LISD Dyslexia - Dysgraphia

Difficulty with handwriting frequently occurs in children with dyslexia. When Texas passed dyslexia legislation, the coexistence of poor handwriting with dyslexia was one reason why dysgraphia was called a related disorder. Subsequently, dyslexia and dysgraphia have been found to have diverse co-morbidities, including phonological awareness (Döhla and Heim, 2016). However, dyslexia and dysgraphia are now recognized to be distinct disorders that can exist concurrently or separately. They have different brain mechanisms and identifiable characteristics.

Dysgraphia is related to dyslexia as both are language-based disorders. In dyslexia, the impairment is with word-level skills (decoding, word identification, spelling). Dysgraphia is a written language disorder in serial production of strokes to form a handwritten letter. This involves not only motor skills but also language skills—finding, retrieving and producing letters, which is a subword-level language skill. The impaired handwriting may interfere with spelling and/or composing, but individuals with only dysgraphia do not have difficulty with reading (Berninger, Richards, & Abbott, 2015).

A review of recent evidence indicates that dysgraphia is best defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder manifested by illegible and/or inefficient handwriting due to difficulty with letter formation. This difficulty is the result of deficits in graphomotor function (hand movements used for writing) and/or storing and retrieving orthographic codes (letter forms) (Berninger, 2015). Secondary consequences may include problems with spelling and written expression. The difficulty is not solely due to lack of instruction and is not associated with other developmental or neurological conditions that involve motor impairment.

The characteristics of dysgraphia include the following:

Variably shaped and poorly formed letters
Excessive erasures and cross-outs
Poor spacing between letters and words
Letter and number reversals beyond early stages of writing
Awkward, inconsistent pencil grip
Heavy pressure and hand fatigue
Slow writing and copying with legible or illegible handwriting (Andrews & Lombardino, 2014)

Additional consequences of dysgraphia may also include:

Difficulty with unedited written spelling
Low volume of written output as well as problems with other aspects of written expression.

Dysgaphia is NOT:

Evidence of a damaged motor nervous system
Part of a developmental disability that has fine motor deficits (e.g., intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy)
Secondary to a medical condition (e.g., meningitis, significant head trauma, brain trauma)
Association with generalized developmental motor or coordination difficulties (Developmental Coordination Disorder)
Impaired spelling or written expression with typical handwriting (legibility and rate) (Berninger, 2004)

Dysgraphia can be due to:

Impaired feedback the brain is receiving from the fingers
Weaknesses using visual processing to coordinate hand movement and organize the use of space
Problems with motor planning and sequencing
Difficulty with storage and retrieval of letter forms (Levine, 1999)

The process of identifying dysgraphia will follow Child Find procedures for conducting a full individual and initial evaluation (FIIE) under the IDEA. These procedural processes require coordination among the teacher, campus administrators, diagnosticians, and other professionals as appropriate when factors such as a student’s English language acquisition, previously identified disability, or other special needs are present.

Graphomotor(Motor-Sensory) - spacing, overwrites, wiggly lines, cross outs, pressure, size

Handwriting legibility - not distinguishable outside of context

Orthographic Processing - mixed case, variably shaped letters

Supporting students struggling with handwriting

Between 10% and 30% of students struggle with handwriting. Early difficulties in this area are significantly correlated with poorer performance on composition tasks. The following are research-based elements of effective handwriting instruction. These elements, which apply to both manuscript and cursive handwriting, may not necessarily apply to an entire class but instead may be used to support instructional methods delivered in small groups with students whose penmanship is illegible or dysfluent.

Show students how to hold a pencil.
Model efficient and legible letter formation.
Provide multiple opportunities for students to practice effective letter formation.
Use scaffolds, such as letters with numbered arrows showing the order and direction ofstrokes.
Have students practice writing letters from memory.
Provide handwriting fluency practice to build students’ automaticity.
Practice handwriting in short sessions.

Instructional accommodations for the student with dysgraphia

By receiving instruction based on the elements described in this chapter, a student with dysgraphia is better equipped to meet the demands of grade-level or course instruction. In addition to targeted instruction, accommodations provide the student with dysgraphia effective and equitable access to grade-level or course instruction in the general education classroom. Accommodations are not a one size fits all; rather, the impact of dysgraphia on each individual student determines the accommodation. When considering accommodations for the student with dysgraphia, consider the following:

The rate of producing written work
The volume of the work to be produced
The complexity of the writing task
The tools used to produce the written product
The format of the product (Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, 2018, p. 5).

Listed below are examples of reasonable classroom accommodations for a student with dysgraphia based on the above considerations:

Allow more time for written tasks including note taking, copying, and tests
Reduce the length requirements of written assignments
Provide copies of notes or assign a note taking buddy to assist with filling in missing information
Allow the student to audio record important assignments and/or take oral tests
Assist student with developing logical steps to complete a writing assignment instead of all at once
Allow the use of technology (e.g., speech to text software, etc.)
Allow the student to use cursive or manuscript, whichever is most legible and efficient
Allow the student to use graph paper for math, or to turn lined paper sideways, to help with lining up columns of numbers
Offer an alternative to a written project such as an oral report, dramatic presentation, or visual media project

For more information about accommodations, see At a Glance: Classroom Accommodations for Dysgraphia.

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