GRAPHOMOTOR SKILLS: WHY SOME KIDS HATE TO WRITE

By Glenda Thorne, Ph.D.

Description of Graphomotor Skills

Handwriting is complex perceptual-motor skill that is dependent upon the
maturation and integration of a number of cognitive, perceptual and motor skills,
and is developed through instruction (Hamstra-Bletz and Blote, 1993; Maeland,
1992). While a plethora of information exists in lay and professional literature
about many of the common problems experienced by school age children,
difficulty with handwriting is often overlooked and poorly understood. Students
with graphomotor problems are frequently called "lazy", "unmotivated" and/or
"oppositional" because they are reluctant to produce written work. Many times,
these are the children who dislike school the most. Because they are sometimes
able to write legibly if they write slowly enough, they are accused of writing neatly
"when they want to". This statement has moral implications and is untrue; for
children with graphomotor problems, neat handwriting at a reasonable pace is
often not a choice.
When required to write, children with written production problems frequently
engage in numerous avoidance behaviors. They have to go to the bathroom;
they need to sharpen their pencils; they need a Kleenex from their backpack.
Sometimes they just sit and stare. Even disrupting the class and getting in
trouble may be less painful for them than writing. Work that could be completed
in one hour takes three hours because they put off the dreadful task of writing.
The following paragraphs will attempt to elucidate the various components of
handwriting and the characteristics which students display when there are
breakdowns in these components. Components of graphomotor or handwriting
skills include visual-perceptual skills, orthographic coding, motor planning and
execution, kinesthetic feedback and visual-motor coordination.
Visual-Perceptual Skills. Visual-perceptual skills enable children to visually
discriminate among graphic forms and to judge their correctness. Thus, visualperceptual skills involve the ability or capacity to accurately interpret or give
meaning to what is seen. Generally a number of specific skills fall into this
category including visual discrimination, or the ability to distinguish one visual
pattern from another, and visual closure, or the ability to perceive a whole pattern
when shown only parts of that pattern. Adequate visual-perceptual skills are a
necessary but not sufficient condition for legible written output.

Orthographic Coding. A second factor important to the production of legible

handwriting is orthographic coding. Berninger and her colleagues (Berninger,
Yates, Cartwright, Rutberg, Remy and Abbott, 1992) define orthographic coding
as the "ability to represent a printed word in memory and then to access the
whole word pattern, a single letter, or letter cluster in that representation" (pg.
260). Thus, orthographic coding refers to the ability to both store in memory and
retrieve from memory letters and word patterns. The relationship between poor
handwriting and orthographic coding deficits has been empirically established
(Berninger et. al., 1992).
Motor Planning and Execution. A third component of handwriting is praxis or
the ability to plan and execute motor actions or behavior. Fitts and Posner (1967)
describe motor skill acquisition as proceeding through three stages. The first
phase is called the cognitive or early phase. In this phase, the learner establishes
an understanding of the task and a cognitive map of the movements required to
accomplish the task. In the second phase, the associated or intermediate phase,
the movement patterns become more coordinated in time and space. During this
phase, proprioceptive feedback (the feedback that the brain receives from the
muscles and nerves) becomes increasingly important and the importance of
visual feedback decreases. The final phase, the autonomous phase, is
characterized by the development of larger functional units that are translated
into a motor program which then occurs with minimal conscious attention.
Luria (1966) notes that a motor action begins with an idea about the purpose of
an action and the possible ways in which this action may be performed. The
ideas are stored as motor engrams. Thus, in order to carry out a motor behavior,
we must have both the idea or image for what must be accomplished (i.e., the
plan) and the ability to match our motor output to that plan. Therefore, both
adequate motor planning and execution are necessary for handwriting.
Levine (1987) includes in the definition of dyspraxia difficulty with assigning the
various muscles or muscle groups to their roles in the writing task. This definition
focuses on the execution or output aspect of dyspraxia. According to Levine, in
order to hold a pencil effectively and produce legible handwriting at an
acceptable rate, the fingers must hold the writing utensil in such a way that some
fingers are responsible for stabilizing the pencil or pen and others are
responsible for mobilizing it. In a normal tripod grasp, the index finger is
responsible for stabilizing the writing instrument and the thumb and middle finger
are responsible for the mobility of the instrument during writing.
Kinesthetic Feedback. Yet another component of motor control for legible
handwriting produced at an acceptable rate is feedback of the sensorimotor
system, especially kinesthetic feedback, during the performance of motor

actions. Luria (1966) points out that for effective motor action, there must be
afferent impulses from the body to the brain that inform the brain about the
location and movement of the body. The body then makes adjustments based on
these impulses to alter its movement pattern until the desired pattern is achieved.
Thus, it is kinesthetic feedback that facilitates a good match between the motor
plan and motor execution. In writing, the writer has a kinesthetic plan in mind and
compares this plan to the kinesthetic feedback and then either corrects, persists
or terminates the graphomotor pattern (Levine, 1987).
Visual-Motor Coordination. Visual-motor coordination is the ability to match
motor output with visual input. Although it is the nonvisual or kinesthetic feedback
that is crucial for handwriting, visual feedback is also important. Visual feedback
provides gross monitoring of writing rather than the fine-tuned monitoring
provided by nonvisual feedback. It is this gross monitoring that prevents us from
writing on the desk, crossing over lines (Levine, 1987) and staying within the
margins.

Problems with Graphomotor Skills

Deficits in Visual-Perceptual Skills. Children with visual-perceptual problems
may have a history of reading problems because of difficulty with letter and word
recognition. In addition, if a child cannot accurately visually discriminate the letter
b from the letter d, he/she will be unable to reliably reproduce these letters upon
demand. If students have problems with visual closure, they may have difficulty
with accurate letter formation and handwriting legibility may be poor. For
example, they may print the letter o with a space in the top, but perceive the
letter as closed. When deficits in visual-perceptual skills are suspected, they can
be readily identified by informal or standardized tests.
Deficits in Orthographic Coding. Students who have trouble with orthographic
coding will often forget how to form certain letters in the middle of a writing task.
They frequently retrace letters or exhibit false starts or hesitancies as they write.
Observations of their written output may show that they have formed the same
letter several different ways. When asked, these students can usually report if
they have difficulty remembering what letters look like. Children who cannot
reliably make use of visual recall to form letters and words often prefer to print
rather than write in cursive because print involves only twenty-six different visual
letter patterns, whereas letters written in cursive have a seemingly endless
number of visual patterns. Their spelling errors may be phonetic in nature
(Levine, 1987, 1994).
Deficits in Motor Planning and Execution. Poor motor planning and execution
is referred to as dyspraxia. Deuel and Doar (1992) define dyspraxia as the

"inability to learn or perform serial voluntary movements with the proficiency

expected for age and/or verbal intelligence" (pg. 100). Helmer and Myklebust
(1965) discuss the role that memory for motor sequences play in correctly
forming letters when writing. Luria (1966) described two forms of dyspraxia. The
first form involves difficulty in creating an image of a required motor movement.
The second involves a breakdown in the central nervous system mechanism that
is responsible for putting the plan into action. Thus, the child has the blueprint for
the action/behavior, but has difficulty implementing it motorically (Levine, 1987).
Ayres (1972, 1975, 1985) suggested that the problem in developmental
dyspraxia is in the neural activity that takes place prior to motor execution.
According to Ayres, dyspraxia is generally viewed as an output problem because
the motor component is more observable than the sensory component. However,
in her view, dyspraxia is an inability to integrate sensory and motor information,
rather than merely motor production.
Children who suffer from fine motor dyspraxia show poor motor coordination. At
times, they assign too many muscles to stabilizing the pencil or pen and too few
muscles to mobilizing it. At other times, they assign too many muscles to
mobilizing the writing utensil and too few muscles to stabilizing it. Thus, their
pencil grips are often inefficient. They may develop a hooked grip in which they
stretch out the tendons in the back of the arm so that the fingers move very little
if at all during writing. With this grip, they are using the larger muscles of the wrist
and forearm which may be easier to control than the smaller muscles in the
fingers. They often perform poorly with other fine motor tasks that involve
coordinated motor movements such as tying shoes or holding a fork correctly
(Levine, 1987).
Another pencil grip which suggests fine motor dyspraxia is one in which the child
holds the pencil very tightly and near the point when writing. Further, students
with dyspraxia often change pencil grips and prefer writing in cursive rather than
print. They do not like to write and complain that their hand hurts when they write.
Writing for them is a labor-intensive task. Fine motor dyspraxia is frequently
associated with speech production problems because these children often have
difficulty assigning the muscles in the mouth to specific speech sounds (Levine,
1987, 1994).
Impaired Kinesthetic Feedback. Children with impaired kinesthetic feedback
often develop a fist-like grip of the writing instrument. With this grip, they extend
their thumb over the index and middle finger, limiting the mobility of the fingers.
They may also press very hard on the paper with the writing utensil in an attempt
to compensate for the lack of kinesthetic feedback. Further, they may look closely
at the pencil or pen when writing thus attempting to guide the hand using visual

feedback which is a much slower process. This is why children with impaired
kinesthetic feedback may produce legible handwriting at a greatly reduced pace.
As they progress in school, however, the demands placed on written output are
too great and legibility deteriorates. These are the children who are often
accused of writing neatly "when they want to". They also often prefer to use
mechanical pencils and "scratchy" pens because these provide more friction on
the paper when writing. They complain that their hand hurts when writing and
they do not like to write. Performance in other fine motor skills may be adequate
or good because many fine motor skills do not place such reliance on kinesthetic
feedback.
Research has shown that tasks which were designed to improve kinesthetic
sensitivity improved handwriting performance more than a task that involved only
practice in handwriting (Harris and Livesay, 1991).
Deficits in Visual-Motor Coordination. Children with visual-motor
incoordination function much differently than those with impaired kinesthetic
feedback because of the different demands of certain motor tasks. Poor visualmotor integration may lead to problems with fine motor tasks that rely heavily on
visual feedback. These include threading a needle, drawing, painting, craftwork,
building things with blocks, repairing things, playing games such as Nintendo and
using a mouse on a computer.
Strategies for Graphomotor Problems
For children who have difficulty with orthographic coding, it may be helpful
to tape an alphabet line to the corner of their desk for easy reference.
Students with graphomotor problems should be given extended time to
complete written assignments and/or a reduction in the volume of written
output. For example, if the exercise given is to correctly capitalize and
punctuate sentences or a passage, these should be provided to the
student in typed form so that he/she has to only correct the work, rather
than write it and then correct it. Also, if the assignment is to answer the
questions at the end of the chapter in social studies, the student should be
required only to write the answers, not both questions and answers.
Additionally, he/she should be allowed to state answers in short phrases. In
other words, if the subject matter being assessed is knowledge of
information presented in the social studies chapter, it is this that should be
assessed, not how competent the student is with the physical act of
writing, or how much writing interferes with his/her ability to demonstrate
his/her knowledge of social studies.

