Navigating the Challenges of Dysgraphia: Strategies for Coping and Improving Writing Skills

Dysgraphia affects both children and adults. Dealing with Dysgraphia can often be tough, but is manageable with the right approach. From writing cursive, improving fine motor skills, and typing to practising writing daily, a multitude of strategies can help one not only cope but improve writing skills.

What is Dysgraphia?

Dysgraphia is a learning disability where written expression gets affected – including both the ability to write (primarily handwriting) and coherence. 

Affecting all age groups, this condition interferes with all facets of the writing process, including legibility, spelling, sizing and word spacing, and expression.

Research suggests that 5 to 20% of all children suffer from a type of writing deficit like dysgraphia. Dysgraphia and other learning disorders common in children with ADHD.

Also read: Is ADHD a Mental Illness or a Learning Disability?

Dysgraphia can affect the following skills

• Language processing
• Fine motor, visual-spatial
• Grammar, spelling/handwriting and language organization

Symptoms of Dysgraphia

The following symptoms can hint towards a possible Dysgraphia Diagnosis: 

Visual-Spatial Difficulties

• Trouble with shape-discrimination and letter spacing
• Trouble organizing words on the page from left to right
• Has trouble reading maps, drawing or reproducing a shape
• Copying text slowly

Fine Motor Difficulties

• Trouble holding a pencil correctly, tracing, cutting food, tying shoes, etc.
• Inability to use scissors well or colour within lines
• Holding arm, body, wrist, or paper in a peculiar position while writing

Language Processing Issues

• Trouble noting ideas down in paper quickly
• Difficulty understanding game rules
• Inability to understand directions
• Losing chain of thought

Spelling Issues/Handwriting Issues

• Trouble following spelling rules
• Ability to spell orally, but spelling errors in writing
• Incorrectly spelled word in various ways
• Leaving words unfinished or omitting them in sentences
• Difficulty using spell check
• Writing can be tiresome or cause cramps

Grammar and Usage Problems

• Inability to use punctuation
• Mixing up tenses, overusing commas
• Writes sentences that are unreasonably long

Organization of Written Language

• Trouble with story telling
• Using vague descriptions
• Jumbled sentences

Also read: Do I have ADHD? Understanding ADHD Symptoms

Strategies for Coping and Improving Writing Skills

Coping Strategies

· Typing: Make a habit of typing instead of writing whenever possible to save the trouble of having to write on paper.

· Record: Apart from typing, you can also use voice recording to note important information.

· Use Predictive Text: Using predictive text can help you spell out words correctly while writing.

· Use Speech to Text Features: Using speech to text allows you to input language by speaking out loud, without having to write on paper.

· Use cursive: If you cannot avoid writing by hand, experts suggest writing in cursive as an easier medium than print because there’s no space between letters, reducing the distraction that occurs while having to lift your hand up.

· Request accommodations: If you’re a student, request the authorities for accommodations like not considering handwriting style/misspelt words while grading.

· Recite spelling out loud: In Dysgraphia, orthographic encoding is affected – which means translating words into their component letters. Recital isn’t affected, so verbally spelling out loud before writing can help write better.

Improving Your Writing

• Brainstorm before Writing: When your composition is affected at a paragraph, phrase, and sentence level, it’s because there’s a struggle with translating information and organizing it on paper. Brainstorming beforehand lets you access previous knowledge you have on a topic and create a rough idea which preps for writing.
•  Use multiple drafts and outlines: When we make multiple versions of content, there’s a lot more clarity and less pressure on getting it right in the first try. With such an organic approach to writing, it becomes easier to clearly conceptualize our thoughts and ideas down to exactly how we want them to be.
• You can use this prompt before writing:
• P - plan and create a blueprint (step 1)
• O - organize your thoughts and ideas (steps 2 and 3)
• W - write your draft (step 4)
• E - edit the draft (steps 5, 6, and 7)
• R - revise your work, create a final draft (step 8)

Also read: Types Of Therapy For ADHD

All these strategies can work alongside the right kind of treatment for a neurological condition like Dysgraphia. While coping may not be easy, a bit of effort to use alternatives can come a long way in improving your writing with Dysgraphia and making it functional.