
discuss the issue with your child's teacher or other school administration
for further guidance.
Feb 21, 2009 9:57 AM
Guest :
My grandson is now 17. He writes with his left hand but does everything
else with his right hand. He has had many problems with English and writing
at school, and was often in trouble for not doing work and taking too long
to copy things from the blackboard. He preferred to get into trouble rather
than do written work. We were told that he was lazy and that he could 'do
it if he tried'. We have even been told that he is stupid. In desperation,
when he was 16, we had him tested for dyslexia. The diagnosis was that he
is not dyslexic but has phonological processing problems, including speed.
His writing looks as though a 6 year old has written it. He is quick
witted, and seems to have a good memory. When he has learnt a tune he never
needs to lok at the music again and can learn to play a tune by ear. He can
also remember jokes and events from the past. Do you think he may have
dysgraphia? His whole life is being affected by his inability to write and
spell properly, including his attitude. Job applications are a real
problem. If he can he avoids writing like the plague.
Feb 22, 2009 8:53 AM
Jennifer Wagaman :
Without knowing your grandson and working with him, I have no way of
accurately answering your question. If you want to have him tested for
dysgraphia, I would go to his school or doctor and request testing. As he
is already 17, a diagnosis may not be helpful, though. You may benefit more
from understanding the disability and working carefully with him, providing
him tools and strategies to fill out job applications and other writing
tasks that he will be required to do as an adult.
Mar 7, 2009 7:37 PM
Guest :
Hi, my son is 13 yaers old and his teachers have mentioned since grade
school that they could not read what he writes. He is great verbally and
teachers tell me that when they can't read his written responses they have
him respond orally. He can give great verbal responses but when he tries to
put them in writing it's only 1/3 of how he explains it verbally. He still
complains of pain in his hands when he has to write and one paragraph can
take him more than 3 hours to write. What can I do now at the age of 13?
Where can I take him to get evaluated? Next school year he will be in ninth
grade and I fear that note taking will become a big problem. Thank
you, Worried mother
Mar 8, 2009 5:19 AM
Jennifer Wagaman :
I would talk to both your son's pediatrician and the school about your
concerns. The bottom line is that you want him to be able to succeed in
high school, and you may need to be his advocate in order to get that to
happen. The Pediatrician will be able to tell you how to get him evaluated
if the school does not wish to. Then, you can take the results of the
evaluation to the school in order to get modifications for him, if indeed
he does have a disability. If not, you will need to work closely with his
teachers, and find ways to help him succeed.
Mar 23, 2009 12:13 PM
Guest :
I never knew why I had such a hard time writing while I was growing up. I
have always been considered to have above average intelligence, but could
never write legibly. I ended up dropping out of high school becasue I could
never pass any class that required me to write. I went into the military at
age 17 where I thrived in the electronics field. I have always had a knack
for math and science, being able to figure most things out in my head. I
found that I had very good troubleshooting skills as well. I don't see
things in a linear fashion and tend to do a lot of things out of what
normal people would consider to be the right sequence. I did end up going
to college during my military career and left with two bachelor's degrees
in engineering. Since my military retirement, I started working in Homeland
Security where I do a lot of writing. My writing, including keyborading, is
out of sequence most of the time but I do have my co-workers have a look
for me. I'm getting better but it is still a challenge. One item of that
might be of interest is that I have always been able to read and write
mirror image and upside down as easily as reading and writing normal. Of
course, my handwriting is not really legible either direction. I still have
anxiety when I need to fill out a form in ink. I usually have to have
several blank forms just to get one good one completed. I am also one of
the most directionally challenged people that you will ever meet. Without a
map or GPS, I am lost. I don't mind though, I just get to see more than
most people do along the way. My co-workers kid me about that all the time.
I'm 46 now and living with dysgraphia ahs been an adventure and a fun ride.
I glad that neither of my sons had to deal with it though.
May 6, 2009 6:33 PM
Guest :
I think my 9 year old has dysgraphia. However, I can't find anywhere in my
area that test for it. He was tested for dyslexia and did not have it.
Any suggestions?? We live in Alabama. Thanks!
May 15, 2009 5:58 AM
Guest :
I have two boys, a 9 year old (in third grade) and a 16 year old (junior in
high school). Both of my boys have been tested for gifted, and have IQ's
in the 140-145 range. Both of my boys are considered verbally advanced.
Both of my boys have struggled with writing. Both complain that it is
painful to write, and both have an odd grip on the pencil/pen that despite
much practice and work has never improved. When compairing the two boys'
handwriting, there is little to differnce it except that the 16 year old
writes smaller and is more likely to stay within the lines. In terms of
spelling and whatnot, my older boy has always excelled at spelling, while
my younger boy frequently mis-spells words and will even spell one word
three different ways in the course of one or two paragraphs. Also, my
younger boy mixes up his p's, q's, b's and d's. He also often writes his
numbers backwards. As I live in Florida, my younger boy will be subject to
the FCAT Writes test next school year. His teachers, and I, are concerned
that he will not be able to pass this test which is required for promotion
to fifth grade. As it so happens, this was a concern for my older son as
well. What is the best way to get my boys diagnosed, and is it too late
for my older boy?
May 15, 2009 9:38 AM
Jennifer Wagaman :
I would speak to your pediatrician about your concerns, as well as your
boy's teachers. You may need to spend extra time with both boys, working on
their writing. Perhaps a tutor would be helpful as well.
May 23, 2009 4:41 AM
Guest :
i think my son has dysgraphia but the school have never said,he is under
special needs at school,but he needs a scribe to do his work.
Sep 30, 2009 6:39 AM
Guest :
MY SON IS 6 AND IN AN INCLUSION SETTING . HE SUFFERS FROM FAMILIAL
ESSENTIAL TREMMOR IN HIS HANDS AND FINDS WRITING DIFFICULT. IF WE DO HIS
HOMEWORK ON THE COMPUTER HE DOES EXCELLENT BUT WHEN HE WRITES IT IS
ILLEIGIBLE, A MESS SPACIALLY AND FREQUENT LETTERS ARE BACKWARDS.I DONT KNOW
WHAT IT COULD BE. HE HAS DIFFICULTY FORMING SENTENCES IT TAKES HIM QUITE A
LONG TIME TO COEM UP WITH THE FORMAT BUT WHEN WE DO IT ON THE COMPUTER IT
WORKS BETTER THAN IF I HAVE HIM WRITE IT...WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Oct 1, 2009 5:34 AM
Jennifer Wagaman :
It sounds like your son would qualify to use a computer for all of his work
due to his medical problem. I would speak to his teachers and his doctor
about what the best course of action would be going forward.
Nov 5, 2009 2:59 PM
Guest :
I'm almost 20 years old, and currently attend university. I do very well in
school, I can spell very well, but I have very messy writing and I find I
write letters and numbers in the wrong order a lot. I know how to spell the
words but when I go to write them down, I mix up the order of the letters
and have to write the whole thing over again. In math if I don't pay close
attention I will mix up something like 304 with 340 or things like that. I
rarely mix up d's and b's, but it has happened. I recognize after I've
written the words, but I typically scratch out lots of words on written
exams. Do you think this sounds like dysgraphia?
Also, could
this affect social situations? I read something about dysgraphia being
linked with aspergers syndrome. I do find that a lot of the time if I'm
talking to people I'm not very comfortable around I have difficulty
expressing my thoughts. Any ideas?
Thanks!!
Nov 5, 2009 5:07 PM
Jennifer Wagaman :
It sounds like you are learning to compensate for your difficulties. If you
are concerned about having Dysgraphia, you should speak to a Dr. about
testing.