 Children with handwriting difficulties may need to be given the opportunity

to provide oral answers to exercises, quizzes, and tests.
Learning to type is helpful for these students. Writing assignments should
be done in stages. Initially, the child would focus only on generating ideas.
Next, he/she would organize his/her ideas. Finally, the student would
attend to spelling and mechanical and grammatical rules. There are
computer software programs available with spell and grammar checks.
Students with graphomotor problems may need to be provided with
information presented on the board or on overheads in written form, such
as teacher-prepared handouts or Xerox copies of other students' notes.
Children with handwriting problems should be provided with written
outlines so that they do not have to organize lectures or class materials
themselves. This becomes particularly important in junior high grades.
Parents should be given the opportunity to purchase an extra set of
textbooks for the purpose of highlighting, particularly for content area
subjects. Also, notes may be made on Post-Its and then the Post-Its could
be attached to a larger sheet.
It is often necessary to use alternative grading systems for children with
graphomotor problems. One grade would be given for overall appearance
and mechanics of writing, and the second for content.
When writing reports, it may be helpful for the student to identify his/her
own errors and to correct these after learning specific strategies to do so.
He/she would then list his/her most frequent errors in a workbook and refer
to this list when self-correcting.
It should be stressed to school personnel that slow work habits are often a
result of graphomotor difficulties and do not reflect deficits in motivation.
Electronic devices, such as the Franklin Speaking Spelling Ace may be
helpful for students with handwriting problems.
References
Ayres, A. J. (1972). Sensory Integration and Learning Disorders. Los Angeles:
Western Psychological Services.
Ayres, A. J. (1975). Sensorimotor foundations of academic ability. In W.
Cruickshank & D. P. Hallahan (Eds.), Perceptual and learning disabilities in

children: Volume 2, Research and Theory (pp. 300-360). New York: Syracuse
University Press.
Ayres, A. J. (1985). Developmental dyspraxia and adult onset apraxia. Torrance,
CA: Sensory Integration International.
Berninger, V., Yates, C., Cartwright, A., Rutberg, J., Remy, E., & Abbott, R.
(1992). Lower-level developmental skills in beginning writing. Reading and
Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 4, 257-280.
Deuel, R.K., & Doar, B.P. (1992). Developmental manual dyspraxia: A lesson in
mind and brain. Journal of Child Neurology, 7, 99-103.
Fitts, P. M., & Posner, M. I. (1967). Human Performance. Belmont, CA:
Brooks/Cole.
Hamstra-Bletz, L., & Blote, A.W. (1993). A longitudinal study on dysgraphic
handwriting in primary school. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26, 689-699.
Harris, S.J., & Livesey, D.J. (1992). Improving handwriting through kinesthetic
sensitivity practice. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 39, 23-27.
Levine, M.D. (1987). Developmental Variation and Learning Disorders. Educators
Publishing Service, Inc.: Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Levine, M.D. (1994). Educational Care: A System for Understanding and Helping
Children with Learning Problems at Home and in School. Educators Publishing
Service, Inc.: Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Luria, A.R. (1966). Higher Cortical Functions in Man. Basic Books, Inc.: New
York.
Maeland, A.F. (1992). Handwriting and perceptual-motor skills in clumsy,
dysgraphic, and normal children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 75, 1207-1217.
Myklebust, H.R. (1965). Developmental disorders of written language: Vol. 1.
Picture story language test. Grune & Stratton: New York.

Does your child seem lazy, sloppy, and unmotivated? He or she could be suffering from a
writing glitch called Dysgraphia, which is easily corrected. Some children have to use so much
energy for the writing process that they are reluctant to put pencil to paper for anything!
Not all children who have a writing block or dysgraphia also have visual/spatial problems, but
they often overlap. This is the most common learning block that gifted children have. Many
times it isn't even identified until a child is a teenager and not turning in written work! You will
even find out if your child is hard wired to be right handed or left handed.
Dysgraphia:

Resists writing (after age 7)

Writing reversals

Math problems not lined up

Place value or reading clock difficult

Omits letters when spelling

Can't get thoughts on paper
Copying very labor intensive
Poor spacing on paper
Great stories orally, but writes bery little
Fine motor difficulties

USING BRAIN RESEARCH TO PROMOTE STUDENT SUCCESS

Dianne Craft, MA, CNHP www.diannecraft.org

SMART KIDS WHO

HATE TO WRITE
Introduction
* The brain model for understanding how students learn
* Crossing-the-midline as vital for easy processing of information
* How bright children can have processing problems
* How a processing glitch can make a child appear "lazy" or uncooperative

Visual/Motor Processing (the child's ability to "think and write at

the same time")
*DIAGNOSIS -Learn to check for signs of "stress" in a child's writing system
Hates to writeor takes so long to do
Mixed dominance (eye and hand on opposite sides of body)we never change
dominance!
Frequent or occasional reversals in letters or numbers (after age 7)
A right handed child who makes his os clockwise, like a left hander
Makes many letters from bottom to top (vertical reversals)
Copying takes a long time and is very labor intensive
Does all math problems mentally to avoid writing them down

 Writing looks sloppy and child is often considered lazy

Great stories orally, but writes very little
In math, lining up numbers in multiplication or division is difficult
Presses hard when writing
Teenagers who avoid writing at all costs
Mixes capital and small letters in writing
Early Signs of Visual/Spatial Problems (can be corrected with easy midline therapy)
1. Difficulty identifying left and right easily
2. Learning to ride bike much harder
3. Difficulty skipping (can gallop)
4. Difficulty going down stairs using alternate feet
5. Difficulty learning to tie shoes
6. Fine motor problems

*CORRECTION
Establish the midline of the body as a "bridge" instead of "barrier"
Use the "midline spatial" exercise to reduce the stress in a child's writing system
This exercise helps a child "internalize" directionality
Improves eye/hand coordination for sportscoaches love this exercise!
The exercise, done daily, begins to show improvements in handwriting ease in 3
months, but needs to be
continued for a minimum of 6 months to transfer to the right, automatic brain
hemisphere.
This very effective daily writing exercise, and other helpful learning exercises are
available in the
Therapy Manual. Or, for a visual demonstration of the midline spatial exercise with
all ages of children, and with

groups, get the DVD, Smart Kids Who Hate to Write. . Dianne offers many products
and teaching tools on her website to
make learning so much easier for your struggling learner at home! More info:
www.diannecraft.org
Download Diannes FREE DAILY LESSON PLANS FOR A STRUGGLING WRITER AND
SPELLER!

op 5 Reasons Students Hate to Write

Many students, including homeschoolers, have an aversion to sentence writing,
creative writing, journaling, paragraph writing, essay writing, formal writing,
informal writing, and basically any kind of writing. Students need step-by-step
writing instruction beginning with sentence composition, followed by paragraph
composition, and finally college level essay composition to help them learn how
to communicate better. But, many dont understand why they need to learn how
to write since they think they will never understand or use writing skills. Students
who are not ready or willing to write, but are forced with inadequate writing
instruction, tend to develop a hatred for writing and avoid anything to do with
writing altogether. So why do students hate writing?

How am I supposed to figure out what the right answer is?

Many students approach writing emotionally not understanding that a

concrete or right way exists.
Insufficient groundwork manifests insecurity and frustration: Preparation
should include a good base of Language Arts, especially basic grammar and
spelling that are further strengthened as writing skills are developed. Some
students fear they must get everything perfect on the first draft, and shut down
because they do not know how to spell a word or compose various sentence
structures effectively. A solid writing foundation focuses on the step-by-step
process from brainstorming to outlining to composing the rough draft and writing
the final copy. The Write Foundation teaches the writing process and structure,

complemented by Language Arts basics, to develop healthy overall language

usage with skillful writing.
No right answers: If there is more than one right answer, how am I supposed to
figure out what the right answer is? Writing is tough for many students to wrap
their heads around. Every other skill they learn has a right answer and a right
way to do it. Many approach writing emotionally not understanding that a
concrete or right way exists. Teaching writing structure for various types of
essays and the writing process of brainstorm, outline, rough draft and final copy,
gives your students the confidence needed to jump into any writing assignment,
even advanced level essays. The Write Foundation provides the tools students
need to make essay writing a concrete endeavor which produces confident
writers, and in turn, better writers.
1. Writing is too hard. For many students, writing requires too much extra
effort. Reality check: any major breakthrough in brain development takes
extra effort.
2. Students however, need to be mature enough to handle organizing
abstract thinking, which happens when most are around 11, 12 or 13.
3. Students are often forced to write and rewrite and rewrite, which
exasperates them even more when they are already insecure about what
they are doing.
4. Even as the necessary skills are acquired, writing frustrates many,
because it tends to take more time than other subjects.
Many times, students react and shut down. Some throw their hands up and quit
and some melt down, or they disassociate themselves and stop inputting effort. If
you are experiencing Chernobyl with passive or aggressive behavior, find a way
for your student to re-connect with writing by breaking it down into bite sized
chunks, backing up or slowing down, pinpointing how to bring the essay together.
Hold their hand until they shoo you away because their confidence is built.

When students are bored, teaching writing is a like trying to drive a car
out of gas;

you get nowhere.

Fear of failure. How in the world do I complete this assignment? Writing style?
What is that? Am I being graded on everything? These questions and more
swarm around in a teens mind when they are overwhelmed. Teach them how to
write using structure and the writing process. Yes, a variety of writing structures
exists, but teach them enough about basic structures so they have something to
fall back on when writing anything. The fear of failure fades when students have
enough Language Arts basics, guidance for their writing creations, and are
beginning to understand how to use writing structure and the writing process.
Then they can get to the task at hand and write.
Im bored. Your homeschooler couldnt stand reading about it and now he has
to write about it? When students are bored, teaching writing is a like trying to
drive a car out of gas; you get nowhere.
For Mr. Boredom, let him select his topic within your specifications. A more
engaging topic will hold his interest longer.
When teaching different writing styles, some subjects must be used which
will not be your students favorite, but avoid making them write about
subjects they loathe. Teach them how to write with topics that interest
them.
Break down the assignment into bite-sized pieces. When tackling an
assignment, make the work sessions long enough to make progress, but
not so long the brain is drained and shuts down.
Make sure your students are working on the correct level. If the
assignment is too difficult, they will shut down and claim boredom. If the
assignment is too easy, boredom can also be a challenge.
Build self-confidence by backing up and starting where your child can work
successfully before diving into their first daunting essay. Mastering fundamentals
alleviates writing roadblocks. Regardless of the roadblocks your homeschooler
throws in the way of learning how to write, you can find a way to blast through

when you identify them as you listen to your childs concerns. When you open
your childrens horizons by helping them to embrace writing, they gain a skill they
will use their entire lives.

Homeschooling Reluctant Writers

and Children Who Hate to Write
by Julie Shepherd knapp, copyright 2006, 2008

Pre-expressive writing activities and strategies to help reluctant writers

become interested in words and writing...

