Writing is considered one of the most important skills that children must learn in their early school stages, as it is one of the most prominent means that children use to communicate with others and express themselves. It is one of the four most prominent language skills, and here the four language skills mean writing, reading, listening, and speaking.  Through it, their thoughts and beliefs are transformed into understandable words and letters through which they form useful sentences that indicate meanings and ideas in their minds.  Therefore, in this article, we will Writing Expression Difficulties and how to overcome them, in order to help parents and educators help their children get rid of Writing Expression Difficulties.

The concept of Writing Expression Difficulties in children:

Writing Expression Difficulties in children are a clear indication that they have a health and psychological problem. Many parents may notice that there is a problem in their children’s writing, but they did not realize that this might indicate the existence of a problem, and they had never heard of the term Writing Expression Difficulties before, so what  The concept of the term Writing Expression Difficulties, or what is called dysgraphia Writing Expression Difficulties are defined by the inability of children to master writing in a clear and understandable handwriting, in addition to bad spelling and slow writing, and their inability to organize and structure words to obtain useful sentences, despite the availability of…  Necessary factors such as good teaching, motivation, and good physical and mental health, and difficulties in written expression are classified as disabilities and learning difficulties.

In addition to the above, Writing Expression Difficulties in children may be related to a problem in the nervous system that has affected his fine motor skills necessary for mastering writing. Accordingly, the child may feel difficulty in writing, from writing simple letters to school assignments, although cases of Writing Expression Difficulties are common.  It is very popular among children, but it is rarely talked about among parents, so if you have not heard of this term before, here is a clear, comprehensive guide that addresses the Writing Expression Difficulties and everything related to it.

Symptoms and signs of Writing Expression Difficulties:

Signs of Writing Expression Difficulties vary, and even differ from one child to another, as written skills do not develop in all children at the same rate, but rather there are individual differences in this. Therefore, some signs may be present in children and not present in others, and among the most prominent signs and symptoms of Writing Expression Difficulties are  the following: 

•  Words are spaced irregularly, with some words spaced apart and others overlapping in a chaotic manner.

•  For the child to write in the middle of the page instead of on the right or left.

•  Writing irregularly above and below the line, instead of being careful to write regularly on the line designated for writing, and not being able to write straight.

•  As for foreign languages, such as English, for example, the child may be familiar with the rules of proper writing, such as using capital letters at the beginning of any sentence, but he writes randomly, such as the word quEEn.

•  One of the most prominent symptoms of Writing Expression Difficulties in children is that some of them complain of pain in their hands after writing, and this may result from their incorrect use of pens while writing.

• Symptoms of poor written expression in children also include frequent spelling errors.

• Obvious errors in writing words and letters, as the child suffers from problems in drawing the lines and curves that make up letters, and even difficulty in combining and assembling them to form words. It may also be difficult for him to draw small letters that require precise skills.

• Difficulty putting the appropriate distance between words and sentences, as some children tend to bring words and sentences too close together, which leads to the formation of incomprehensible words.

• Incorrect spelling of words. When children make mistakes in spelling words and do not pronounce them correctly, they find it difficult to convert them to correct writing, so wrong words are formed with missing letters due to mispronunciation and incorrect pronunciation.

• One of the most important symptoms of difficulties in written expression is also avoiding the participation of children who suffer from weak written expression in written activities with their peers. When children suffer from problems in writing, you find them introverted, shy, and afraid to participate with their peers.

• Low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. When a child suffers from writing problems, his self-esteem decreases and he feels that he is lower than those around him. Consequently, this reflects poorly on his academic achievement, his relationship with his friends, and even his relationship with himself and his self-confidence.

Patterns of difficulties in written expression in children:

 There are two basic types of difficulties in written expression in children, as follows:

•  The first type is represented by problems related to the method of writing and handwriting. In this case, the child has good and wonderful ideas in his mind, but he does not have the ability to communicate them properly through writing, so his writing is random and unclear, such as making mistakes in forming letters, or finding difficulty in writing.  Writing in an organized manner or holding the pen correctly while writing, to the point that he cannot read what he wrote himself.

•  The second type of difficulties in written expression is represented by problems related to children’s ability to express their thoughts. In this type, the child finds difficulties in collecting his thoughts or expressing them in writing, so he does not know where to start writing or expressing his thoughts, and some children may have the ability  To start writing, but he cannot organize his thoughts in a good way, and this type of weakness in written expression is largely the result of children’s lack of organization and planning skills, and perhaps the inability to link ideas and transform them into clear and understandable sentences and words.

