Dysgraphia can be described as challenges within a set of skills known as transcription. These skills are handwriting, typing and spelling which allow us to produce writing. Like dyslexia and dyscalculia, it is a neurological disorder that can affect children or adults.

Dyspraxia difficulties will be at different levels of severity, requiring differing levels of response and intervention.

Here are some indicators below:

• Unclear, irregular and inconsistent handwriting
• Different slants, shapes and random use of upper/lower case letters used
• Different print styles such as cursive or block
• inconsistency with spatial planning on the page
• Irregular spacing between words and between letters
• Unfinished words or letters
• Difficulties with fine motor skills-  the ability to make movements using small muscles in hands and wrists. Such as, following patterns using a pencil, threading beads, putting small objects into bottles etc.
• Difficulties with fine motor integration skills- the ability to use fine motor skills and coordinate them with their eyes. For example, copying from the board, cutting along a line etc.
• Difficulties of motor coordination skills- the ability to move different parts of the body for different actions. For example, throwing and catching, dribbling a ball, jumping with both feet off the ground, etc.
• Difficulties with visual perception skills- the ability to make sense of what can be seen.
• Working memory- what we use to remember information for a short time to use this information in some way. 

 

Assessing whether a child may have dysgraphia will consist of a careful and considered review of the pupil’s learning strengths and needs, their educational history and the extent of their spelling and writing difficulties. Wadeson Street Dyslexia Centre states that, if a free writing sample is more than 25% illegible; that has more than one out of four words illegible, then the person’s handwriting is considered to be dysgraphic.

Please remember that most young children will exhibit some of the signs of dyspraxia difficulties. It is therefore important that we look for a cluster of characteristics which may indicate dyspraxia and that we do not jump to conclusions prematurely when pupils show only one or two indications.

There are a range of supports for dysgraphia. The use of IT, development of fine and gross motor skills, multi sensory techniques and providing extra time are some examples.

You will find further information on supporting the development of fine and gross motor skills through the EAST Motor Skills Programme intervention here.