What is Dysgraphia?

So, exactly what is dysgraphia?

Dysgraphia comes from the Greek, and means "difficulty with writing." Often accused of sloppiness or laziness, children with this type of learning disability are often overlooked or misunderstood. Yet this is a very real disorder that can be uncovered with professional evaluation.

Symptoms of Dysgraphia

Children (or adults) who struggle with a dysgraphia learning disability may display various types of writing difficulty. Among them are:

Illegible handwriting (or "chicken scratches") Unusual or inconsistent formation of letters Very slow, laborious writing, even with great effort Difficulty expressing thoughts in writing Unusual pencil grip and awkwardness when writing Written expression is at a much lower level than verbalizing thoughts Strong distaste for writing tasks

Causes of Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia may be caused by numerous factors. Underlying causes may vary from student to student.

It also isn't unusual for dyslexia and dysgraphia to occur together.

Some probable factors include:

• Visual-Motor weakness
  
  
• Sequencing difficulties
  
  
• Perceptual Deficits
  
  
• Visual Memory Weakness

Dysgraphia can be addressed successfully once the root difficulties are exposed. Then a program can be implemented that stimulates the weak areas to develop them more fully.

Educational Therapy is one such effective program.

Compensation is not the only option. It is important for every student to learn to communicate in writing.

Writing mechanics are important, yes. But so also is the ability to express one's opinions, values, and beliefs in a way that can touch another person through the written word.

The ability to learn and express ourselves in writing is a God-given gift. Every student deserves support to develop his or her gift.

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