This is What Dysgraphia Looks Like

My sixteen-year-old son, Harry, loves music. He enjoys playing instruments, listening to songs, even singing, but he absolutely hates writing about music.

Last night he tried to finish his music homework. The assignment required him to write about a Beethoven concert held in 1800. Harry sat in his chair, staring at the screen. Then he lay on the floor staring at it. I prompted him on how to begin.

The teacher allows Harry to do homework as a voice recording, but he still needed to work out what he wanted to say. Seeing him struggle with what, to me, was a straightforward exercise, made me appreciate Harry’s complex learning challenges afresh.

This week, I read up on dysgraphia, and I suspect this is behind Harry’s inability to structure written work.

What is dysgraphia?

Dysgraphia is a neurological condition caused by a disconnection in the brain. It presents as more than messy handwriting. A child with dysgraphia may appear unmotivated or lazy, might find it difficult to express his thoughts and ideas in writing, and may avoid writing altogether. There are at least three types of dysgraphia:

• spatial

• motor

• or dyslexic

It is possible to have dysgraphia without having dyslexia. Dyslexia affects reading, whereas dysgraphia affects writing.

Medical News Today explains these three types as follows:

Dyslexia dysgraphia

With this form of dysgraphia, written words that a person has not copied from another source are illegible, particularly as the writing goes on. Copied writing or drawings, on the other hand, may be clear.

Spelling is poor, even though an individual’s fine motor skills are normal. Despite the name, a person with dyslexia dysgraphia does not necessarily have dyslexia.

Motor dysgraphia

This form of dysgraphia happens when a person has poor fine motor skills. Someone with motor dysgraphia may also have poor dexterity.

Written work, including copied work and drawings, tends to be poor or illegible. With extreme effort from the student, short writing samples may be somewhat legible. Spelling abilities are usually within the normal range.

Spatial dysgraphia

Spatial dysgraphia results from issues with spatial awareness. This may show as difficulty staying within the lines on a piece of paper or using the correct amount of spacing between words.

All forms of handwriting and drawings from individuals with this type of dysgraphia are usually illegible. Spelling skills are not typically impaired.

Symptoms of Dysgraphia

This is what dysgraphia looks like at school.

Preschool: The child gets a tired hand when colouring. They copy letters and numbers much slower than other children. They move around a lot when trying to draw because it is difficult for them to hold a pencil. The child will dislike using colouring books or doing dot-to-dot pictures.

Primary School: The child struggles to write enough for their assignments. They complain of not having ideas and forget punctuation marks. They spell the same word differently, even on the same page. The child can express ideas verbally but struggles to put them down on paper.

Additional signs of dysgraphia (Taken from the All About Learning blog post on dysgraphia)

• A tight or awkward pencil grip

• Tires quickly while writing

• Writing is illegible, inconsistent, and has poorly formed letters and numbers

• Incorrect spacing and positioning of letters, words, and lines of written text

• Writing is slow and laboured

• Complete avoidance of writing

• Difficulty following spelling and grammar rules

• Trouble aligning columns of numbers in math problems

• Difficulty organizing thoughts on paper

• Trouble with tasks that require concurrent thinking and writing

I am a massive fan of the All About Learning resources as I taught Harry to read and spell using their programmes. Here is my blog post about them and an affiliate link. The beauty of All About Learning materials for a child with dysgraphia is there is no need to write spellings as words are made with letter tiles.

I now believe Harry has dyslexia and dysgraphia (dyslexia type). Dysgraphia occurs in up to 20% of the student population[i], and it often accompanies ADHD (one study showed 59% of children with ADHD had dysgraphia[ii]). Attitude.com has a helpful blog post on treating the symptoms of dysgraphia and another on understanding common symptoms.

Dysgraphia accommodations in school and at work[iii]

• Using larger pencils with special grips, or other writing instruments

• Using paper with raised lines to help with margins

• Permitting or asking for extra time on writing-related assignments and tasks

• Allowing alternative methods to showcase learning and work, like oral or recorded responses

• Using assistive electronic technologies, like voice-to-text programs

• Asking for a copy of written materials given in class or the workplace

• Opting to type notes during meetings

Other dysgraphia interventions

• Letter-formation drills

• Handwriting-training programs, including Handwriting Without Tears

Dysgraphia and other learning disorders are lifelong challenges. Getting a diagnosis for your child will help you access the accommodations required in school. Finding what your child is passionate about and developing this will help with the negativity and low-self esteem that may accompany dysgraphia.

I have decided another approach is required for Harry’s music homework. I will read the relevant information to him, and he will record it in his own words. He may only scrape a pass, but I’m not worried. I want Harry to love making music. When he plays and sings, he is following his passion, and that is what counts.

What helped your child overcome dysgraphia?

[i] https://specialneedsprojecteec424.weebly.com/dysgraphia.html

[ii] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1087054717720721

[iii] https://www.additudemag.com/what-is-dysgraphia-understanding-common-symptoms/

With thanks to Candice Breetzke, who has a Master’s degree in Augmentative and Alternative Communication

To read how to teach spelling and reading in 30 minutes a day, click here.

Speechify is an app that can help dyslexic children as it reads online text. Here is my affiliate link.