Some children are naturals at writing -- the words practically flow

from their pencils as they write lengthy stories, create poetry, and
enthusiastically write book reports and research reports. They write
frequently (because they enjoy it), even choosing to write in their spare
time, and enjoy sharing what they have written with others. If you are
reading this article, however, you are dealing with the opposite end of the
spectrum --a reluctant writer.
Reluctant writers come in two varieties -- those who enjoy writing
projects of their own choosing, but need to be persuaded to do assigned
writing... and those who are reluctant to write at all, because they have
very real difficulties with writing.
Children who enjoy writing, but balk at writing assignments are the easier
to help of the two types. Often, a change in the type of writing you
assign will gain their cooperation and inspire them to write. Children who
have difficulty with all types of writing are much more challenging
because they may actually have a developmental issue or a learning
disability that interferes with their writing. These children will need a great
deal of help with the writing process.
If your child doesn't mind some types of writing, but is reluctant to

do assigned writing, maybe a change in writing programs would help -take a look at the Creative Ideas for Writing section where you will find
assignments that are more fun and more interesting than the writing
prompts included in most writing programs.
Remember that children (like everyone else!) are more willing to write
about topics that interest them, and are happiest when they have several
choices and a real say in what they write about. Also, keep in mind that
some children prefer creative writing while others prefer factual
writing, so keep your child's preferences in mind as you look thru the
many options for writing activities.
Some reluctant writers just need help to become comfortable with
writing. They need to be eased into the idea, need help finding
inspiration, and benefit from the chance to do fun writing projects.
Parents should take care with such a child not to make too big a deal of
writing-- or they may end up with a student who decides they hate to write
and who resists all writing assignments.
Some reluctant writers are actually just late-bloomers who will become
quite good at writing when the time is right for them. As homeschoolers
we can afford to give them the time they need.
Some 4 to 6 year olds may just be too young or too immature to
manage the whole writing process. Luckily, homeschoolers have the
luxury of waiting another year or two to begin writing lessons with a child
who just doesn't seem ready for formal writing instruction. Explore
pre-writing activities that may help develop the muscles and dexterity
that will be needed for the act of handwriting.
Sometimes a child's learning style makes writing a struggle. Take a
look at the Visual-Spatial Learner page if you suspect that your child
has a very visual way of thinking that may make working with words a
challenge.
However, if you have a child who seriously struggles with handwriting and
also with composition it is possible that he or she has a disability of

written expression, called dysgraphia. You can read more about

dysgraphia and other learning disabilities in the Special Needs section.
Children who have very real difficulties with writing -- difficulties
that lead to tears and tantrums, and writing that seems to be way below
the level you believe they should be capable of -- need special attention
and, probably, at some point, professional assistance to overcome their
troubles with writing. There are a lot of different reasons for a child to
have such a hard time with writing.
Expressive writing requires a lot of different skills and kids can
have trouble with any one or more of them! Just think about it -- in
order to write a paragraph -- children need to choose what to write about,
decide what details to include, organize their thoughts into a logical
sequence, think of what to say and how to say it and what words to use,
hold the thoughts for each sentence in short term memory as they
write, try to remember proper spelling, spacing, grammar, and
punctuation, all while using their fine motor skills to form each letter!
Writing is a very complicated process, but most children gradually get
better at writing as each year passes. If your child doesn't seem to
be doing any better there may be a medical reason behind the difficulties.
If you haven't already, you should bring up the writing trouble with your
child's pediatrician and ask for his or her input. If your pediatrician
thinks it may be more than a matter of age or immaturity he or she will
likely provide a referral to a specialist who can help identify the issues.
You might be referred to an Occupational Therapist who can assess
your child's motor development and prescribe exercises and treatment
routines to help with hand dexterity and muscle strength.
You might want to make an appointment with a Developmental
Optometrist to see if your child has any unusual visual problems
(more than just fuzzy eyesight) that might affect his or her writing.
You might be referred to a Speech-Language Pathologist who can

help your child with word retrieval (thinking of what to say), organizing
thoughts, and planning out what to put on paper.
Maybe you'll be referred to a Developmental Pediatrician or Pediatric
Neurologist or Pediatric Neuropsychologist who can medically
evaluate your child for signs of a learning disability or other disorder.
Perhaps you will also see an Educational Psychologist, who can give
your child educational assessments to pinpoint exactly what your child's
strong and weak areas are.
Any of these visits may lead to a diagnosis of a learning disability in your
child or they may just reveal isolated weak areas that your child needs
help with. For more information on possible learning disabilities that
might affect your child's ability to write, check out the Homeschooling
Special Needs page and take a look at the information on learning
disabilities, beginning with Dysgraphia. Also known as "disability of
written expression", dysgraphia can be a component of several other
common learning disabilities and disorders, such as Dyslexia,
ADD/ADHD, NVLD, Aspergers, Tourettes, and others.
If you'd like to work on your child's writing skills at home, in
addition to whatever other avenues you decide to pursue, take a look at
the activities in the following sections. I'm not a professional -- just a
mom who's done some research and detective work. I've tried to figure
out some ways to get kids more in tune with words and begin to enjoy
using words -- two things that certainly help set the stage for effective
written expression.
My approach is to try to "grow" an interest in verbal expression,
written expression... and eventually in writing, but without much (if any)
actual writing, until your particular child seems ready to write. I also
encourage teaching your child to use the keyboard as soon as he or
she is wiling and able -- to reduce the stress and discomfort of the
writing process (by typing, instead). You may still want to continue with
handwriting practice... but keeping it separate from the composition
process may help free up your child's ability to get thoughts on paper.

Here is a review of typing software for kids Do check that the older
software will work on your computer, though -- for example Mario
Teaches Typing 2 is a great choice for video game loving kids... if it will
work on your system.
To work on writing at home... I'd suggest making one or two of the
following activities a part of your normal daily life, and work thru the
activity lists over a period of several months to several years, depending
on how your child responds to them. Keep playing the basic activities
until your child outgrows them, then add new ones. Be on the lookout for
new word games that might grab your child's interest. :-) Having fun with
words is the key.

Some Ideas Worth Considering

Pull Writing Out of EverythingExcept Writing.
There is a school of thought that if children struggle with something, then include
that something in everything they do and they are certain to get better. Perhaps.
But the price is too high. The child will never have the privilege of knowing hes a
whiz in science. He will never know that he is fascinated by the lives of people
who lived hundreds of years before. Indeed, he will come to believe he is poor or
mediocre in all subjects because we, his teachers, will have forced him to
proceed in these subjects at the lumbering speed allowed by his weakest skill.
What a shame. For the sake of one skill, we sacrifice delight and proficiency in so
many others.
Instead, teach writingcertainly, but do so in writing class. Allow science and
history and music and art to be full of delightful, non-writing exploration. Permit
your child the privilege of discovering, exploring and soaring in his areas of
strength.

Hit the Keyboard Early

It has been said that a highly distractible child without a keyboard is like a
paraplegic without a wheelchair. Its that important for getting this child where he
wants to go. Their minds proceed at a far faster pace than their ability to write can
record. Children as young as five can begin a typing program that uses games to
learn. When these kids reach about 50 words per minute, something wonderful
happens. They are finally able to get thoughts down quickly enough to maintain
their stream of thought. And thus, the gap between thinking and recording is
greatly shortened.
Group Writing Time with a Twist
Create a 15-minute-everybody-writes portion of your day. All available persons
come to the table, grab a pencil and write. 15 minutes only. Then each person
reads their work to the others. Each child has an instant audience for their efforts.
But heres what really made this activity zing in our home. I wrote too, and when I
did I made sure that I wrote an exotic or weird fast-paced adventure that always
ended with a cliff hanger. After sharing my short story about the adventures of
Shelly and Matt, I might end with
smoke was still clearing from the small unexpected explosion. Neither
Matt nor Shelly could be certain of what they were seeing. Yet, clearly
visible in the center of the blast area, sat a small, soggy, wriggling
Thats it. Thats where I would end my story. Did my kids want to know what came
next? You bet! But to find out, they had to attend tomorrows 15 minute writing
time, produce their own work and only then would they hear my next installment,
which would once again end with some compelling unanswered question.
Writing for an Audience
Writing just for Mom or Dad can lose its appeal over time. Broaden the audience
for your childs writing efforts.
Have a monthly family presentation night involving a few families.
Put out a family newsletter that goes out to friends and grandparents. (Ours

included a survey for each recipient to send back to my kids, giving feedback on
the articles.
Write letters to get things that are sent out free to anyone who asks.
Create a newspaper for your homeschool group.
Begin a website for your support group families to post their childrens work.
Find pen pals
Create a back-and-forth letter writing exercise between your child and a shut-in
or elderly family member.
Enter writing contests. There are a gazillion of them for many skill levels.
Break It Down
Any significant writing assignment needs to be broken down into very small,
manageable parts. Dont say Do a report. Instead say Get 5 resources on this
topic. Next, ask for note cards on one of the resources. Then for a second. Then
a third. Next, ask for a group of headlines under which the cards might be
grouped. You get the idea. Dole out the process one step at a time.
Appreciate the Physical Factors at Work
If this child is intense in other ways, it shouldnt be surprising that he might write
intensely as well. This can mean that he even holds the pencil tightly and presses
too forcefully onto the paper. The result is a hand that tires and cramps very
quickly. Consider playing secretary for your child. Allow him to speak his ideas
or thoughts out loud while you record them. This may be the first time your child
actually sees his own words on paper as they existed in his head. It can be an
incredible motivation for a child who, up to this point, has produced little or no
written work.

Keep Handwriting in Perspective

Handwriting has taken on a weighty, almost noble significance in the
homeschooling community. I think it harkens back in time to the nostalgic days of
Laura Ingalls Wilder with rows of orderly, disciplined children making yet more
rows of orderly and lovely letters. While I too am easily caught up in the schooling
of yesteryear, Ive come to believe that we can have too much of an emphasis on
handwriting. For that matter, even in yesteryear, handwriting was far too elevated
a skill. Many practitioners of beautiful script gave no worry whatsoever to the
spelling of these lovely words.
So in our time, we should perhaps ask just how important is handwriting really? If
it was essential for academic success, then almost every doctor I know should be
considered a failure (just ask any pharmacist). Ditto for many engineers whose
printing often requires a magnifying glass just to make it big enough to decipher. I
also know that the vast majority of todays communication comes via a keyboard,
not beautifully executed penmanship. My own husband, who holds a highly
successful position with a major technology firm, still writes notes that require a
decoder ring to understand. So in our house we decided to relax. For our oldest
child, who really struggled with a pencil, we made a switch from a painful
emphasis on beautiful handwriting to a more practical emphasis on legible
handwriting. You too may find your push for perfection better placed elsewhere.
Give the Tool of a Tape Recorder
The headmaster of a local private school told me recently that this little tip saved
his collegiate career. He had struggled with writing until a wise counselor

suggested he obtain a tape recorder. He did. And from that point on he spoke his
reports directly into the recorder and then later, transcribed them into print.
Having the ability to think out loud without writing allowed him to unload his
thoughts. Later, totally disconnected from the act of formulating thought, he did
the mundane robotic task of putting these great thoughts onto paper. At this point
he was able to complete the task of organizing and editing.
Creative Spelling Practice
Writing out spelling words for practice is a tradition as old as the written word
itself. But consider other spelling options. Spell the words by saying them out
loud several times until a rhythm develops. Isnt that how we all learned to spell
Mississippi? Utilize the fingerspelling alphabet. For the kinesthetic learner, this is
golden. Many children who struggle with writing are not visual learners who can
simply see when a word is misspelled. So, memorize spelling rules (I before
E except after Cetc.) and teach spelling in word families that use these
rules.
Include Technical Writing
We spend so much time teaching creative and persuasive writing while often
overlooking the valuable skill of technical writing. We may well be missing a
highly marketable skill. Think about how often you read technical writing. Training
materials, travel guides, procedure guides, scientific papers, data books,
catalogues, even cookbooks. Anything providing directions. A professional
technical writer in the field of chemical research remarked that the goal of
technical writing is very different from the goal of other types of writing.
Increative writing, persuasive writing, even poetry, the goal is to be
understood. In technical writing, the goal is to write in such a way that you
couldnt possibly be misunderstood.
Start simply. Have your child write the directions to a simple task. Then using his
work, try to accomplish the task yourself. Do your best to misunderstand the
directions. In other words, look for a possible glitch in his directions that would
result in an error on the part of the reader. This skill of technical writing is not only