 Causes of difficulties in written expression in children:

The causes of Writing Expression Difficulties in children vary, some are physical, some are psychological, and some are behavioral. The most important of these reasons are the following:

•  There are some physical diseases that may affect the writing skills of children, including birth defects that may cause a lack of coordination in the fine motor skills of the body, and thus the occurrence of difficulties in written expression. Sometimes difficulties in written expression are linked to other conditions such as cases of hyperactivity and difficulty concentrating (ADHD), which is an abbreviation for ADHD.  (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

•  Reading difficulties: Many children with reading difficulties also have a degree of weakness in written expression.

•  Lack of quality education, as children who did not learn writing and calligraphy well, and did not receive a good education, face great difficulties in written expression, and this problem may continue with the child to lead to difficulties in learning in general and not just in writing.

• Problems with alphabetical coding, as there is an area in the human brain called working memory, which in turn allows children to remember written words and letters, and even remember the steps and the way in which the child writes these words and letters, and remember the movement of the fingers to write those words. Therefore, a problem occurs in the work of working memory, which causes what  It is called the problem of orthographic coding, and it is one of the causes of difficulties in written expression.

• Weakness of the main linguistic and motor skills, as writing is a complex skill that requires a sound working memory, as we mentioned, in addition to the ability to collect ideas, understand the meanings of words, and the ability to organize sentences in a good way, and therefore any problem or weakness in these skills will significantly lead to weak written expression.  .

Now, some review of the concept of difficulties in written expression, its common patterns and signs, and its causes. Do you think that Writing Expression Difficulties have a treatment? Fortunately, there are some writing activities that will help children get rid of Writing Expression Difficulties, but before reviewing those therapeutic activities, it is necessary  Firstly, a good diagnosis of Writing Expression Difficulties.

 How can Writing Expression Difficulties be diagnosed in children?

 As we mentioned previously, cases of difficulties in written expression have a peculiarity, as they are rarely talked about among parents, so it is difficult to discover them from the beginning, but with proper monitoring by parents and educators, they can be noticed early in order to diagnose them correctly and then reach the appropriate treatments. Below are the steps.  Correct diagnosis of cases of poor written expression:

•  The first step is for the doctor to rule out any physical diseases causing the writing difficulties.

•  The second step is represented by the learning difficulties specialist, who in this case is considered the primary therapist for the child, as he gives the child some academic tests and written activities that measure his writing abilities and skills, such as the ability to collect ideas and express them in the form of words, and other activities to measure his writing and fine motor skills.  For example: The learning difficulties specialist may ask the child to move the fingers or wrist in a specific way. The specialist may also ask the child to write letters, words, and sentences to observe the following:

• The fine movements of the child’s hand while writing.
• How a child holds a pen.
•  The shape and position of the child’s body when writing.
• Observe the child’s writing method completely.
• The final form of the written activity required of the child to complete.

Therapeutic activities and Writing Strategies necessary to address Writing Expression Difficulties in children:

The method of treating Writing Expression Difficulties in varies from one child to another. Treating weakness in written expression depends on whether or not the child suffers from other learning difficulties and problems, or has other medical conditions or not. Accordingly, he is given a set of therapeutic activities that are divided into a number of  Among the stages, depending on his presence, are any therapeutic activities at home and others at school, and some of them are with the learning difficulties specialist treating him, and these activities include the following:

First: Therapeutic writing strategies to confront the child’s difficulties in written expression in school:

The best thing that a school can do for a child who suffers from weak written expression is to help him and relieve the pressure of writing and the tension that accompanies it, and to allow him to use other methods to express his thoughts, such as speaking and typing on the computer, and to give him sufficient time while taking school tests, as  These children take longer than their peers to form sentences and words, so the extra time will reduce their stress, enhance their self-confidence and show their best.

Therapeutic activities to address difficulties in written expression among children within school include the following: 

• The child should use paper to write instead of writing on the blackboard, to alleviate the child’s shyness in front of his classmates.
• Do not adopt the accuracy of writing and the shape of letters as a criterion for evaluating children who have weakness in written expression, because this will result in a drop in their grades, and thus this will reduce their self-esteem and make them feel that their efforts in writing are worthless.
•  Do not force the child to engage in long written activities and tasks.

• Teachers skip simple spelling errors as much as possible so that the child does not feel negligent and complicate matters.

• Use papers with raised outlines, especially for children with difficulties in written expression, in addition to erasable pens to make it easier for them to write.

• Allow children with difficulties in written expression to use a computer that includes word processing software.

