This learning disability is the impairment of a person’s handwriting ability and other fine motor skills, especially those related to the transcription of ideas and language on to paper. While the word dysgraphia is not widely known, the symptoms of the disorder and those who are afflicted by the condition are actually rather common, especially in young children just learning to read and write.

If you have a student struggling with dysgraphia, read on! We will explain dysgraphia, detail a number of different potential symptoms, and offer some strategies and methods for overcoming this disability.

What is Dysgraphia?

Dysgraphia is a condition that causes difficulty with handwriting and written expression. A person who suffers from this learning disorder may experience problems such as sloppy handwriting, inconsistent spacing, poor spelling, and the inability to write and think at the same time. For children with dysgraphia, these traits in their writing can indicate a serious struggle to put thoughts to paper, rather than a lack of commitment or effort.

An important thing to note about dysgraphia, is that the term is not used universally amongst experts and institutions. It is common for psychologists and teachers to use the word dysgraphia as a sort of short hand for what the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), calls an “impairment in written expression.”

Typically, before a person begins writing, they first must first retrieve information from short-term or long-term memory, and then organize it to be either typed or handwritten. However, for someone with dysgraphia this process is not so easy on one of the following likely occurs:

1. An inability to organize the information that is stored in memory.
2. A serious difficulty getting the word on to the page.

In either case, experts agree that dysgraphia is a neurological disorder that is rooted in a person’s brain chemistry. Unfortunately, children who display consistent difficulty with writing and organizing their thoughts on paper are often accused of being lazy or not trying hard enough. In fact, these are precisely the children that should be evaluated to determine whether or not they might suffer from dysgraphia.

Symptoms of Dysgraphia

In order to determine whether you or a loved one may be suffering from dysgraphia, it is helpful to evaluate the writing in question under the auspices of the following six categories.

Visual Spatial Difficulties:

• Problems with line spacing, and staying in the lines and margins of the page
• Trouble organizing words on the page
• Use of letters and words that run together
• Slow at copying text
• Difficulties reading maps and discerning shapes

Spelling/Handwriting Issues:

• Trouble using spelling rules
• Often misspells words
• Inability to tell if a word is misspelled Confuses upper and lower case letters
• Mixed use of printing and cursive
• Trying to avoid writing
• Erasing often
• Difficulty with reading one’s own writing
• Ability to spell words orally but unable to write the same word

Language Processing Issues:

• Often losing train of thought
• Difficulty following directions
• Inability to fully grasp rules in games
• Trouble getting ideas on paper in a timely manner

Grammar Problems:

• Overuse of commas
• Mixing up verb tenses
• Trouble writing in complete sentences
• Capitalization errors
• Inability to tell where sentences should end

Problems with Fine Motor Skills:

• Difficulty holding a pencil  or pen correctly
• Trouble with tying shoes, texting, typing, tracing, cutting food, or doing puzzles
• Inability to color inside the lines or use scissors well
• Holding one’s hand, wrist, arm, body, or paper in an awkward manner

Organizational Difficulties:

• Problems with story telling
• Writing jumbled and confusing sentences
• Using vague descriptions
• Providing too much, or too little information
• Making the same point over and over, or never getting to the point
• Assuming other know exactly what they are talking about
• Being much better at conveying ideas while speaking