Dysgraphia

Intro

Dysgraphia is a recognised need that relates to difficulties with writing due to an impairment of fine motor skills, which are essential when it comes to writing.

This is most often associated with subjects such as English and the humanities but Dysgraphia can also impact a students work in mathematics, particularly when it comes down to writing extended responses.

As such, if left unsupported, Dysgraphia can impact a child’s attitude to writing, and by implication, learning. No-one really knows the root cause of Dysgraphia and unlike Dyslexia and Dyscalculia it is harder to research clinically and therefore there is much less research data available.

That said it’s important that those children with Dyspraxia can get specialist support to help them. This short guide is designed to give you an overview of the key features of Dysgraphia and how a child (or adult!) can be supported.

Key Features

Like many needs, dysgraphia can vary from person to person. There are however, broad features which many people with Dysgraphia share. Some common features include, but are not limited to:

• Painful and sore writing hand after a period of extended writing
• Illegible writing that does not stay on the line
• Unorthodox arm and body position when writing
• Cramped sentences with varying degrees of spacing between words
• Problems with typing
• A marked difference between written and verbal articulation
• Inconsistent writing style e.g. moving from joined-up to printed letters within the same sentence
• Reluctance to write

What can help?

There are a number of strategies available that can help children and adults with Dysgraphia. It’s important to remember though that unlike other needs there is much less research associated with Dysgraphia than other needs. It is worth liaising closely with your child’s teacher and dysgraphia specialists. Things that might help include:

• Providing extra thinking and writing time (for public examinations there will need to be a formal clinical assessment by an educational psychologist)
• Support from an Occupation Therapist
• Keep writing short and sweet for a period
• Speaking with your child’s teacher and school SENCO
• One-to-one support to build confidence and boost writing consistency

Final Thoughts

As we have seen, unlike many SEN needs there is little in the way of consistent research into Dysgraphia. That said, there are useful strategies that can be employed to support children and young people.

Further Reading

Read and Spell website – 9 useful strategies for helping students with Dysgraphia