What is Dysgraphia?

What is Dysgraphia?

Dysgraphia (pronounced: dis-graf-eea) affects approximately 10% of the population. Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder, and dysgraphia symptoms are characterised by the inability to write correctly. Dysgraphia, in fact, refers specifically to the failure to perform operations in handwriting. It could be described as an extreme difficulty with fine motor skills.

Fine motor skills are essential for good writing. Students with dysgraphia symptoms may have problems with the simplest of writing tasks; their handwriting will barely be legible; the writing will appear incorrect; distorted; have letters of different sizes and different size spaces between letters. Student’s have particular difficulties following a straight line and keeping to a margin. Students with dysgraphia find it particularly painful when writing by hand—symptoms / Indicators of Dysgraphia.

Definition of Dysgraphia

‘Dysgraphia means having severe problems with handwriting, which is associated with extreme difficulty with fine motor skills and/or problems with the speed of processing – in spite of having a normal intellectual ability.’

by Dr David Edward Cowell & Maria Chivers *2019 ©
*Updated from 2008

It is essential to recognise dysgraphia as soon as possible before it impacts a child’s self-esteem. Just as there is no single set of signs characterising dyslexia, there is no one cause of dysgraphia. The earlier dysgraphia is diagnosed, the easier it is to ensure the student receives the correct support at home, school, or the workplace. Although there is no cure for dysgraphia, these problems can be alleviated with the proper tuition.

These difficulties often result in considerable frustration bearing in mind that people with dysgraphia are usually of average intelligence.