valuable in our information and computer driven culture, it also happens to be a

skill area in which many of these otherwise reluctant writers excel.
Consider Dropping English
What! Are you out of your mind? OkayI understand your horrorbut take a
breath and hear me out. While I cant fully jump on this bandwagon just yet, it has
merit worth considering. There are some who argue that vocabulary, spelling and
grammar dont need to be studied. Instead, they maintain that all these subjects
are beautifully, efficiently and fully addressed by the simple act of reading
wonderfully rich materials. Year after year of reading, hearing and speaking the
Kings English beautifully will result in a child who communicates in the same
manner, whether speaking or writing. If you have a child who struggles with the
mechanics of writing but loves to spend hours reading, you may already have a
solution in place. Its a thought.
A Different Path to Success
Having a child who cannot write is simply not an option in todays
communications driven world. All children need to know how to communicate in
print. But your child may take a non-traditional path to achieving this goal. So
dont be afraid to look outside of the box in finding keys to unlock understanding
and skill of this task for your child. As you discover what approaches most
engage your child, youll begin to build a toolbox of workable ideas that will build
on each other. More importantly, your child will have many opportunities to say,
Yes, I can write, because you will have given him the tools and experiences to
prove it. Have an Out-of-the-Box Day!
This article first ran in the Spring 2007 issue of The Old Schoolhouse
Magazine.
- See more at: http://heartofthematteronline.com/why-does-my-child-hate-towrite/#sthash.oh7lpugo.dpuf

nderstanding Dysgraphia
Print this page

Note: This fact sheet about dysgraphia is published by the International Dyslexia
Association (IDA). IDA encourages the reproduction and distribution of fact sheets. If
portions of the text are cited, appropriate reference must be made. Fact sheets may not be
reprinted for the purpose of resale.
What is dysgraphia?
What causes dysgraphia?
Does dysgraphia occur alone or with other specific learning disabilities?
Why is the diagnosis of dysgraphia and related learning disabilities important?
What kinds of instructional activities improve the handwriting of children with dysgraphia?
Do Children with dysgraphia make reversals or other letter production errors?
What kind of instructional strategies improve spelling of children with dysgraphia?
Are educators in public schools identifying children with dysgraphia and providing
appropriate instruction in public schools?
Are there research-supported assessment tools for diagnosing dysgraphia?
What is dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a specific learning disability that affects how easily children acquire written
language and how well they use written language to express their thoughts.
Dysgraphia is a Greek word. The base word graph refers both to the hands function in
writing and to the letters formed by the hand. The prefix dys indicates that there is
impairment. Graph refers to producing letter forms by hand. The suffix ia refers to having a
condition. Thus, dysgraphia is the condition of impaired letter writing by hand, that is,
disabled handwriting and sometimes spelling. Impaired handwriting can interfere with
learning to spell words in writing. Occasionally, but not very often, children have just
spelling problems and not handwriting or reading problems.
What causes dysgraphia?
Research to date has shown orthographic coding in working memory is related to
handwriting. Orthographic coding refers to the ability to store unfamiliar written words in
working memory while the letters in the word are analyzed during word learning or the
ability to create permanent memory of written words linked to their pronunciation and
meaning. Children with dysgraphia do not have primary developmental motor disorder,
another cause of poor handwriting, but they may have difficulty planning sequential finger
movements such as the touching of the thumb to successive fingers on the same hand.
Does dysgraphia occur alone or with other specific learning disabilities?
Children with impaired handwriting may also have attention-deficit disorder (ADHD)
inattentive, hyperactive, or combined inattentive and hyperactive subtypes. Children with
this kind of dysgraphia may respond to a combination of explicit handwriting instruction plus
stimulant medication, but appropriate diagnosis of ADHD by a qualified professional and
monitoring of response to both instruction and medication are needed

Dysgraphia may occur alone or with dyslexia (impaired reading disability) or with oral and
written language learning disability (OWL LD, also referred to as selective language
impairment, SLI).
Dyslexia is a disorder that includes poor word reading, word decoding, oral reading fluency,
and spelling. Children with dyslexia may have impaired orthographic and phonological
coding and rapid automatic naming and switching. Phonological coding refers to coding
sounds in spoken words in working memory. Phonological coding is necessary for developing
phonological awarenessanalyzing the sounds in spoken words that correspond to alphabet
letters. If children have both dysgraphia and dyslexia, they may also have difficulty in
planning sequential finger movements.
OWL LD (SLI) are disorders of language (morphologyword parts that mark meaning and
grammar; syntaxstructures for ordering words and understanding word functions; finding
words in memory, and/or making inferences that go beyond what is stated in text). These
disorders affect spoken as well as written language. Children with these language disorders
may also exhibit the same writing and reading and related disorders as children with
dysgraphia or dyslexia.
Why is the diagnosis of dysgraphia and related learning disabilities important?
Without diagnosis, children may not receive early intervention or specialized instruction in
all the relevant skills that are interfering with their learning of written language. Considering
that many schools do not have systematic instructional programs in handwriting and
spelling, it is important to assess whether children need explicit, systematic instruction in
handwriting and spelling in addition to word reading and decoding. Many schools offer
accommodations in testing and teaching to students with dysgraphia, but these students
also need ongoing, explicit instruction in handwriting, spelling, and composition. It is also
important to determine if a child with dysgraphia may also have dyslexia and require special
help with reading or OWL LD (SLI) and need special help with oral as well as written
language. .
What kinds of instructional activities improve the handwriting of children with
dysgraphia?
Initially, children with impaired handwriting benefit from activities that support learning to
form letters:

playing with clay to strengthen hand muscles;

keeping lines within mazes to develop motor control;

connecting dots or dashes to create complete letter forms;

tracing letters with index finger or eraser end of pencil;

imitating the teacher modeling sequential strokes in letter formation; and

copying letters from models.

Subsequently, once children learn to form legible letters, they benefit from instruction that
helps them develop automatic letter writing, using the following steps to practice each of
the 26 letters of the alphabet in a different order daily:

studying numbered arrow cues that provide a consistent plan for letter formation;

covering the letter with a 3 x 5 card and imaging the letter in the minds eye;

writing the letter from memory after interval that increases in duration over the
handwriting lessons;

writing letters from dictation (spoken name to letter form); and

writing letters during composing for 5 minutes on a teacher-provided topic.

Students benefit from explicit instruction in spelling throughout K12:

initially in high frequency Anglo-Saxon words;

subsequently in coordinating the phonological, orthographic, and morphological

processes relevant for the spelling of longer, more complex, less frequent words; and

at all grade levels in the most common and important words used for the different
academic domains of the curriculum.

Throughout K-12, students benefit from strategies for composing:

planning, generating, reviewing/evaluating, and revising compositions of different

genre including narrative, informational, compare and contrast, and persuasive; and

self-regulation strategies for managing the complex executive functions involved in

composing.

Do Children with dysgraphia make reversals or other letter production errors?

Some children do make reversals (reversing direction letter faces along a vertical axis),
inversions (flipping letters along a horizontal axis so that the letter is upside down), or
transpositions (sequence of letters in a word is out of order). These errors are symptoms
rather than causes of handwriting problems. The automatic letter writing instruction
described earlier has been shown to reduce reversals, which are less likely to occur when
retrieval of letters from memory and production of letters have become automatic.
What kind of instructional strategies improve spelling of children with dysgraphia?

If children have both handwriting and spelling problems, the kinds of handwriting instruction
described earlier should be included along with the spelling instruction.
Are educators in public schools identifying children with dysgraphia and providing
appropriate instruction in public schools?
In general, no. Although federal law specifies written expression as one of the areas in
which students with learning disabilities may be affected, it does not clearly identify the
transcription problems that are the causal factors in dysgraphiaimpaired handwriting
and/or spellingfor impaired written expression of ideas. Some of the tests used to assess
written expression are not scored for handwriting or spelling problems and mask the nature
of the disability in dysgraphia. Content or ideas may not be impaired. All too often, the poor
writing or failure to complete writing assignments in a timely fashion or at all is
misattributed to lack of motivation, laziness, or other issues unrelated to the real culprit
dysgraphia. Children who are twice exceptionalgifted and dysgraphicare especially
under-diagnosed and underserved. Teachers mistakenly assume that if a student is bright
and cannot write it is because the student is not trying.
Are there research-supported assessment tools for diagnosing dysgraphia?
Yes. See Berninger (2007a) and Milone (2007) below for assessing handwriting problems
associated with dysgraphia. Also, see Berninger (2007b) and Berninger, ODonnell, and
Holdnack (2008) for using these tests and other evidence-based assessment procedures in
early identification, prevention, and diagnosis for treatment planning and linking them to
evidence-based handwriting and spelling instruction (also see Troia, 2008).
In summary, dysgraphia is a specific learning disability that can be diagnosed and treated.
Children with dysgraphia usually have other problems such as difficulty with spelling and
written expression, as well as dyslexia and, in some cases, oral language problems. It is
important that a thorough assessment of handwriting and related skill areas be carried out
in order to plan specialized instruction in all deficient skills that may be interfering with a
students learning of written language. For example, a student may need instruction in both
handwriting and oral language skills to improve written expression. Although early
intervention is, of course, desirable, it is never too late to intervene to improve a students
deficient skills and provide appropriate accommodations.
Note: The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) thanks Virginia W. Berninger, Ph.D., for
her assistance in the preparation of this fact sheet.

2008 Super Duper

Publications www.superduperinc.com
Super Duper Handy Handouts! Number 147
How to Assist a Student with Dysgraphia in the Classroom

By Lindsay Knobelauch, M.Ed., CCC-SLP

Writing is a hard task for many students. Students with poor
handwriting and difficulty expressing themselves through writing
may have a learning disability called dysgraphia. These students
may avoid writing tasks or become frustrated during writing
activities. They also have trouble writing clearly because they
dont understand the information as they put it on the page.
Students with poor handwriting may have inconsistent spacing
between letters and words, inconsistent letter formation, and/or a
mixture of lowercase and uppercase letters. Students with dysgraphia may become
overwhelmed
with the writing process.
There is no specific test for dysgraphia, but the school psychologist can test
students you
suspect of having dysgraphia using a number of different assessments. There are
two types of
dysgraphia, specific and non-specific, and several classifications. The assessments
listed below
can help professionals pinpoint which type and classification of dysgraphia the
student may have.
Once teachers have this information, they can make appropriate accommodations
and modifications
to help the student during writing activities.
Processing Speed Index scores from the WISC-IV
Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration
Bender-Gestalt
Jordan Left-Right Reversal Test
Trails tests from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery
Simply having poor handwriting does not mean that your student has a diagnosis of

dysgraphia. Along with poor handwriting, additional signs and symptoms of

dysgraphia include:
Cramped or awkward pencil grip and body position.
Mixing printed and cursive letters within the same word.
Mixing lower- and uppercase letters within the same word.
Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis 2008 Super Duper Publications www.superduperinc.com
Difficulty with syntax (forming sentences or phrases) and grammar (using rules to
write
sentences).
Difficulty thinking and writing at the same time.
Unfinished or omitted words.

