A writing disorder

Dysgraphia is a learning disorder that affects writing abilities. Children with dysgraphia will have difficulty inputting thoughts down on paper, illegible printing or cursive writing despite appropriate time and attention given to the task, unfinished words or letters, copying or spontaneous writing is slow, excessive use of eraser, complains of pain even during short writing tasks and letter / word reversals.

Dysgraphia is not just bad hand writing which can be corrected through training and practice. Many parents are not aware of dysgraphia. They believe a child’s poor handwriting is because they are lazy, careless or lack of effort. This leads parents to apply undue pressure on the child. Unfortunately additional writing practice will not solve this problem. More information Medical help

Children are ready for writing instructions only by the age of six years. So it’s not right to diagnose a child as dysgraphic before that stage. Delay in speech and language development , delay in achieving developmental milestones, and difficulty in learning gross motor activities like running, jumping, catching a ball and fine motor activities like manipulating objects effectively within their hands are some of the warning signs that the child could be at risk for dysgraphia.

Treatment options

Pediatricians, educational psychologists and occupational therapists can help identify it early. Identifying the problem early will help reduce the problem’s impact. An occupational therapist can assess and identify the underlying problem areas, which affect the child’s writing skills.

Occupational therapists can help the child come out of the problem or reduce the impact and perform better in academics, with use of purposeful therapeutic activities and therapeutic interventions.

Along with intense therapy, some children might need an individualized special education program. Educational psychologists or educators can help in this regard with a psycho educational assessment. With early identification, appropriate professional help, writing difficulties and learning disorders can be dealt with effectively.