Second: Home writing strategies that can be used to treat difficulties in written expression in children: 

 It is necessary for the child’s family to cooperate with teachers and educators within the school to help the child improve his handwriting and train him to write well. There are many activities that can be done at home to confront the difficulties of written expression, including:

• Teach children to write in simple ways and train them to do so, even for a few minutes a day, and then reward them for their efforts and writing, even if they are simple, and reinforce any tangible improvement or writing skill, even if they are small, and avoid criticizing the child.

• Teach the child the correct way to hold the pen when writing, and pay attention to him when he holds the pen tightly, as holding the pen correctly while writing will reduce hand fatigue and thus writing will become easier and less effortful.

• You can help your child write, even in a simple way. Children who have Writing Expression Difficulties find it difficult to complete written tasks, even if they are simple, so you can make these tasks easier for him and write the first sentence with him and then ask him to write the second. This will motivate him to write.

• Encourage him to pronounce words out loud while writing, as this will increase his thoughts and vocabulary and will enhance his concentration and performance.
• You can ask your child to write entertaining, training letters without expecting perfect words and letters. What is most important is that the words be understandable, clear, and readable.
• Participate the child in multi-sensory writing exercises and activities. You can ask your child to write in the garden where there is open air or on the beach where there is sand. This will enhance his sense of letters and words and enjoy a strong memory of the shapes of letters.

• You can relieve the stress your child faces while writing with some writing strategies, such as rubbing the hands quickly before starting to write, as a way to convince him that this charges him with the energy needed to write well.

Third: Writing strategies and therapeutic activities carried out by a learning difficulties specialist:

You and your child may benefit from the activities provided by a learning disabilities specialist. The specialized and professional treatment carried out by a learning disabilities specialist is often based on the following: 

 – Use specific tools to strengthen the hand and wrist.

 -Relying on exercises to improve the formation of letters and words.

-Strengthening the fingers through some simple and repetitive movements that make writing later easier and better.

Other writing strategies that can be adopted to overcome Writing Expression Difficulties in children:

In 1997, Janet Lerner developed fifteen writing strategies that can be used to train children to write correctly. These steps are as follows:

• Training children to simulate models and drawings of various geometric shapes such as circles, triangles, and lines, in addition to previewing letters and numbers, all before they start writing, using the small muscles of the fingers and the large muscles of the hands and arms.

• Training children to draw letters, numbers and shapes on wet sand or clay.

• Teach the child to sit correctly while writing.
•  Place the paper intended for writing on the table correctly so that the paper is moderate when writing continuous letters, and leans to the left when writing separate letters. This is for the child who uses his right hand to write, and the opposite is true for the child who uses his left hand to write.
• Teach the child to hold the pen correctly when writing.

• Giving the children a sheet of stencil with letters, numbers, and geometric shapes written on it. Under the stencil sheet is a white sheet of paper. Then the child is asked to press on it with pens. Then he lifts the stencil sheet to find that what he wrote has been printed on the white sheet.

• Training the child to imitate letters, numbers, and geometric shapes by placing a transparent sheet of paper and then asking the child to write like them.

• Teach children to write double letters.

• Giving the child models of letters, numbers, and dotted shapes, then asking the child to complete them.

• Provide examples of incomplete letters and ask the child to complete them.

• Providing models of paper printed with parallel colored lines, then training the child to write the letters of the alphabet between these lines.

• It is preferable to use teaching aids and models of colored paper to write letters.

• When training a child, it is necessary to start with the easy letters first, such as (A-B), then train him with the more difficult letters, such as (No).

• Providing verbal instructions to the child when he holds the pen and begins writing, such as: under, over, etc.

• Accustom the child and train him to write connected letters, but he should not practice this until he has mastered writing separate letters first. This is a skill in which he must take into account the spaces between words, the size of letters and words, marginalization and slant while writing paragraphs and sentences.

What is the role of Elmadrasah.com in confronting Writing Expression Difficulties in children?

If you notice that your child is suffering from Writing Expression Difficulties or in his academic achievement, there is no need to worry, as many children face problems and difficulties in learning and writing, and Elmadrasah.com will be by your side at any time and in any place, as Elmadrasah.com provides…  A package and set of specialized sessions to address Writing Expression Difficulties in particular and academic learning difficulties in general. It also provides a set of resources and educational methods necessary to improve their writing, academic and study skills with confidence and readiness.

In conclusion, parents, teachers, and even the child himself must be aware that Writing Expression Difficulties are a problem that does not require shame at all, and that it has solutions if it is discovered early and diagnosed properly.