As anyone hear of Dysgraphia or know anone with this?

[mrsmom]

My 8 year old Ds has had trouble with handwritting for a while and his teacher suggest i have him tested for this, He is an A&B student but his handwritting is really bad.
Anyone? Thanks in advance.
Kim

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

To the best of my knowledge Dysgraphia isn't really about bad handwriting it is about the ability to write. My son is diagnosed with dysgraphia and for him this means that writing anything is a huge struggle. His mind knows the words, and spelling but his hand can't make it come out on paper. It can take him an hour to write a paragraph. He uses a computer at school to type because he can then participate, if he were expected to write out his work it would be not only messy but it would take hours to do what the other students can do in one class. He is on the other hand a good artist and his pencil drawings are above average for his age. This really is about the minds ability to get the hand to make the letters.

 

[mrsmom]

That is what he is having trouble with, it takes forever to write and you can hardly read it , He complains of his hands hurting and he can't grasp the pencils right ,even with pencil grips. He can't even make a round circle right. and he can't write on the lines and some letters are big some are small. He is an A & B student straight A in spelling. Does thsi sound anything like it?

Kim

 

[Figment1964]

That is what he is having trouble with, it takes forever to write and you can hardly read it , He complains of his hands hurting and he can't grasp the pencils right ,even with pencil grips. He can't even make a round circle right. and he can't write on the lines and some letters are big some are small. He is an A & B student straight A in spelling. Does thsi sound anything like it?

My son has Dyspraxia, which is a fine motor skills deficiency. So it is somewhat similar, just affecting more things than just the writing area for him. I looked up some info on dysgraphia and I'll post what I found below.

From the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dysgraphia/dysgraphia.htm#What_is):

What is Dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder characterized by writing disabilities. Specifically, the disorder causes a person's writing to be distorted or incorrect. In children, the disorder generally emerges when they are first introduced to writing. They make inappropriately sized and spaced letters, or write wrong or misspelled words, despite thorough instruction. Children with the disorder may have other learning disabilities, however, they usually have no social or other academic problems. Cases of dysgraphia in adults generally occur after some trauma. In addition to poor handwriting, dysgraphia is characterized by wrong or odd spelling, and production of words that are not correct (i.e., using "boy" for "child"). The cause of the disorder is unknown.

Is there any treatment?

Treatment for dysgraphia varies and may include treatment for motor disorders to help control writing movements. Other treatments may address impaired memory or other neurological problems. Some physicians recommend that individuals with dysgraphia use computers to avoid the problems of handwriting.

What is the prognosis?

Some individuals with dysgraphia improve their writing ability, but for others, the disorder persists.

 

[momtomany]

you should be able to request testing thru the school, but keep in mind that the school is required to provide services for any disablities the find as they relate to education abd the school environment. so a private eval might get you a better picture of the situation.


FWIW Dyspraxia (also sometime called Apraxia) refers to a neurologically based motor planning disorder which can affect speech (verbal dyspraxia), walking/running (gross motor dyspraxia), writing and other hand activities (fine motor dyspraxia), or all areas (global dyspraxia).

Beth
mom to 6 yo moderate to severe verbal apraxic, mild fine/gross motor apraxic son, and 3 beautiful dgts

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

My friend's DS13 has dysgraphia, and he is allowed to use a computer for his written work and also for tests. It makes a huge difference for him.