Dysgraphia

How can the tutors support children with Dysgraphia

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of dysgraphia often involves several specialists. A doctor, for example, may be needed to rule out other conditions that could be causing writing difficulties.

Once other causes are ruled out, a psychologist specialising in learning disorders can pinpoint dysgraphia via a range of tests. These might include vocabulary tests, fine motor skill challenges, or practical writing tests (including both copying words and asking a child to write their own choice of words).

During these tests, the specialist will observe a child’s pencil grip, hand and body position, and writing process.

Once dysgraphia has been diagnosed, a specialist tutor and/or an Occupational Therapist experienced in developmental coordination disorders can come up with a support programme tailored to each child’s form of dysgraphia.

How to help someone with Dysgraphia

There are many ways specialist support can help someone with dysgraphia.

One approach is to provide tailored instruction and assistance to improve writing skills. For a younger child, these might include practising writing letters and numbers in the air with big arm movements to provide a motor memory of different letter shapes. Others include using paper with raised lines to help a child stay within the lines, or pens/pencils with special grips.

Another approach – particularly for school assignments – is to provide a child with alternative testing methods to writing, such as an oral assessment. Or simply giving a child extra time for any writing assignment.

A third tack, meanwhile, is to reduce a child’s need to rely on expressive handwriting skills – whether by using a keyboard-based device, or providing a child with a scribe. Be wary, however, of going too far down a writing-free route, as many teachers and other experts point out the importance for every child to have at least some practical handwriting ability.

But with an expert tailored approach, any child with dysgraphia has the potential to learn a right way to write.