If you’re seeking help because you believe your child (or yourself) has dysgraphia, you may have noticed some of the following characteristics:
- Teachers have expressed the belief that your child is lacking motivation or struggles in learning engagement because their written work is not at the same level as their oral work.
- Your child’s writing includes a mix of lower and upper case letters, has words or parts of words missing from sentences, and may include misspelled words that previously seem to have been mastered.
- Your child has difficulty with sequencing and organising words in a sentence and poor spatial planning on paper.
- Your child’s handwriting includes poorly formed letters and inconsistently sized letters.
- Your child avoids handwriting and may not want to go to school, along with other types of learning avoidance.
Many children with dysgraphia experience a high level of frustration and anxiety, which can turn into learning avoidance and even misbehaviour as they act out their frustrations. Dysgraphic children must develop a level of confidence in themselves and their abilities for them to be able to engage in learning, rather than the opposite, which is usually the case for children with learning difficulties.
There is no substitute for one-on-one tutoring for dysgraphia students. Over time, with a tutor who is understanding, knowledgeable, and patient, students can improve their writing skills and reduce their levels of frustration and disillusionment. The work of a tutor is not just in teaching your child, but also in building up their sense of identity and changing their attitude to learning.
Several strategies can help dysgraphia students to improve their writing skills. One method is ‘chunking’, whereby I help children break down tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. This helps remove some of the feelings of being overwhelmed and frustrated in feeling unable to do the work or complete assessments.
Also, reducing the amount of written work in class and homework will assist dysgraphic students in their learning engagement and cut down on their frustration, along with providing extended time to produce written work and assistive technology to allow dictation.
Students with dysgraphia need additional assistance from their teachers and school. They need assistance in reducing the amount of written work they encounter. Therefore, a teacher could provide the student with a partially completed outline of the notes from a lesson so the student can fill in details under subheadings during the lesson. Dysgraphia students should also be allowed more time on tests, or preferably to be able to take tests vocally, or to have a scribe provided.
The use of a laptop is often of great benefit to dysgraphic children. A child with dysgraphia is likely to find typing easier than handwriting due to their poor fine motor skills. A word processing program will also provide suggested spelling, along with assistance with grammar. This enables them to edit and restructure their written work. Along with these strategies, students with dysgraphia need to be provided opportunities for learning engagement and have learning strategies that motivate them.
If you’re looking for a private tutor to help your child with their writing, I would love to hear from you. I provide one-on-one targeted lessons at my home office in the northern Brisbane suburb of Boondall. I tutor from 8am to 8.30pm Monday through Friday. Please call on 0407 407 223 to discuss the best way to help your child with input from you regarding their particular writing difficulties and needs.
Justin Clark, Learning Difficulties Tutor
