What is Dysgraphia?
We get a lot of questions about the different types of learning disabilities. This makes a lot of sense because there is a ton of information out there but it can be super confusing to make sense of it all.
One of the most common questions we get is -
What is Dysgraphia?
Great question, dysgraphia is another term that is used synonymously with Disorder of Written Expression.
Basically, it can be used to describe a student or adult who struggles to produce written content for a number of specific reasons.
When we consider dysgraphia, we have to think about all the requirements of writing. Writing is an incredibly complex task that requires multiple connections in the brain to come together quickly.
When students are required to write, they need to be able to generate the content (the ideas for writing), produce the structure (from both a language and a MOTOR perspective), and they need to pull together mechanics.
Let’s break that down a bit.
Content - Idea Generation
When students are required to write they need to be able to generate content. This is the overall theme and ideas that come from spoken language that needs to be translated onto paper. Often times students struggle with generating ideas in which they can write about or struggle to organize those ideas effectively -being “all over the place” in a sense.
A strong indicator of a potential underlying problem -
You have a student who can create strong content/idea generation when they’re speaking but cannot demonstrate those same ideas when required to write them down.
Structure - Following Language & Fine Motor Guidelines
Okay, so what on earth does this mean? We need students to be able to follow a specific structure in their writing.
First, we need students to follow the appropriate structure of the English language. For example, we typically follow patterns in our language such as - subject, predicate, adverbial, or in better terms “who or what, did what, why/when/how/where.” We are allowed to mix that up a bit but generally speaking, we follow patterns of language in English.
Next, we need students to use the structure of our letters for their handwriting to be legible. If they don’t have the appropriate visual structure/spacing/sizing/orientation of their letters, we can’t read what they’re writing which impacts our ability to gain meaning from a student’s writing.
A strong indicator of a potential underlying problem -
You have a student who has poor structure in either the language or handwriting (motor) that impacts your ability to understand what they’re saying in their writing.
Mechanics - Using appropriate punctuation, spelling, and grammar
Finally, we need students to be able to apply appropriate punctuation, spelling, and general grammar to express themselves. If we have a student who is struggling to use mechanics appropriately in their writing it can begin to impact their ability to generate meaning from writing.
Now, it’s important to recognize that many students struggle with mechanics, and depending on the age of the student it can be okay. However,
A strong indicator of a potential underlying problem -
You have a student who is performing below grade-level expectations in spelling or who doesn’t use any punctuation in their writing which impacts your ability to read their writing.
When looking at dysgraphia -
We want to consider a student’s ability in all three of these areas. If he or she is showing deficits in all three areas, there is a high likelihood that the student may have dysgraphia.
If the student is only struggling in one of the three categories, a student wouldn’t necessarily qualify for dysgraphia because the struggle with writing could likely better be attributed to another difficulty such as dyslexia, ADHD, a language disorder, etc.
If the student has difficulty in two areas but not three, it may be more of a borderline case. Regardless, in order to receive a diagnosis, a comprehensive assessment must be completed that measures a student’s ability in ALL three areas.
Check out the video below for more information!