Dysgraphia Symptoms

People in the teaching profession may have come across students who have excellent verbal communication skills, but they seem to falter when it comes to writing. Such students are said to suffer from the problem of dysgraphia which is a learning disability that constitutes poor writing skills. However, although these students are not able to write properly, they are in no way intellectually challenged. Rather, they can be defined as children who are unable to express their thoughts in the form of words. Though there are many students who suffer from this problem, not many people know about dysgraphia. The reason for this is, often students who are not able to write are considered to be lazy or stubborn by teachers and parents, especially because they are very bright when it comes to reading and speaking. However, they do not realize that such students refuse to write because they are not able to do so. Hence, it is important to know about the symptoms, so that one can help such students in improving their writing skills.

Dysgraphia Definition
Dysgraphia can be defined as a neurological problem that affects the person's writing skills. Though not much research has been done on dysgraphia, experts are of the opinion that this problem arises because of improper motor skill development. Usually, a child's motor skills start developing when he is a toddler, and by the time he reaches school age, he has complete control of his motor skills. However, children who have weak motor development, may have the problem of dysgraphia. Here, you can take a look at the dysgraphia signs that can help you in diagnosing whether your child or one of your students has dysgraphia.

Dysgraphia Signs and Symptoms

Symptom #01
It is actually possible for parents to detect dysgraphia in their children quite early. For instance, children with poor motor development may not be able to put on their zippers or buttons, and sometimes, may not be able to learn to tie their shoe laces. It has also been observed that children who have dysgraphia may not like coloring which is something that is loved by young children. This is because coloring can give rise to challenges which they may not be able to cope, and hence, they avoid doing it altogether.

Symptom #02
The best way of diagnosing dysgraphia is by looking at the handwriting of the student. Such children have very poor or illegible handwriting. They may not have consistency while using letters to write. For instance, they are likely to use a mixture of lower case as well as upper case letters while writing. Apart from this, they are also not likely to stick to a particular font . In other words, they may use both print as well as cursive letters while writing.

Symptom #03
Another thing that you can observe in the writing of a student who has dysgraphia is that there will be no regularity in the size of the letters. Even letters in a single word may not be written in the similar size. They are also likely to get confused while writing words that look similar including 'b, d, q and p'. Other than this, they are also likely to make frequent spelling errors while writing. Another common thing that is observed in the writing of students who suffer from the problem of dysgraphia is that they leave certain words and sentences incomplete.

Symptom #04
Apart from the above given symptoms, there are some more signs which will help in dysgraphia diagnosis. As students find it extremely difficult to write, they may try to avoid writing altogether. Moreover, if they are pressurized by their teachers and parents, they may get really frustrated which can cause them more stress. Children who have dysgraphia have a different way of holding their pencils or pen. It is also said that these children experience pain in their hands, while trying to write.

I hope this article will be helpful in diagnosing this learning disability in your child or may be student. If yes, it is important that you take him to a specialist as soon as possible. Dysgraphia treatment is usually concentrated in developing the child's motor skills through occupational as well as cognitive therapy. Apart from the treatment given by the specialist, it is also important for parents and teachers to give special attention to the child. Rather than forcing the child to write, they should develop certain strategies which can help the child in developing his writing skills. Training the child to use the keyboard for expressing his thoughts may also be helpful in decreasing his frustration over his impaired ability to write.