Dysgraphia

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.Occupational therapy could be considered to strengthen muscle tone, improve dexterity, and evaluate eye-hand coordination. Dysgraphic children should also be evaluated for ambidexterity, which can delay fine motor skills in early childhood. Often small things can help students with dysgraphia, such as allowing them to use a preferred writing utensil or allowing them to submit typewritten work instead of requiring their work to be handwritten.
 * Explanation:** A deficiency in the ability to write, regardless of the ability to read, not due to intellectual impairment.
 * Effects on the child at school: T**he disorder generally emerges when the child is first introduced to writing. The child may make inappropriately sized and spaced letters, or write wrong or misspelled words despite thorough instruction. Children with the disorder may have other learning disabilies, but they usually have no social or other academic problems.
 * Prevalence of the disorder:** ??? Rarely Diagnosed by itself
 * Treatments:**
 * How can teachers help:** Suggestions for teachers and parents
 * 1) Use of small pencils (a typical pencil cut in thirds) golf pencils, or triangular shaped pencils all promote a functional grip. Jumbo pencils are useful for individuals with tremors or some types of cerebral palsy.
 * 2) Ensure that solid handwriting instruction has taken place. The student should be able to tell how each letter is made using the same verbiage as the teacher.
 * 3) Before the student begins to compose a paper, have them engage in prewriting activities such as webbing, or verbalizing what they will write about.
 * 4) Use pre-lined paper that has yellow highlighting where the words are supposed to go
 * 5) Allow students extra time to complete in-class assignments; otherwise they won't get the benefit of the instructional practice
 * 6) Get students keyboarding early on
 * 7) Allow students to use laptop or other computer for class work
 * 8) Allow children to dictate to an adult; they can then recopy if necessary
 * 9) Allow children to dictate into a tape recorder; they or an adult can transcribe later. This allows the creative output process to occur without being stopped by the execution problem.
 * 10) Have compassion and know that this issue has nothing to do with intelligence or behavior.

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