Symptoms of Dysgraphia:

The reason there are subtypes of Dysgraphia is because dysgraphia can affect language processing, visual-spatial skills, or both. Some symptoms are similar symptoms to Dyslexia. Although symptoms can and often do vary between individuals, common symptoms include:

• Struggling to grip a pencil

  • student may find gripping a pencil painful or hold their pencil in a strange, noticeably abnormal way.

• Strange, choppy, and unstructured spacing between letters, words, and sentences

  • letters are never consistent

    • EX: the letter "h" being visually and spatially different each time the student writes that letter

• Mixing Cursive and Print writing

  • students with dysgraphia may actually benefit from learning cursive 

• May tire easily during writing assignment

• Not finishing words when writing

• May completely fail to use proper grammar or show highly inconsistent signs of proper grammar

• Not being able to recall the correct form of a word when given a selection

• May have trouble reading maps

• May mix up letters when spelling a word

  • aka student has trouble spelling similar to Dyslexia and student may struggle to differentiate letters from one another 

• Rules in games or sequential tasks may be challenging to follow in order or at all

• May also have trouble painting, buttoning their shirts, texting, and other motor coordination skills

• Student may actively avoid writing

  • choosing the verbal or digital options when given those options

Accommodations or Modifications for Students with Dysgraphia:

Although Dysgraphia can't be cured, it can be managed and worked around using a number of accommodation options which are easy to implement into an IEP plan for an individual student. These options include, but are not limited to, the following options or combination of options:

• Finding pencil grips the student could use

  • let the student try out a variety of writing utensils until they find one that works for them

• Give the student extra time

  • EX: Allow them the chance to write a rough, rough draft - meaning they don't have to worry about legibility, syntax, grammar, or spelling and can simply flesh their ideas out. 

• Break down tasks into steps or goals which are less overwhelming and more easily obtainable

  • Students with Dysgraphia may struggle to follow complex, sequential instructions. Be prepared to break down tasks even further than the steps already established and to reiterate / repeat those steps verbally

  • Help the student create an outline before beginning their work

    • This can be applied to essays, but can also be helpful for working through a complex math problem with multiple layers and steps or when reviewing historical events

• Give them a choice between using print and cursive

  • Bonus points if you give them the choice to use a computer (typing their response (which they may also struggle to do) or using speech-to-text options

  • Cursive eliminates the spaces between written letters and is arguably easier for students with dysgraphia to use in comparison to print

• When giving timed assignments, don't penalize for grammar and spelling

• Provide pre-typed copies of classroom notes

• Allow the student to use text-to-speech to take notes or allow them to use an audio recorder 

• Provide wide-spaced / wide-rule paper 

  • other options that achieve the same goal include: 

    • paper with different colored or raised lines and graph paper

• Be sure to review a topic if the students don't understand. Don't just move on!

These are just a few of the options available, but the overall goal of these accommodations and modifications is to make the learning environment as cohesive to the learner as possible. These options should give the students options and ultimately prepare the student to be their own best help. These techniques should not separate the student from their peers and should be easy for the student to implement on their own. For a student with Dyscalculia, allowing them options, extra time to work through what they are reading, use text-to-speech, or an audio recorder provides the student with methods to become life-long learners.

Further Reading/Sources:

Dyslexia and Dysgraphia: Difficulty with Handwriting 

Dysgraphia in Adults: Recognizing Symptoms Later in Life 

Disorder of written expression and dysgraphia: definition, diagnosis, and management - PMC 

Understanding The 5 Types of Dysgraphia & Key Signs - Cindy Lumpkin 

Fact sheet: Dysgraphia, a co-morbid disorder associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders 

What Teachers Should Know About Dysgraphia | Edutopia 

Classroom accommodations for dysgraphia