This refers to a lowered ability to perform handwriting tasks. People with dysgraphia usually have trouble with fine motor skills and simple tasks like tying their shoelaces or writing down their thoughts. Surprisingly, they tend to have fantastic verbal skills as compensation for their lack of handwriting skills. People with dysgraphia might write more slowly than others, which can impact how well they can express themselves in writing. These people also tend to have trouble with spelling because it’s difficult for them to produce letters when they write.
One of the major symptoms of dysgraphia is messy handwriting. Some important handwriting skills individuals with dysgraphia might struggle with include:
· Writing grammatically correct sentences
· Forming letters
· Writing in a straight line
· Spacing letters correctly
· Writing complete words without omitting letters
· Holding and controlling writing tools
Producing writing includes different motor skills. For instance, people utilize gross motor skills to hold their arms in the appropriate position. They utilize fine motor skills to hold writing tools, and motor planning for spacing and forming letters. Having trouble with motor skills leaves a direct impact on transcription.
Some people might still use the term dysgraphia, while it’s no longer an official diagnosis. It also isn’t viewed as a learning disability under IDEA. Even though it isn’t an official diagnosis, the challenges are very real. And individuals who have them often require additional support to manage the challenges and improve skills.
Physical and occupational therapists often perform evaluations that observe the motor skills involved in writing. Dysgraphia often appears with ADHD and other learning differences. These include expressive language disorder, written expression disorder, and dyslexia. Therefore, it’s important for children to have a full evaluation to find out if something else is going on.
There’re different ways to help an individual with dysgraphia achieve success. Strategies generally fall into these categories:
· Modifications: Changing tasks or expectations to avoid or minimize the area of weakness
· Accommodations: Providing substitutes for written expression
· Remediation: Giving instructions for improving writing skills and handwriting.
Therapists should consider each kind of strategy when planning support and instruction. The earlier the therapy begins, the better. Children may receive the services at school for free. They might also receive accommodations to keep the condition from obstructing their learning. Occupational therapy can be effective for some adults. However, they’ll need to contact therapists who work privately.