There are many ways to help a student with dysgraphia in your classroom. Below is
a list
of accommodations, modifications, and techniques to assist the student with
dysgraphia.
Be patient and positive when practicing handwriting.
Encourage proper grip, posture, and paper positioning.
Allow the use of a word processor.
Use oral exams and allow students to dictate assignments to a scribe.
Avoid criticisms for sloppiness or illegibility.
Provide additional time for writing tasks.
Use writing paper with raised lines.
Allow students to use a line width that is most comfortable for them.
Reduce the amount of copying needed to complete an assignment.

 Encourage the use of visual organizers to assist in outlining and brainstorming for
extended
writing assignments.
Encourage the student to use hand exercises when he/she becomes fatigued.
Have students complete writing activities in small steps.

Resources
Kay, M. J. (2007). What is dysgraphia? Retrieved December 21, 2007, from
http://www.margaretkay.com/Dysgraphia.htm
Inclusion in Science Education for Students with Disabilities. (2007). Dysgraphia.
Retrieved December 21, 2007, from
http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/dysgraphia.html
National Center for Learning Disabilities. (2007). Dysgraphia. Retrieved December
21, 2007, from
http://www.ncld.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=468
Learning Disabilities Associations of America. Dysgraphia. Retrieved December 21,
2007, from
http://www.ldaamerica.org/aboutld/parents/ld_basics/dysgraphia.asp
Accommodations
Signs and Symptoms Continued 2008 Super Duper Publications
www.superduperinc.com
Super Duper Handy Handouts! Number 147

Below is a list of Super Duper products that may help your student with
dysgraphia
to progress with his/her handwriting and visual skills. Visit www.superduperinc.com
or call

1-800-277-8737. Click on the links below to see the product and description.

Webber Handwriting Paper1,236 Printable Page Templates on CD-ROM

Ask for Item #OTS-403 http://www.superduperinc.com/O_Pages/ots403.HTM
Fine Motor Fun DeckHand Exercises and Prewriting Skills
Ask for Item #FD-105 http://www.superduperinc.com/F-G_Pages/fd105.htm

Helpful Products

Dysgraphia: The Handwriting Learning

Disability
Listen
Author: Ruthmary Deuel, M.D., Betty Sheffield, and Diana Hanbury King
Source: Reprinted with permission.
What is dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia means difficulty with handwriting. There are several different kinds of
dysgraphia. Some people with dysgraphia have handwriting that is often illegible
and shows irregular and inconsistent letter formations. Others write legibly, but very
slowly and/or very small. When these individuals revert to printing, as they often
do, their writing is often a random mixture of upper and lower case letters. In all
cases of dysgraphia, writing requires inordinate amounts of energy, stamina and
time.
Dysgraphia can interefere with a students ability to express ideas. Expressive
writing requires a student to synchronize many mental functions at once:
organization, memory , attention, motor skill, and various aspects of language
ability. Automatic accurate handwriting is the foundation for this juggling act. In the

complexity of remembering where to put the pencil and how to form each letter, a
dysgraphic student forgets what he or she meant to express. Dysgraphia can cause
low classroom productivity, incomplete homework assignments, and difficulty in
focusing attention.
Emotional factors arising from dysgraphia often exacerbate matters. At an early
age, these students are asked to forego recess to finish copying material from the
board, and are likely to be sent home at the end of the day with a sheaf of
unfinished papers to be completed. They are asked to recopy their work but the
second attempt is often no better than the first. Because they are often bright and
good at reading, their failure to produce acceptable work is blamed on laziness or
carelessness. The resulting anger and frustration can prevent their ever reaching
their true potential.
What causes dysgraphia?
A few people with dysgraphia lack only the fine-motor coordination to produce
legible handwriting, but some may have a physical tremor that intereferes with
writing. In most cases, however, several brain systems interact to produce
dysgraphia. Some expersts believe that dysgraphia involves a dysfunction in the
interaction between the two main brain systems that allows a person to translate
mental into written language (phoneme-to-grapheme translation, ie. Sound to
symbol, and lexicon-to-grapheme translation, ie. mental to written word). Other
studies have shown that split attention, memory load, and familiarity of graphic
material affect writing ability. Typically, a person with illegible handwriting has a
combination of fine-motor difficulty, inability to revisualize letters, and inability to
remember the motor patterns of letter forms.
Who is qualified to diagnose dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia cannot be diagnosed solely by looking at a handwriting sample. A
qualified clinician must directly test the individual. Such a test includes writing selfgenerated sentences and paragraphs and copying age-appropriate text. The
examiner assesses not only the finished product, but also the process, including
posture, position, pencil grip, fatigue, cramping or tremor of the writing hand,

eyedness and handedness, and other factors. The examiner may assess fine-motor
speed with finger-tapping and wrist turning.
What is the treatment for dysgraphia?
Prevention, remediation and accommodation are all important elements in the
treatment of dysgraphia. Many problems can be prevented by early training. Young
children in kindergarten and grade one should learn to form letters correctly;
kinesthetic memory is powerful and incorrect habits are very difficult to eradicate.
Muscle training and over-learning good techniques are both critical for the
remediation of dysgraphia. Specifically designed exercises are needed to increase
strength and dexterity. A specialist can recommend the most appropriate plan of
exercises. For all students, kinesthetic writing, that is writing with eyes closed or
averted, is a powerful reinforcer. Work needs always to begin with the formation of
individual letters written in isolation. Alphabets need to be practiced daily, often for
months.
Finally, individuals can benefit from a variety of modifications and accommodations.
One effective method is to teach the use of a word processor, bypassing the
complex motor demands of handwriting. Many students may find learning the
keyboard by the alphabet method easier than beginning with the home keys. For
many, touch typing offers a whole new opportunity to learn to spell through a
different kinesthetic mode. Students should also experiment with different writing
tools; some people with dysgraphia may find pencil grips helpful. Other bypass
methods include allowing a student to answer questions orally or into a tape
recorder instead of writing, modifying written assignments so that less writing is
required, and allowing extended time to complete tests and assignments. Copying
from the board is an especially difficult task. Teachers need to provide notes.
Photocopying the notes of another student is one possibility. Providing an outline,
with spaces left for the student to fill in information, is another. Writing on a slightly
inclined plane may be helpful.
Should people with dysgraphia use cursive writing instead of printing?

For many children with dysgraphia, cursive writing has several advantages. It
eliminates the necessity of picking up a pencil and deciding where to replace it after
each letter. Each letter starts on the line, thus eliminating another potentially
confusing decision for the writer. Cursive also has very few reversible letters, a
typical source of trouble for people with dysgraphia. It eliminates word-spacing
problems and gives words a flow and rhythm that enhances learning. For children
who find it difficult to remember the motor patterns of letter forms, starting with
cursive eliminates the traumatic transition from manuscript to cursive writing.
Writers in cursive also have more opportunity to distinguish b, d, p, and q because
the cursive letter formations for writing each of these letters is so different.

What is dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing abilities. It can manifest
itself as difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting and trouble putting thoughts on
paper. Because writing requires a complex set of motor and information
processing skills, saying a student has dysgraphia is not sufficient. A student
with disorders in written expression will benefit from specific accommodations in
the learning environment, as well as additional practice learning the skills
required to be an accomplished writer.

What are the warning signs of dysgraphia?

Just having bad handwriting doesn't mean a person has dysgraphia. Since
dysgraphia is a processing disorder, difficulties can change throughout a
lifetime. However since writing is a developmental process children learn the
motor skills needed to write, while learning the thinking skills needed to
communicate on paper difficulties can also overlap.

If a person has trouble in any of the areas below, additional help may be
beneficial.

Tight, awkward pencil grip and body position

Illegible handwriting
Avoiding writing or drawing tasks
Tiring quickly while writing
Saying words out loud while writing
Unfinished or omitted words in sentences
Difficulty organizing thoughts on paper
Difficulty with syntax structure and grammar
Large gap between written ideas and understanding
demonstrated through speech.

What strategies can help?

There are many ways to help a person with dysgraphia achieve success.
Generally strategies fall into three categories:
1.

Accommodations: providing alternatives to written expression

2.

Modifications: changing expectations or tasks to minimize or

avoid the area of weakness
3.
Remediation: providing instruction for improving handwriting and
writing skills
Each type of strategy should be considered when planning instruction and
support. A person with dysgraphia will benefit from help from both specialists and
those who are closest to the person. Finding the most beneficial type of support
is a process of trying different ideas and openly exchanging thoughts on what
works best.
Below are some examples of how to teach individuals with dysgraphia to
overcome some of their difficulties with written expression.

Early writers

Use paper with raised lines for a sensory guide to staying within
the lines.

Try different pens and pencils to find one that's most comfortable.

Practice writing letters and numbers in the air with big arm
movements to improve motor memory of these important shapes. Also
practice letters and numbers with smaller hand or finger motions.
Encourage proper grip, posture and paper positioning for writing.
It's important to reinforce this early as it's difficult for students to
unlearn bad habits later on.
Use multi-sensory techniques for learning letters, shapes and
numbers. For example, speaking through motor sequences, such as "b"
is "big stick down, circle away from my body."
Introduce a word processor on a computer early; however do not
eliminate handwriting for the child. While typing can make it easier to
write by alleviating the frustration of forming letters, handwriting is a
vital part of a person's ability to function in the world.
Be patient and positive, encourage practice and praise effort
becoming a good writer takes time and practice.

Young students

Allow use of print or cursive whichever is more comfortable.

Use large graph paper for math calculation to keep columns and
rows organized.
Allow extra time for writing assignments.
Begin writing assignments creatively with drawing, or speaking
ideas into a tape recorder
Alternate focus of writing assignments put the emphasis on
some for neatness and spelling, others for grammar or organization of
ideas.
Explicitly teach different types of writing expository and
personal essays, short stories, poems, etc.
Do not judge timed assignments on neatness and spelling.
Have students proofread work after a delay it's easier to see
mistakes after a break.

Help students create a checklist for editing work spelling,

neatness, grammar, syntax, clear progression of ideas, etc.

Encourage use of a spell checker speaking spell checkers are

available for handwritten work

Reduce amount of copying; instead, focus on writing original
answers and ideas
Have student complete tasks in small steps instead of all at once.
Find alternative means of assessing knowledge, such as oral
reports or visual projects
Encourage practice through low-stress opportunities for writing
such as letters, a diary, making household lists or keeping trackof
sports teams.

Teenagers and adults

Provide tape recorders to supplement note taking and to prepare

for writing assignments.
Create a step-by-step plan that breaks writing assignments into
small tasks (see below).
When organizing writing projects, create a list of keywords that
will be useful.
Provide clear, constructive feedback on the quality of work,
explaining both the strengths and weaknesses of the project and
commenting on the structure as well as the information that is
included.
Use assistive technology such as voice-activated software if the
mechanical aspects of writing remain a major hurdle.
Many of these tips can be used by all age groups. It is never too early or too late
to reinforce the skills needed to be a good writer.
Though teachers and employers are required by law to make "reasonable
accommodations" for individuals with learning disabilities, they may not be
aware of how to help. Speak to them about dysgraphia, and explain the
challenges you face as a result of your learning disability.

D y s g r a p h i a

i n f o

f o r

Indicators

Things you can do

Writing, spelling and memory strategies

s t u d e n t s

Is it hard for you to communicate in writing?

When you are writing with a pen or pencil, do any of these things apply to you:

A mixture of small letters and capitals

Letters of uneven shapes and sizes

Unfinished letters

A strange way of holding the pen

Pain in the hand or arm

Talking to yourself?

If you are reluctant to carry out writing tasks because of things like this, and your
writing is generally very hard to read, you may be dysgraphic.

