What Causes Dysgraphia (Handwriting Problems)?

What Causes Dysgraphia (Handwriting Problems)?

What causes Dysgraphia (handwriting problems)?  We still do not know very much about Dysgraphia, but it is thought the cause of this disorder could be a language disorder or damage to the motor system.

There is hardly any research on Dysgraphia, so it is difficult to answer this question definitively.

Dysgraphia Sub-Types

At present,  there appear to be five different subtypes of Dysgraphia.  In 1994, Deuel divided Dysgraphia into three sub-types; however, at the time of writing, it is generally accepted that there are five sub-types.

*What are five different types of Dysgraphia?

There are five different types of Dysgraphia.  While Dysgraphia may be broadly classified as follows, many individual variations affect both treatment and prognosis:

1   Dyslexic Dysgraphia

In ‘Dyslexic Dysgraphia’, the spontaneously written text is illegible, especially when the text is complex.  Oral spelling is poor, but drawing and copying of written text are relatively normal.  Finger-tapping speed (a measure of fine-motor speed) is average.

2    Motor Dysgraphia

In ‘Motor Dysgraphia’, spontaneously written and copied text may be illegible, oral spelling is normal, and drawing is usually problematic.  Finger-tapping speed is abnormal.

3    Spatial Dysgraphia

In ‘Spatial Dysgraphia’, people display illegible writing, whether spontaneously produced or copied.  Oral spelling is normal.  Finger-tapping speed is average, but drawing is very problematic.
* Deuel, D. Developmental Dysgraphia 1995

4   Phonological Dysgraphia

In**Phonological Dysgraphia – writing words as a pure ‘sound’ spelling is incorrect, e.g., writing ‘brought’ as ‘brot’ or ‘station’ as ‘stayshun’.

5   Visual Dysgraphia

In Visual Dysgraphia, writing words correctly spelt apart from some letters being reversed, e.g. ‘drink’ as ‘brink’ or the bizarre or abnormal and ‘irregular formation of letters.  They may sometimes look okay, but they have been produced in an abnormal order of pen strokes.

Updated 13th December 2022