Dysgraphia in children and treatment tips

Some mothers may notice some writing disorders in their child, and they may not know the reasons for that, but perhaps it is because the child has a type of learning disability, which is dysgraphia.

Dysgraphia is a term that refers to a problem that a child or adult has with writing. According to many experts, dysgraphia is a challenge that a person faces with a set of skills known as transcription skills. These skills are: handwriting, electronic writing, and spelling. Dysgraphia is also known in English as dysgraphia.

What is Dysgraphia ?

It is a disorder that leads to difficulty performing written tasks, which results in poor academic achievement. Children may also find it difficult to organize and express their thoughts and ideas in written form.

Since the problem of difficulty in writing is a natural thing at the beginning of learning to write, it is necessary to pay attention to several things, which are:

1- The problem of learning to write naturally does not exceed three years. If it continues for this period, the child suffers from one of the writing difficulties disorders.

2- The problem of dysgraphia does not express a problem in thinking or a problem in forming ideas, but the difficulty in writing that the afflicted person suffers from leads to obstructing the sequence of ideas and their lack of clarity.

For example, people with dysgraphia may write more slowly than others, which can affect how well they express themselves in writing. They also have difficulty spelling because it is difficult for them to form letters when writing.

3- Dysgraphia is not a problem with intelligence. Challenges are often the result of problems with motor skills, and these skills can be improved with help from parents, teachers, or by consulting a specialist.

To learn about learning difficulties, you can read the article Learning Difficulties in Children.

Causes of dysgraphia .

There are many reasons for writing difficulties in children, the only ones are:

1- Physical causes: Some children may suffer from hand diseases that affect writing skills, or diseases that affect the nerves or brain, causing dysgraphia and difficulty concentrating.

2- Brain injury: It may occur due to the lack of good oxygen reaching the child’s brain during birth or severe high temperatures, which causes meningitis, which causes neurological problems that affect the areas of the brain responsible for writing skills.

3- Not establishing the child well in reading and writing from the beginning, which affects writing skills.

4- The problem of general memory disorder or alphabetical coding:

There is an area called general memory, which is responsible for remembering the words that the child wrote, the way they were written, and moving the fingers - in general memory, it is responsible for alphabetical coding.

5- Difficulties in motor and language skills:

Some children may suffer from difficulties in motor skills like other children, as well as pronunciation and correct speaking, which affects writing skills.

In order to identify that a child suffers from dysgraphia, the types of writing difficulties can be limited to 12 types:

12 Types of Dysgraphia

1. Children's writing is slow and confusing in terms of letter shape, direction, position on the paper, and line.
2. There are no spaces between each line.
3. Disorganization and disorganization of the writing paper.
4. Writing words incompletely.
5. Written answers are very short compared to oral answers.
6. Different sizes of letters and words and their lack of proportion.
7. Cleft handwriting: This is writing that results from trembling hands due to muscle weakness, nerve weakness, or a psychological disorder such as stress.
8. Segmented writing: writing the letters of the word separately in some syllables.
9. Inverted, or reversed, writing.
10. Unorganized texts: This is the lack of coordination of the words in the paper.
11. Change of letters resulting from mispronunciation, such as the word: “soup” instead of “thawb”.
12. Writing errors due to inability to remember letter shapes.

Symptoms of dysgraphia .

One of the main signs of dysgraphia is messy handwriting. While a healthy person can perform some basic handwriting skills, people with dysgraphia often struggle with:

1. Letter formation
2. Writing grammatically correct sentences.
3. Proper letter spacing and appropriate spacing.
4. Writing in a straight line without any curves.
5. Holding and controlling a writing tool (pen, brush, or keyboard)
6. Write clearly enough to be read.
7. Write complete words without skipping letters.
8. In other words, a person with dysgraphia:
9. illegible handwriting
10. Slow and laborious writing.
11. Mixing printed or handwritten letters.
12. Letter spacing, words oddly spaced.
13. Poor spelling and grammar.
14. Difficulty holding a pen.
15. Incorrect punctuation.
16. Interlocking sentences, no breaks between paragraphs.
17. Trouble organizing information when writing.

What does a person with dysgraphia suffer from ?

Since the writing process involves different motor skills, for example:

1. Use fine motor skills to hold various types of writing tools.
2. Use gross motor skills to hold the arm or hands in the correct position.
3. Use motor planning to form letters and the spaces between them.

Dysgraphia is a problem with motor skills that directly affects the ability to write. Sometimes children with these challenges are diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder ( DCD ) .

Is dysgraphia caused by another problem?

Dysgraphia often occurs in conjunction with ADHD and learning disabilities, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and expressive language disorder.

It is often possible that the child has another type of learning disability disorder at the same time as dysgraphia, so it is important to have a full evaluation of the child at school or with a specialist to find out if there is something else the child is experiencing at the same time as dysgraphia.

Risks of dysgraphia disorder?

Messy, error-filled written work may lead children to hear things like: They are lazy or careless.

Confusion or frustration at school, frequent embarrassment leading to constant stress and anxiety, and low self-confidence. They may avoid taking risks or socializing, and may suffer from low self-esteem.

What is the role of parents, mothers, and teachers towards a person with dysgraphia?

It is important as a parent to talk to your child’s teacher if you suspect that he or she has any learning disability disorder, and to determine with him or her the appropriate way to deal with the child, in addition to the other roles that you must play, which are:

1. Occupational therapy to build fine motor skills.
2. Have children take a break before correcting their writing.
3. A checklist to check their spelling, accuracy, grammar, sentence structure, clear development of ideas, etc.
4. Use line drawings while learning.
5. Extended time on tests involving writing.
6. Break down writing assignments into steps.
7. Using a word processor at school.
8. Practice keyboard skills.
9. Practice writing games such as writing in sand or in the air to increase finger control.

Does dysgraphia affect males or females more?

Dysgraphia is more common in males than females, with a ratio of 1 to 4.

Treatment of dysgraphia .

There are many ways to help improve dysgraphia at home and school, and the common treatments are occupational therapy and physical therapy. Occupational therapists help improve fine motor skills and motor planning, while physical therapy works on gross motor skills.

Of course, the earlier treatment begins, the better. Treatment with an occupational therapist can also be helpful for some adults. Some strategies for treating dysgraphia include:

1. Use wide paper, or paper with a wide rule, so that the child can align the letters and words.

2. Train the child to hold a pencil or other writing tools calmly.

3. Psychological support for the child, continuous encouragement for him, even by obtaining prizes and rewards, and relieving stress before writing.

4. Work on improving children’s muscle strength so that they can hold school supplies correctly.

5. Training the child to draw lines inside a maze in some children’s books and walk on them correctly.

6. Use office software to help children form accurate sentences on paper.

7. Educational assistance and behavioral therapy can also be used to treat dysgraphia.

The father or mother can also consult specialists so that the case can be easily followed up - and you can obtain consultations for learning difficulties through the learning difficulties consultations link on the school.com website .