As with dyslexia, there are a lot of indicators on the list, but you are said to be
dysgraphic if most of them apply to you all the time. Dysgraphia is not connected
with your intelligence or ability to read, and it doesnt mean that you are dyslexic
(although you might confuse some letters and sometimes write the wrong word
when trying to get your ideas onto paper).

Dysgraphia is nothing to do with intelligence. It is part of the diversity of human

beings: we are not all alike. But the label dysgraphic can be useful. It enables

you to get the right kind of support. You are as capable of getting a good degree
as any other student.

An American book describes dysgraphia as:

"writing skills (that) ...are substantially below those expected given the
person's ...age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education".
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I n d i c a t o r s

o f

d y s g r a p h i a

Illegible handwriting (in spite of trying hard)

Handwriting needs a big effort

Handwriting takes a long time

Pain in your hand or arm after a short time

Letter formation usually odd or wrong

Struggling to make the pen do what you want

All of this being worse when you are stressed.

Expressive writing calls for several mental functions at once: organisation,

memory, attention, motor skill, and various aspects of language ability. Automatic
accurate handwriting is a basic part of this complex activity. While remembering
where to put the pen and how to form each letter, a dysgraphic student forgets
what he or she was intending to say.

Dysgraphic people usually feel pain while writing. It starts in the middle of the
forearm and can spread to most of the body. People who are not dysgraphic
often dont know about this, because many with dysgraphia will not mention it to

anyone. Pain while writing is rarely mentioned by those who are dysgraphic
because:

They dont know that it is unusual to experience this type of pain with writing

They think that no one would believe them.

They put it down to muscle ache or cramping, and try to treat it as only a minor
inconvenience
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Indicators which may be part of dysgraphia

Bad spelling

Inaccurate copying

Poor muscle tone

Clumsiness

Not all dysgraphic people spell badly, and some can copy correctly even if their
writing is bad. It may not be connected with a general muscle tome problem.
Although fine motor control is involved in terms of using the hand and fingers,
other types of motor control are not always a problem.
Emotional effect

Emotional factors arising from dysgraphia often make things worse. At school,
you may have been kept in to finish copying things from the board, or sent home
at the end of the day with unfinished work to be completed. If you were asked to
recopy your work, the second attempt was probably no better than the first.
Because you were bright and good at other things, your failure to write well was
probably blamed on laziness or carelessness. You may have felt angry and
frustrated.
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T h i n g s

y o u

c a n

d o

a b o u t

i t

Occupational therapy can help with:

o

Pen grip

Muscle tone

Hand control

Hand-eye coordination

See your doctor for a motor control assessment

Use a computer for word processing

Use voice recognition software.

If you have difficulty controlling your finger muscles, typing may also be a
problem. Voice recognition software allows you to speak into a headset
microphone and the words appear on the computer screen. You can read about
this if you go to www.dyslexic.com/features.asp and click on Product reviews
and comparisons.
If you are getting very tired while writing, try these things:
* Shake hands fast, but not violently
* Rub hands together and focus on the feeling of warmth
* Rub hands on the carpet in circles (or, if wearing clothing with some mild
texture, rub hands on thighs, close to knees)
* Use the thumb of the dominant hand to click the top of a ballpoint pen while
holding it in that hand. Repeat using the index finger
* Perform sitting pushups by placing each palm on the chair with fingers facing
forward. Push down on your hands, lifting your body slightly off the chair.
BACK TO TOP

Vision issues

You might experience these things:

Dislike of near work (such as writing)

Often losing your place

Leaving out letters or words (or adding them)

Muddling up words that look similar

Not recognising the same word in the next sentence.

In that case, you should be assessed by an optometrist with equipment for

testing the eyes at near (at reading distance). Vision is not just about sharp
sight at a distance. When you are reading and writing, your eyes have to track
the words, fixate on them, change focus and work together. You may be helped
by prismatic or coloured lenses, or by coloured overlays for reading.
Writing strategies for dysgraphic students:
1. Outline your thoughts. It is very important to get the main ideas down on paper
without having to struggle with the details of spelling, punctuation, etc. Try writing
just one key word or phrase for each paragraph, then go back later to fill in the
details.
2. Draw a picture of a thought for each paragraph.
3. Dictate your ideas into a sound recorder then listen and write them down later.
4. Really practise keyboarding skills! It may be difficult at first, but after you have
learned the pattern of the keys, typing will be faster and clearer than handwriting.
5. Use a computer to organize information and check spelling. Even if your
keyboarding skills aren't great, a computer can help with the details.
6. Continue practising handwriting. As frustrating as it may be, there will be times
throughout your life that you will need to be able to write things down and maybe

even share your handwriting with others. It will continue to improve as long as
you keep working at it.
7. Talk to yourself as you write. This may provide valuable auditory feedback.

If memorising spelling is a problem but you want to do it, try the following:
8. Look at each word, then close your eyes and visualize how it looks, letter by
letter. Stay with one word until you can clearly visualize it.
9. Spell each word out loud while looking at it, then look away and spell it out
loud again several times before writing it down.
10. Try spelling with Scrabble tiles, so that you can keep rearranging the letters
until they look right.
11. Break the spelling list down into manageable sections of only 3 to 5 words.
Then take a break after mastering each section.
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Ads by BetterSurf

Dysgraphia

Leagan Gaeilge Anseo [PDF]

Simply put it is a disorder of handwriting primarily that causes my

handwriting to be illegible to many people and makes it next to
impossible for me to learn spelling. My verbal IQ however, is in the 99th
percentile - the highest possible score. So clearly bad spelling has nothing
to do with my actual mastery of the english language.
I have Dysgraphia, Angela Dark, taken from the Experience Project
http://www.experienceproject.com/uw.php?e=97767

Dysgraphia affects a students ability to write coherently, regardless of their ability

to read. Types identified include:

Type 1: dyslexia dysgraphia where written work that is created

spontaneously is illegible, copied work is good and spelling is poor. A
student with dyslexia dysgraphia does not necessarily have dyslexia.

Type 2: motor dysgraphia where the condition may be caused by poor

fine-motor skills, poor dexterity and/or poor muscle tone. Generally written work
is poor to illegible, even if it is copied from another source. While letter
formation may be legible in very short samples of writing, this is usually after
extreme efforts and the dedication of unreasonable amounts of time on the
students part. Spelling skills are not impaired.

Type 3: spatial dysgraphia where the condition is caused by a defect in

spatial awareness and students may have illegible spontaneously written work
as well as illegible copied work. Spelling skills are generally not impaired.
In general, written work may be presented with a mixture of upper/lower case
letters, irregular letter sizes and shapes, and unfinished letters. Students struggle
to use writing as a communication tool, and as so much effort goes into the
actual writing process there may seem to be little imagination or thought in their
work. They may have unusual writing grips, odd wrist, body and paper positions,
and may suffer discomfort while writing. Excessive erasing may be evidenced as
may a misuse of lines and margins. Students may also poorly organise writing on
a page. Other difficulties may be observed in a poor organisation of ideas, poor
sentence and/or paragraph structure and a limited expression of ideas. They may
be reluctant to complete writing tasks or refuse to do so.

Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a Specific Learning Difficulty related to the skills of writing. As with

other specific learning difficulties, it persists into adulthood and is a life long
condition affecting a combination of motor and information processing skills.

Thus, dysgraphic individuals have difficulty with both the physical aspect of writing
and the thought processes associated with written expression. Dysgraphia,

however, does not directly affect the individual's ability for written expression. They
spend so much time grappling with the physical processes involved in handwriting
that they lose track of what they intended to write.
There is often a marked discrepancy between the written work of a dysgraphic
individual and their ability to discuss concepts and ideas verbally. As with other
specific learning difficulties, there are varying patterns associated with dysgraphia,
as well as varying degrees of severity.

Motor skills:

Poor fine motor coordination that results in awkward or cramped pencil

grip.

Handwriting that appears jagged or spidery with incomplete or poorly

formed letters.
Handwriting that is often illegible.
Slow handwriting speed.

Information processing skills:

Difficulty sequencing and organising written work.

Difficulty following a structured format and keeping track of thoughts.

Difficulty with word retrieval.

Difficulty getting their ideas or initial thoughts down on paper.

Difficulty with syntax, grammar and spelling.

Inconsistent use and/or spelling of words within the same document.

Some key dysgraphic facts:

Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder characterised by writing difficulties.

There can be co-morbidity with other specific learning difficulties, most
notably dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
Dysgraphia runs in families, predominately male members.
Dysgraphia cannot be 'cured or fixed'.
Dysgraphia has a psycho-social impact on the every day life of the
individual.
Dysgraphic individuals predominately have problems with fine motor
coordination.

Dysgraphia can cause physical pain during the handwriting process.

Dysgraphic individuals have difficulty multi-tasking - listening, processing

and writing.
Dysgraphia can interfere with the thought processes.

Dysgraphic individuals often have poor visual perception and processing

skills.

Dysgraphia can contain a blend of print and script, upper and lower case,
block capitals, and letters or words omitted.
Dysgraphia can contain a blend of varying shapes, sizes and slants of
letters, as well as inconsistent letter and word spacing, and irregular margin
sizes.
Early identification and support can help to ameliorate difficulties.
Many dysgraphic individuals have an aversion to the physical process of
writing, opting instead to use a PC.

Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a Specific Learning Difficulty related to the skills of writing. As with

other specific learning difficulties, it persists into adulthood and is a life long
condition affecting a combination of motor and information processing skills.

Thus, dysgraphic individuals have difficulty with both the physical aspect of writing
and the thought processes associated with written expression. Dysgraphia,
however, does not directly affect the individual's ability for written expression. They
spend so much time grappling with the physical processes involved in handwriting
that they lose track of what they intended to write.
There is often a marked discrepancy between the written work of a dysgraphic
individual and their ability to discuss concepts and ideas verbally. As with other
specific learning difficulties, there are varying patterns associated with dysgraphia,
as well as varying degrees of severity.

Motor skills:

Poor fine motor coordination that results in awkward or cramped pencil

grip.

Handwriting that appears jagged or spidery with incomplete or poorly

formed letters.
Handwriting that is often illegible.

Slow handwriting speed.

Information processing skills:

Difficulty sequencing and organising written work.

Difficulty following a structured format and keeping track of thoughts.

Difficulty with word retrieval.

Difficulty getting their ideas or initial thoughts down on paper.

Difficulty with syntax, grammar and spelling.

Inconsistent use and/or spelling of words within the same document.

Some key dysgraphic facts:

Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder characterised by writing difficulties.

There can be co-morbidity with other specific learning difficulties, most
notably dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
Dysgraphia runs in families, predominately male members.

Dysgraphia cannot be 'cured or fixed'.

Dysgraphia has a psycho-social impact on the every day life of the
individual.
Dysgraphic individuals predominately have problems with fine motor
coordination.
Dysgraphia can cause physical pain during the handwriting process.
Dysgraphic individuals have difficulty multi-tasking - listening, processing
and writing.
Dysgraphia can interfere with the thought processes.

Dysgraphic individuals often have poor visual perception and processing

skills.

Dysgraphia can contain a blend of print and script, upper and lower case,
block capitals, and letters or words omitted.
Dysgraphia can contain a blend of varying shapes, sizes and slants of
letters, as well as inconsistent letter and word spacing, and irregular margin
sizes.
Early identification and support can help to ameliorate difficulties.

Many dysgraphic individuals have an aversion to the physical process of

writing, opting instead to use a PC.

