Decoding Dysgraphia

 

    Many human beings have trouble expressing their thoughts on paper and even the great writers will sometimes face with that imposing wall known as "writer's block". For those who are born with the disability called Dysgraphia, or agraphia which is a deficiency in the ability to write, regardless of the ability to read, is not due to intellectual impairment.

    It is a neurobiological based learning disability in which there is a difficulty in automatically remembering and mastering the sequence of muscle motor movements needed in writing letters and numbers.
    When it is found in children, there is a tendency for there to be multiple dysgraphics in his or her family. A parent or close relative of the child tend to show signs of dysgraphia.

    The important indicators are :-

(a)    Sparse written output inappropriate to a child's age, reading and verbal ability.
(b)    Death grip and inappropriate grip of pencils.
(c)    Awkward positioning of the body, bending too close to the paper.
(d)    Avoidance of writing tasks.
(e)    Excessive number of Erasures
(f)    Confusion in directional orientation such as mirror writing (p/a, b/d, was/saw) and reversals.
(g)    Poor use of space inadequate space between letters and words, inappropriate letter size relationship and inability to stay with in head and box lines.
(h)    Poor letter connections and illegible letters.
(i)     Inaccuracies such as omissions, preservations, lack of punctuation, line skipping.
(j)    Difficulty in dictation writing.

What to do
    Parents and teachers can help these children by :

(a)    using jumbo pencils (and grips for new writer)
(b)    use prelined paper.
(c)    Allow students extra time to complete in class assignments, otherwise they won't get the benefit of the instrumental practice.
(d)    Allow children to dictate to an adult, they can than recopy if necessary.
(e)    Allow children to dictate into a tape recorders that can be dictated later on.
(f)    Give positive inputs for improvement.
(g)    Allow them to do type work instead of hand written work, to use computers to avoid the problem of hand writing.

    The dysgraphic children need treatment for motor disorder to control hand writing movement, to treat impaired memory or other neurological problem. Consultation with occupation therapist to improve upon muscle tone and improve dexterity and improve eye hand coordination.

P     -               to plan
O     -               to organize
W    -               to write
E      -               edit
R     -                finally to revise

    Dysgraphia is not an indication of low intelligence. Many famous people like general George. S. Patton, Albert Einstein, Louis Pasteur, Agatha Christie have struggled with the disability.
                            
                        

    Emotional factors arising from dysgraphia often exacerbate matters. These students are asked to forego recess to finish copying material from the board and are likely to be sent home at the end of the day with a sheaf of unfinished paper to be completed. They are asked to recopy their work but the second attempt is often no better than the first. Because they are often bright and good at reading, their failure to produce work is blamed on laziness or carelessness.

    Caretakers and teachers should have compassion towards dysgraphics and they should know that this issue has nothing to do with intelligence or behaviour. The resulting acceptable anger and frustration can prevent their ever reaching their true potential.