Understanding Dysgraphia In Children: Signs, Symptoms & Diagnosis

There are some learning disabilities that people are familiar with and often know the signs and symptoms for, such as dyslexia. However, the brain is a complex organ, and when there’s a difference in the way a child’s brain functions, it can present in a variety of ways that parents may not recognize – including dysgraphia.

The International Dyslexia Association states that as many as 20% of children suffer from some sort of writing deficit such as dysgraphia, which is why it’s important to understand not only what it is, but the signs your child may suffer from it and how to get them diagnosed if you suspect it.

Here’s what you need to know about dysgraphia – the signs and symptoms, and how to get the condition diagnosed so that proper interventions can occur and it doesn’t become a roadblock to your child’s learning.

What is dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a type of neurological disorder that affects written expression. It impacts a child’s fine motor skills, such as their ability to write. It can affect both children and adults, and can make the writing process difficult and frustrating by creating issues with writing legibly, spelling, spacing words appropriately, expression, and even the sizing of writing.

Researchers have found that learning disorders such as dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and dyslexia are more common in children who have attentional deficit hyperactivity disorder, since as many as half of all children with ADHD or ADD also have some sort of learning disorder.

Experts aren’t sure what causes dyscalculia, though they suspect that it’s linked to something called orthographic coding – memory skills that are used in the process of learning to write and writing. When a child is learning to write, they much retain a lot of information quickly, but children who have this disorder will struggle to retrieve the information they need quickly, and that’s why their written work often won’t accurately reflect what they know of a subject.

Symptoms of dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a learning disability that mainly impacts handwriting, but it’s won’t necessarily present itself the same way in all children. The symptoms can vary based on the severity of the dysgraphia, and sometimes they can be easy to miss.

In fact, many children with dysgraphia are great at discussing a given topic aloud or even reading about it, but they struggle to communicate what they’ve learned in writing. Because of this, their struggles may simply be brushed aside, and they’ll be labeled as careless or simply lazy – which couldn’t be farther from the truth.

You may notice the following symptoms in a child at home when they’re in their preschool years:

• A resistance to draw or color
• Holding markers, pencils, or crayons awkwardly
• Trouble picking small objects up
• Complaints that tasks involving writing or drawing make their hand tired
• Problems with tracing, connecting dots, or any other activity that requires patterns to be followed
• Difficulty copying simple letters
• Restlessness when asked to draw or write in class

When your child gets older, either in grade school or middle school, dysgraphia can present itself in other ways, such as:

• Problems learning to tie shoes, even as they grow older
• Issues using zippers, buttons, or scissors
• Trouble forming letters or spacing words correctly or consistently
• Gripping writing utensils awkwardly or with a grip that is too hard
• Spelling the same written word differently, even in the same sentence or paragraph
• Trouble reading charts or maps
• Problems staying in the margins or following lines
• Problems reading their own handwriting
• Forgetting proper capitalization or capitalizing a letter in the middle of a word
• Forgetting rules for punctuation or misusing it

When your child is high-school-aged with dysgraphia, you may notice that they:

• Struggle to articulate thoughts or organize them on paper
• Struggle to create outlines for assignments
• Write in sentences that are much simpler than their peers
• Leave out details or critical facts when writing
• May have difficulty getting to the point in a writing assignment or may repeat an idea over and over
• Omit word endings or letters when writing quickly

If you notice symptoms such as these in your child, request in writing an evaluation through their school.

How is dysgraphia diagnosed and treated?
It’s important to understand that through an evaluation, your child will not get an official diagnosis of dysgraphia. That’s because it’s not a disorder recognized by that name by the American Psychological Association or the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Instead, problems like dysgraphia are referred to as a specific learning disorder with impairment in written expression.

A licensed psychologist most commonly diagnoses children with specific learning disabilities like dysgraphia. Once diagnosed, your child can be treated through a variety of interventions, such as accommodations in the classroom or special services to help improve writing abilities.

Talk with your child’s school to learn more about the services and accommodations they can offer. Some of the most common accommodations for those with dysgraphia include:

• Larger writing utensils with special grips
• Paper that has raised lines
• Extra time to work on tasks related to writing
• Use of alternative methods to show how they grasp a subject, such as oral responses
• Voice-to-text programs and other assistive technologies
• Typing notes during class or meetings

Dysgraphia and other specific learning disabilities are lifelong conditions. While there may be no cure, that doesn’t mean that your child cannot go on to succeed in their studies and life with the proper treatment and accommodations.

Featured image by April Walker on Unsplash