Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder that is found in a lot of children around the world. The estimated percentage of children with dysgraphia is between 5 to 20%, and about 50% of the children with ADHD are having writing difficulties or dysgraphia. In this article we are going to discuss writing difficulty in children or dysgraphia, types of dysgraphia, and treating writing difficulties in children or dysgraphia treatment.

What is writing difficulty in children?

Writing difficulty in children is a neurological disorder that is characterised by the presence of a number of writing difficulties in comparison with children of the same age. Writing difficulties in children appear at the school age when the child begins to write. Dysgraphia treatment a may occur in adults also due to head accidents or concussions. This disorder should be diagnosed as soon as possible to begin the dysgraphia treatment plan.

What are the symptoms of writing difficulty in children or dysgraphia?

Writing difficulty symptoms in children has a wide range of diversity, but most of the affected children suffer only from writing difficulty that may be accompanied by reading difficulty or dyslexia or not, while speaking is usually not affected. Symptoms of dysgraphia are as follows;

• Inability to write letters in the right manner.
• Making faults in the sentence formation or grammar rules.
• Incorrect spelling
• Writing in a low speed
• Incorrect spacing between words and letters, and incorrect sizing to the letters.
• Writing letters and words in an opposite manner
• Poor copying efficiency
• Poor dictation
• Dysgraphia in children may be accompanied by poor pencil grasp.

Dysgraphia needs a good observation of the clinical signs of the dysgraphia in order to reach its treatment. 

Diagnosis of reading difficulty or dysgraphia

As we mentioned before, dysgraphia treatment could be reached after good observation of the clinical signs. The diagnosis of dysgraphia should be done by the psychotherapists and psychologists. The steps of diagnosis could be as follows;

• Taking history about the presence of this syndrome in the family.
• Asking about the observed signs by parents, and teachers, and the educational level.
• Making some tests to define the presence of the problem, and its degree.
• Ensuring the absence of other learning difficulty problems like ADHD, dyslexia or autism.

General dysgraphia treatment

Dysgraphia treatment relies on many points,  the most important one is the diagnosis of the case as soon as possible, and the involvement of all the child’s society members in the treatment process, like parents, and school teachers. Dysgraphia treatment involves also the use of all educational games to reach the best level of advancement. 

Strategies for dysgraphia treatment

• Early diagnosis and treatment of the case to ensure good response and development.
• Give an extra time for the child with dysgraphia to finish his writing tasks, like finishing homeworks, and answering exams.
• Use the training activities that help the work of all the child senses, to help better learning.
• Encourage your child to practise well, improve his handwriting, and fasten his written work, you can use gifts and rewards.
• Continuous training on writing using different ways of training.
• Decreasing the written work given to the child, and substituting the written work with copied or electronic work. This will help him to get self confidence, and get improved.
• Help your child with tools that can help him improve his handwriting as pencils, and papers with a good spacing between lines. 
• Train your child to pronounce the word he is writing, this will help him to write it in a correct manner.

Strategies for dysgraphia treatment according to types of dysgraphia

• Dyslexic dysgraphia. This type from types of  dysgraphia is characterised by the inability to write new words in addition to inability to pronounce it in the right way (dyslexia associated with dysgraphia). The copying process of words and sentences is normal in this type.
  • Treating writing difficulties in children with this type of dysgraphia can be achieved by using learning strategies that deal with dysgraphia and dyslexia at the same time, like using learning applications that help in the reading and writing of different words. Another strategy is the continuous training on writing and reading of new words. Reading the word while writing it can also be a solution for this case.
• Motor dysgraphia. This type of dysgraphia is characterised by the motor abnormalities represented by poor pencil grasp, and inability to write in a correct manner. In this case the copied and written works are affected. 
  • The dysgraphia treatment strategies in this case are directed toward continuous training on the right pencil grasp method, in addition to providing the tools that help them like providing comfortable pens to use. Providing a comfortable chair that ensures the right back position can also help the improvement of this case.
• Spatial dysgraphia. In this case there is abnormal estimation for the spaces required to write the letters, so you may find a lot of larger letters than normal, and inability to write on the lines. In this type the copied and written works are affected.
  • Treating writing difficulties in children with this type of dysgraphia could be achieved by continuous training on the estimation of spaces, and writing letters in normal size, and on the lines. Another treatment strategy is to provide papers with a well spacing between lines, this will help better improve.
• Lexical dysgraphia. In this type of dysgraphia, there are problems only in the spelling of the words that contain silent letters, there are no problems in the copying or grasping of the pen, the problems are found only in the spelling.
  • Dysgraphia treatment in this case can be achieved by using educational books and applications that give continuous training on the learning of new words.
• Phonological dysgraphia. This type of dysgraphia occurs in case of new words with unknown spelling. This type hampers the learning of new languages. There are no problems in the copying or grasping, problems are found only in the spelling.
  •  Treating this type of dysgraphia is similar to the treatment of lexical dysgraphia.

There is another classification for dysgraphia  based on whether its acquisition. It’s classified into acquired which occur in the adults, and developmental which occur in the children.

Tips for parents on dysgraphia treatment

• Encourage the continuous training on writing with gifts and rewards to help your child keep improving.
• Using applications and books that help learn writing and reading in a funny way.
• Training your child on cartoon or foam letter samples for colouring or cutting, this will help them remember the shape of the letter.

Dysgraphia treatment can be achieved by occupational therapy, which will help your child to get the best level in their academic or career lifes.

Elmadrasah.com offers you a collection of consultations and courses on the learning difficulties, provided by a group of experts in the field of psychological health which will help you better deal with your child.