Strategies for Dealing with Dysgraphia

By: Regina G. Richards
A common teaching technique is to have the students write information to reinforce
the material. For example, spelling programs often encourage students to write
each spelling word five times or 20 times. For many students, the
kinesthetic process of writing reinforces what is to be learned.
A common teaching technique is to have the students write information to reinforce
the material. For example, spelling programs often encourage students to write
each spelling word five times or 20 times. For many students, the kinesthetic
process of writing reinforces what is to be learned. However, for a small group of
students, rather than reinforcing and consolidating information, the process of
writing actually interferes with learning. These students struggle to write and
consequently spend much more time than their peers on a writing assignment.
Even so, they remember less: the act of writing greatly interferes with learning.
Cognitively, so much of their energy is spent on the process that they often do not
learn or some times even process the content of what they are working on. Some
students with severe dysgraphia may actually complete a writing assignment and
then have to reread it to determine what they wrote, especially in a copying task or
if they are focusing on neatness.
Educators expect students to learn from the process of writing, yet these students
find that the process of writing actually interferes with learning. How, then, can
they adequately learn to use the process of writing to express their ideas?

Why does this occur?

Dysgraphia is a problem with the writing process. For these students, there is an
underlying reason that their papers are messy or that their speed is excessively fast
or extremely slow. It is unfair to label them as poorly motivated, careless, lazy, or
impulsive. While these interpretations may be true on the surface, they are not
the root of what is happening. The root for dysgraphia is actually found within the

processing system involved with sequencing, especially the motor movements

which should be sequential and very automatic.
Students with dysgraphia need to develop both compensations and remediation
strategies. Compensations are techniques to bypass the problem and reduce the
negative impact on learning. This is accomplished by avoiding the difficulty,
changing the assignment expectations, or using strategies to aid a particular aspect
of the task. Compensations can also be
termed bypassstrategies or accommodations, the latter term used more frequently
in legal situations. Remediation provides additional structured practice or reteaching of the skill or concept using specialized techniques to match the student's
processing style and need.
The astute teacher or parent must first determine the point at which the student
becomes confused or begins to struggle. Does it begin as soon as the student starts
to write? Is it halfway through the paragraph? Is it when the student tries to think
about more complex ideas rather than just write a sentence or perform a copying
task? When these determinations are made, it is important to identify which
components of the task cause the confusions and/or struggles. Is it the use of
manuscript, or the use of cursive? Is it the process of dealing with mechanics while
writing? Is it the process of trying to think and plan while writing?

Remedial strategies
It is critical that students do not totally avoid the process of writing, no matter how
severe their dysgraphia. Writing is an important life skill necessary for signing
documents, filling out forms, writing checks, taking telephone messages or writing
a grocery list. Therefore, students need to be able to write, even if they cannot
maintain writing for long periods of time.
Young students should receive remediation in letter form, automaticity, and fluency.
They need specific multisensory techniques that encourage them to verbalize the
motor sequences of the form of letters (for example, b is big stick down, circle
away from my body). Students should also use large air writing to develop a more
efficient motor memory for the sequence of steps necessary in making each letter.
This is because air writing causes students to use many more muscles than they
use when writing with a pencil. Multisensory techniques should be utilized for
teaching both manuscript and cursive writing. The techniques need to be practiced
substantially so that the letters are fairly automatic before the student is asked to
use these skills to communicate ideas.

Some students may be able to copy and write single sentences with a fair degree of
ease, but they struggle tremendously with paragraph writing. These students will
need to be taught techniques that enable them to perform each subpart prior to
pulling together all the parts. Substantial modeling will be necessary at each stage
for the student to be successful. For example, when writing a paragraph students
can be taught the following eight steps:

1. Think about your ideas and elaborate on each part of the ideas.
2. Organize the ideas you want to express. This type of organization is easily
performed using visual graphic organizers. For example, you can create a
mind map so that the main idea is placed in a circle in the center of the page
and supporting facts are written on lines coming out of the main circle, similar
to the arms of a spider or spokes on a wheel. Many visual organizer formats
can be used, with different formats appropriate for different

situations.
3. Analyze your graphic organizer to determine if you included all of your ideas.
If you have difficulty with spelling, make a list of the more difficult or
important words you may want to include in your writing. Having this
reference list will help your writing flow more because you will not have to
stop to think of how to spell the big words.

4. Now, write a draft of your paragraph (or paper), focusing on the content or
ideas. If you have a computer, it is best if you type your draft directly on the
keyboard. This will make it much easier to proofread and revise.
5. Proof and editing: you will need specific techniques and strategies to
proofread your paper, checking for appropriate use of punctuation,
capitalization, and grammar. Then use a spell checker to fix your spelling.
6. Revise your paragraph, incorporating the corrections you determined above.
7. Proofread your paragraph again, editing and revising if necessary.
8. Develop a final product, either in typed or written form.
An easy way to remember these steps is to think of the word POWER.

P - plan your paper (step 1)

O - organize your thoughts and ideas (steps 2 and 3)
W - write your draft (step 4)
E - edit your work (steps 5, 6, and 7)
R - revise your work, producing a final draft (step 8)

The student may need substantial modeling at each stage to be successful.

Some dysgraphic students have great difficulty with spelling, especially if
sequencing is a major issue for them. Additionally, many dysgraphic students
experience dyslexia, a sequential processing problem that affects reading and
spelling. These students need very specific remedial assistance in learning to spell
phonetically. It is critical that they are able to represent unknown words using good
phonetic equivalences. If they are able to spell logically and phonetically, they will
be able to use a phonetically-based spell checker, such as a spell checker in one of
the Franklin resource products. These handheld devices recognize words using
phonetic logic rather than relying on the orthographic sequence, as do most spell
checkers on a computer word processing program. The sidebar below presents a
poem this author found on the Internet which exemplifies why a computer spell
checker may not be sufficient for some students with spelling struggles.

A little poem regarding computer spell checkers

Eye halve a spelling chequer It came with my pea sea It plainly marques four my
revue Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word And weight four it two say Weather eye am wrong
oar write It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two long And eye can put the error
rite Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it I am shore your pleased two no Its letter perfect
awl the weigh My chequer tolled me sew.
(author unknown; obtained from Internet)

Another vital aspect of remedial assistance that is especially important for young
children, involves the student's pencil grip. Students should be helped and
encouraged to use a consistent and efficient pencil grip right from the beginning of
their writing experience. The distance from the student's finger to the pencil point
should consistently be between 3/4"-1". Pressure on the pencil should be moderate,
not too heavy and not too light. The angle of the pencil should be approximately
45% with the page and slanted toward the student's writing arm. The long edge of
the student's paper and his writing arm should be parallel, like railroad tracks. With
some young students, pencil habits can be changed to a more appropriate form by
using a plastic pencil grip (many of which are on the market in a variety of shapes
and formats), It is much easier and more efficient to encourage students at the
very beginning of their writing experience to develop these appropriate habits
through frequent modeling and positive feedback. Older students who have
developed firm habits, even if the habits are not efficient, find that it is very time
consuming to make changes. Therefore, when making a decision on adapting a
student's habits, it is extremely important to consider the time/energy ratio. Is it
worth the amount of time necessary to make the change to help the student be
more efficient? If not, it is critical to make sure the student has efficient and
automatic compensatory strategies.
Many students with dysgraphia are extremely slow in their writing performances.
When this is the case, it is critical to determine what is causing the slowness. Is it
the formulation of ideas? or the organization of ideas? If so, more work needs to be
done on pre-organization strategies and this student's language formulation skills
need to be thoroughly assessed by a speech and language pathologist. Is the
student's slowness a result of slowness in actually making the letters? If this is the
case, the student needs much more remedial practice in forming letters
independently, without having to think about content. This should be done using
multisensory techniques, including saying the letter and/or the sequence of
movements while writing the letter; using large air writing techniques (writing the
letter in the air using two fingers, with wrist and elbow fairly straight, though not
rigid); writing letters in texture, such as on fine sandpaper or in pudding; and
writing large letters using a squirt bottle of colored water against an outside wall.
Some students struggle with writing and become readily fatigued with the process
of writing because of their inefficient pencil grip and poor motor sequencing. Many
times an occupational therapist, especially one using a sensory integration
philosophy, can help in the remedial process with such students. There are also
temporary remedial techniques a teacher or parent can use as warmups or as a
writing break. Some suggestions for helping relieve stress and relaxing the writing
hand follow. Students can perform any of these for about 10 seconds before writing
or in the middle of writing.

Shake hands fast, but not violently.

Rub hands together and focus on the feeling of warmth.
Rub hands on the carpet in circles (or, if wearing clothing with some mild
texture, rub hands on thighs, close to knees)
Use the thumb of the dominant hand to click the top of a ballpoint pen while
holding it in that hand. Repeat using the index finger.
Perform sitting pushups by placing each palm on the chair with fingers facing
forward. Students push down on their hands, lifting their body slightly off the
chair.

Compensatory strategies
The overall goal of compensations is to help the student perform more
automatically and still participate in and benefit from the writing task. The goal is to
allow the student to go around the problem so that she can then focus more
completely on the content. Some example strategies include:

Understanding-Understand the student's inconsistencies and performance

variabilities.
Print or cursive-Allow the student to use either form. Many dysgraphic
students are more comfortable with manuscript printing.
If getting started is a problem, encourage pre-organization strategies,
such as use of graphic organizers.
Computer-Encourage student to become comfortable using a word
processor on a computer. Students can be taught as early as 1st grade to type
sentences directly on the keyboard. In doing so, do not eliminate handwriting
for the child: handwriting is still important but computer skills will be
invaluable for longer and important tasks.
For older students, encourage use of a speech recognition program
combined with the word processor so the student can dictate his papers
rather than type them. This increases speed and efficiency and allows the
student to focus more completely on complex thoughts and ideas.
Encourage consistent use of spell checker to decrease the overall demands
of the writing task and encourage students to wait until the end to worry
about spelling.
Encourage use of an electronic resource such as the spell check
component in a Franklin Language Master to further decrease the demands.
If student has concurrent reading problems, a Language Master with a
speaking component is most helpful because it will read/say the words. This
author prefers the Language Master 6000 because of its large font size and
speech clarity.
Do not count off for poor spelling on first drafts, in-class assignments, or on
tests. However, depending on age, student may be held responsible for
spelling in final drafts completed at home.
Have student proofread papers after a delay, using a checklist of the
points to check. If students proofread immediately after writing, they
mayread what they intended rather than what was actually written.
If necessary, shorten writing assignments.
Allow extra time for writing activities.

Note taking: Provide student with copy of completed notes (perhaps

through a note taking buddy who can use carbon paper) to fill in missing parts
of his own notes.
Note taking: provide a partially completed outline so the student can fill in
the details under major headings. As a variety, provide the details and have
student fill in headings while listening.
Allow student to tape record important assignments and/or take oral
tests.
Staging: have students complete tasks in logical steps or increments instead
of all at once.
Prioritization: stress or de-emphasize certain task components during a
complex activity. For example, students can focus on using descriptive words
in one assignment, and in another, focus on using compound sentences. Also,
design assignments to be evaluated on specific parts of the writing process
(prioritization).
Remove neatness as a grading criteria, except on computer-generated
papers.
Reduce copying aspects of tasks, such as providing a math worksheet
rather than requiring student to copy problems from the book. A copying
buddy can be helpful in copying the problems using carbon paper.
Have younger students use large graph paper for math calculation to keep
columns and rows straight. Older student may use loose leaf paper turned
sideways to help maintain straight columns.
Allow and encourage use of abbreviations for in-class writing assignments
(such as b/4 for "before" or b/c for "because"). Have the student keep a list of
appropriate abbreviations in his note book and taped to his desk for easy
reference. Begin with only a few and increase as the first few become
automatic.
Reinforce the positive aspects of student's efforts.
Be patient.
Encourage student to be patient with himself.

