What is Dysgraphia?
Texas state law requires districts and charter schools to identify students who have dyslexia and related disorders.
Dysgraphia is best defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder manifested by illegible and/or inefficient handwriting due to difficulty with letter formation. This difficulty is the result of deficits in graphomotor function (hand movements used for writing) and/or storing and retrieving orthographic codes (letter forms) (Berninger, 2015). Secondary consequences may include problems with spelling and written expression. The difficulty is not solely due to lack of instruction and is not associated with other developmental or neurological conditions that involve motor impairment.
Dysgraphia may occur alone, or with dyslexia. An assessment for dysgraphia, as it relates to dyslexia, is important in order to determine whether children need additional explicit, systematic instruction in handwriting only; handwriting and spelling; or handwriting, spelling and written expression along with word reading and decoding (IDA, 2012). (The Dyslexia Handbook, 2021 Update, p. 60)
Dyslexia as defined by the Texas Education Code (TEC) 38.003
Texas Education Code §38.003 (a) requires students to be screened or tested, as appropriate, for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times in accordance with a program approved by the SBOE. Screening must occur at the end of the school year of each student in kindergarten and each student in the first grade.
Texas Education Code §38.003 (d) 2.
Texas Education Code §38.003 (d) 2. identifies the following examples of related disorders: developmental auditory imperception, dysphasia, specific developmental dyslexia, developmental dysgraphia, and developmental spelling disability. Recent research in the field of dysgraphia has prompted the addition of the following guidance regarding the evaluation, identification, and provision of services for students with dysgraphia. (The Dyslexia Handbook, 2018, p.102)
Primary Difficulties of Dysgraphia
Primary difficulties of Dysgraphia: Difficulty spelling individual words and composing coherent ideas on paper to express a complete thought (written expression). Writing includes variably shaped and poorly formed letters, excessive erasures and cross-outs, poor spacing between letters and words, letter and number reversals beyond the early stages of writing. Students may exhibit awkward, inconsistent pencil grip, heavy pressure and hand fatigue. Difficulty recalling the starting and stopping points of letter strokes along with an excessively slow, non-automatic letter writing. (Beringer & Wolf, 2009, p.93). Individuals demonstrate differences in the degree of impairment and may not exhibit all the characteristics listed above.
Consequences of Dysgraphia & other Academic Difficulties
Consequences of dysgraphia: Slow writing, written expression that is unexpected for the student’s age and educational level, and are not primarily the result of language difference factors. Often times there is a family history of similar difficulties.
Other academic difficulties: Other co-occurring disorders include; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and specific developmental language disorders. Students may also experience symptoms such as anxiety, anger, depression, lack of motivation, or low self-esteem. (The Dyslexia Handbook, 2018 pp. 1-4)
Dysgraphia is:
- Problems with motor planning and sequencing and low volume of written work.
- Is a language disorder. Feedback from the brain to the fingers may be impaired.
- Weaknesses using visual processing to coordinate hand movement and organize the use of space.
- Impaired spelling or writing with illegible handwriting and slow rate.
Dysgraphia is not:
- Evidence of damaged motor nervous system.
- Part of a developmental disability that has fine motor deficits (e.g. intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy).
- Secondary to a medial condition (e.g. meningitis, significant head trauma, brain trauma).
- Association with generalized developmental motor or coordination difficulties (Developmental Coordination Disorder).
- Impaired spelling or written expression with typical handwriting (legibility and rate)