How to Overcome Challenges With Dysgraphia

The "National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke" define dysgraphia as " . . . a neurological disorder characterized by writing disabilities. Specifically, the disorder causes a person's writing to be distorted or incorrect." The term dysgraphia is derived from the Greek words "dys" meaning difficulty and "graphein" meaning to write. The disorder is characterized by symptoms such as irregular letter shapes and sizes, general illegibility, mixing of upper and lowercase letters and a struggle to use writing as a communication tool.

Instructions

The Earlier the Better

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  Looking for signs of dysgraphia early in childhood gives the child the best chance to overcome the many obstacles of the disorder. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, as many teachers may not be adequately prepared to recognize the symptoms of dysgraphia. Educating yourself about the disorder is the first step in realizing if your child might have a problem.

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  Work together closely to plan a course of action to help accommodate his various special needs concerning his disorder if either you, or his educators, suspect there may be signs of dysgraphia.

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  Meet with a school counselor to discuss accommodations and recommendations to assist your child to ease his frustrations. Many children exhibit signs of deep frustration when dealing with dysgraphia. It is important that parent, child and teacher, together, meet with the counselor to assure everyone is on the same page.

What Can Be Done

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  Accommodate--According to a 1999 article, "Dysgraphia Accommodations and Modifications" written by Susan Jones and published by "LD Online," there are three factors to deal with concerning dysgraphia, accommodation being the first. "Reduce the impact that writing has on learning or expressing knowledge--without substantially changing the process of the product." She recommends being more flexible with demands, volume, complexity and tools used to complete tasks.

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  Modify--Miss Jones states that changing assignments or expectations to meet the individual needs for learning may be necessary for some students because " . . . accommodations will be inadequate to remove the barriers that their writing problems pose." Stress quality not quantity by reducing the length requirements for assignments. Change complexity by allowing spelling not to count for some assignments. Allow him to give oral reports for some assignments rather than written.

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  Remediate--"Provide instruction and opportunity for improving handwriting," Miss Jones states. She further recommends building handwriting instruction into his schedule. Dependant on age, occupational therapy or other special needs accommodations could provide remediation. Practice at home is also essential.