A note on creativity
Dysgraphia does not have to limit creativity, as identified by the sample below
composed on a computer by a 12-year-old dyslexic and dysgraphic student.
1. First draft of creative story as typed by 12-year-old student:
the way I descride a bumby ride is like wothgan mowtsarts mowsek. eshe
bumby rowd is like a song. Eshe bumb is the a note eche uncon at the sam
time ste is. that was the mewstere to mowts mowsuk it was vare metereus
and unperdekdable.So the next time you drive down a bumby theak of
mowtsart.
2. Same story. Student read to teacher using his draft:

"The way I describe a bumpy ride is like Wolfgang Mozart's music. Each
bumpy road is like a song. Each bump in the road is a note. Each bump is
uncontrolled at the same time it still is controlled. That was the magic to
Mozart's music. It was very mysterious and unpredictable. So the next time
you drive down a bumpy road think of Mozart."

A note regarding development of word processing skills

Many dysgraphic students have difficulty with correct fingering in keyboarding
skills. However, it is important to expose students to the correct fingering to
develop quick visual locating skills for letters on the keyboard, ideally without
having to look each time. One important strategy is to have the student practice
keyboarding skills approximately 10 minutes a day (this can be part of a homework
assignment). The student should use a variety of child-oriented typing tutor
programs and work to develop appropriate skills to the best of her ability. At the
same time, whenever the student types for ideas or content, whether a word, a
sentence or a whole paragraph, she should be allowed to use whatever fingering
she wants. Eventually, the goal is for the student to automatically incorporate at
least some correct keyboard fingering when typing content. This author has seen
dysgraphic students use a combination of correct keyboard fingering with their own
style and reach typing speeds of 60 wpm. With this degree of speed and efficiency,
it is unnecessary to force a student to use standard keyboarding techniques.
However, many students do begin to use the correct techniques, as this is often
much more efficient. However, if practice with correct fingering is avoided or not
used frequently enough, the student will never have the opportunity to incorporate
the correct skills.

Related articles
Many appropriate related articles can be found in the Spring 1998 issue
ofPerspectives, the magazine of the International Dyslexia Association
(www.interdys.org). This issue focused on the theme of technology and learning
disabilities and includes the following articles which relate to dysgraphia: Jerome
Elkind (The Lexia Institute, Los Altos, CA) "Computer Reading Machines for Poor
Readers." Charles A. MacArthur, Ph.D. (University of Delaware) "Assistive
Technology for Writing." Marshall H. Raskind, Ph.D. (The Frostig Center, Pasadena,
CA) "Assistive Technology for Individuals with Learning Disabilities: How Far Have
We Come?" Thomas G. West (Visualization Research, Washington, D.C.) "Words to
Images: Technological Change Redefines Educational Goals." Marshall H. Raskind,
Ph.D. and Toby Shaw, M.A. (The Frostig Center, Pasadena, CA) "Assistive
Technology for Persons with Learning Disabilities: Product Resource List."

Diagnosis of dyslexia and dysgraphia

Green, Jane Fell and Moats, Louisa Cook. "Testing: Critical Components in the
Clinical Identification of Dyslexia," in The Emeritus Series, International Dyslexia
Association.
Richards, Regina G. "The RET Assessment for Dyslexia," in The Source for Dyslexia
and Dysgraphia. Lin

What is Dysgraphia?
Most individuals who have significant motor or sensory-motor handwriting challenges have a
form of the neurological disorder known as Dysgraphia with Dys meaning difficulty and
graphia meaning writing.
Dysgraphia is a deficiency in the ability to write, regardless of the ability to read, not due to
intellectual impairment. In childhood, the disorder generally emerges when children are first
introduced to writing. Dysgraphia can occur after neurological trauma or it might be diagnosed
in a person with Physical Impairments, Tourette Syndrome, AD/HD, Learning Disabilities, or
an Autism Spectrum Disorder such as Aspergers Syndrome. It is also very possible for a person
to be Dysgraphic without showing evidence of any other disabilities. These individuals often
have a parent or other close family members who show signs of Dysgraphia as well. The DSM
IV identifies Dysgraphia as a Disorder of Written Expression as writing skills (that) ...are
substantially below those expected given the person's ...age, measured intelligence, and ageappropriate education.

General Symptoms of Dysgraphia

A mixture of upper case/lower case letters

Irregular letter sizes and shapes

Unfinished letters

Struggle to use writing as a communications tool

Odd writing grip

Many spelling mistakes (Sometimes)

Decreased or increased speed of writing and copying

Talks to self while writing

General illegibility

Reluctance or refusal to complete writing tasks

Crying and stress (which can be created by the frustration with the task of writing and/or
spelling. This can also be brought on in dysgraphic students by common environmental
sources such as high levels of environmental noise and/or over-illumination).

Experiencing physical pain in the hand and/or arm when writing

Poor use of lines and spaces

The 5 Types of Dysgraphia

Dyslexic Dysgraphia
With Dyslexic Dysgraphia a persons spontaneously written work is illegible, copied work is
pretty good, and spelling is bad. Finger tapping speed (a method for identifying fine motor
problems) is normal. A Dyslexic Dysgraphic does not necessarily have Dyslexia. Dyslexia and
Dysgraphia appear to be unrelated but often can occur together.
Motor Dysgraphia
Motor Dysgraphia is due to deficient fine motor skills, poor dexterity, poor muscle tone, and/or
unspecified motor clumsiness. Generally, written work is poor to illegible, even if copied by
sight from another document. Letter formation may be acceptable in very short samples of
writing, but this requires extreme effort, an unreasonable amount of time to accomplish and
cannot be sustained for a significant length of time. Writing is often slanted due to holding a pen
or pencil incorrectly. Spelling skills are not impaired. Finger tapping speed results are below
normal.
Spatial Dysgraphia
Spatial Dysgraphia is due to a defect in the understanding of space. This person has illegible
spontaneously written work, illegible copied work, but normal spelling and normal finger
tapping speed. Students with Spatial Dysgraphia often have trouble keeping their writing on the
lines and difficulty with spacing between words.
Phonological Dysgraphia
Phonological Dysgraphia is characterized by writing and spelling disturbances in which the
spelling of unfamiliar words, non-words, and phonetically irregular words is impaired.
Individuals with Phonological Dysgraphia are also unable to hold phonemes in memory and
blend them in their appropriate sequence to produce the target word.
Lexical Dysgraphia

Lexical Dysgraphia is evidenced when a person can spell but relies on standard sound-to-letter
patterns with misspelling of irregular words. This is more common in languages such as English
and French which are less phonetic than a language such as Spanish. This type of Dysgraphia is
very rare in children.
Some children may have more than one type of Dysgraphia. Symptoms, in actuality, may vary in
presentation from what is listed here.

Stress and Dysgraphia

There are some common problems not related to Dysgraphia but often associated with
Dysgraphia - the most common of which is stress. Often children (and adults) with Dysgraphia
will become extremely frustrated with the task of writing (and spelling); younger children may
cry or refuse to complete written assignments. This frustration can cause the child (or adult) a
great deal of stress and can lead to stress related illnesses. This can be a result of any type of
Dysgraphia.

Diagnosis of Dysgraphia
While Dysgraphia can be suspected by professionals such as Occupational Therapists and School
Psychologists, a Neuropsychologist is usually best to make this official diagnosis. It is not
necessary to know the specific type of Dysgraphia in order to determine and implement
successful solutions. Most students with Dysgraphia have a mixed form of this disorder.

Dysgraphia and the US Public School System

Dysgraphia is often very misunderstood in public schools across the US as to the potential
severity of its educational impact. Even when Dysgraphia has been diagnosed by an appropriate
professional such as Neuropsychologist or Neurologist, the area of handwriting problems and
their effective solutions are often not appropriately addressed for special needs kids in both
inclusive and self-contained classrooms.It is often thought that continued handwriting
practice will improve a Dysgraphic students ability to use paper and pencil alone as a
useful tool to complete all their written schoolwork. This is rarely the case. While
Occupational Therapy can sometimes help to improve a Dysgraphic students letter and
number formation in isolation and/or in short writing samples, this improvement is, 99.9%
of the time, not able to be sustained when kids are actually using their handwriting to
complete their written schoolwork. The same thing is true of making kids re-do written
assignments to make them more legible. In cases of Dysgraphia, practice does not make
perfect. Also, as these students get older and written demands continue to increase each year, it
is very common for these students to often write the minimum just to get by and their attitude
about school and themselves can be negatively impacted to a significant degree. It is not
uncommon for these students who do not have appropriate handwriting solutions in place to
eventually have emotional and behavioral challenges related to their frustration in not being able
to complete finished written products similar to those of their peers. This is especially true of
bright students who have so much to say and no way to communicate it adequately in writing.

OUR RESOURCE GUIDE WILL BE A VERY VALUABLE REFERENCE FOR YOU IF

YOU ARE WORKING WITH A STUDENT/PATIENT, GRADES K-12, WHO HAS ONE
OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS:

Is falling behind with written schoolwork and cannot keep up with written assignments
independently

Has labored writing and fatigues easily when completing written schoolwork

Experiences physical pain/hand cramping when writing

Has written schoolwork that is often illegible/difficult to read

Has difficulty reading what they have written

Spends an inordinate amount of time completing class assignments

Spends too much time after school/at night completing homework

Has written content that does not match their thought content

Shows continued frustration/avoidance behaviors/crying/stress when asked to complete

written assignments

Requires someone to write much of their written schoolwork for them (a scribe)

Requires accommodations at school such as reduced assignments and oral answers

At Handwriting Problem Solutions, LLC, it is our mission to help kids with Dysgraphia learn to
use the latest Low-Tech and High-Tech equipment and software that will help to level the
playing field for them by helping them complete finished written products as similar to those of
their peers as possible. While we never want kids to abandon their handwriting skills altogether,
we believe in having students use their handwriting skills for assignments where their
handwriting can be used in a legible, timely, non-stressful manner. When this is no longer
possible, they can then learn to use the technological tools we recommend in our resource
guide, Handwriting Solutions Equipment, Teaching Strategies and Educational Resource
Recommendations for Kids with Written Output Disorders to tell us everything they know in
written form.

Please Note This website page uses some content from the English language version
of Wikipedia. The original text was found by searching Wikipedia for Dysgraphia. The
list of authors of the original text can be found in the page history. The text of Wikipedia

is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. It was retrieved from
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Agraphia This is where the original text was found.
While we found everything in this article to be accurate, we have added our own text in
various places and re-arranged/added wording to the original text and have omitted text
from the original source where it was redundant based on our experience working with
kids with Dysgraphia on a daily basis. In general, we have found the Wikipedia article on
Dysgraphia to be the best that we have found because it mentions the negative impact of
stress and pain when writing experienced by people with Dysgraphia. We see this
everyday in the students that we work with and this is not always mentioned in other
articles written on Dysgraphia. We thank Wikipedia for their excellent article. Thank you.
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