My child writes poorly, is it dysgraphia?

What is dysgraphia?

Dysgraphia is a disorder neuro-developmental and a specific learning disability (ASD). It is characterized by a difficulty for the child to write legibly. He cannot automate the techniques of writing. Dysgraphia can manifest itself in a child’s handwriting in several ways: clumsy, tense, limp, impulsive, or slow.

What is the difference with dyspraxia?

Be careful not to confuse dysgraphia with dyspraxia ! Dysgraphia mainly concerns writing disorders while dyspraxia is a more general disorder of the motor functions of the person affected. Dysgraphia can also be a symptom of dyspraxia, But it’s not always the case.

What are the causes of dysgraphia?

As we have seen for dyspraxia, dysgraphia is a disorder that can be indicative of a psychomotor problem in the child. You should absolutely not consider dysgraphia as a simple physical laziness of the child, it is a real handicap. This may be due to disorders such as dyslexia or ophthalmological disorders for example. Dysgraphia can also be the warning sign of more serious (and rarer) diseases such as Parkinson’s or Dupuytren’s disease.

How do I know if my child has dysgraphia?

In kindergarten, a clumsy child

The difficulties encountered in performing the gestures of writing are called dysgraphia. Beyond a simple clumsiness, it is a real trouble, which belongs to the dys disorder family. From kindergarten, the dysgraphic child struggles to finely coordinate the gestures of his hands: he has difficulty writing his first name, even in capital letters. He is reluctant to draw, color, and manual work does not attract him.

In large section, even if most children show motor awkwardness (few know how to button their pants at the start of the year!), The dysgraphic pupil is distinguished by his lack of progress in graphics. His sheets are dirty, scribbled, sometimes with holes, so much he presses on his pencil. The same motor difficulties are found in his behavior: he does not hold his cutlery at the table, cannot to lace one’s shoes or to button up clothes all alone at the end of the year. Signs that can also suggest dyspraxia, another double that affects motor skills. 

In CP, a slow child who ends up hating to write

Difficulties explode at CP. Because the program requires a lot of writing by the child: he must at the same time represent the movement to be performed with the hand (from left to right, a loop, etc.) and at the same time think about the meaning of this movement. he writes. For things to go quickly, the line must become automatic, in order to allow one to focus on the meaning of what is written. The dysgraphic child cannot do it. Each path occupies his full attention. He catches a cramp. And he is well aware of his handicap. Very often, he then feels ashamed, becomes discouraged and declares that he does not like to write.

Who can make a diagnosis of dysgraphia?

If your child seems to have dysgraphic disorders, you can consult several health professionals able to detect a possible dysgraphia. As a first step, it is important to carry out a speech therapy of your child to see if there are any problems present. Once this examination has been carried out at the speech therapist, you must consult various specialists to find the causes of the dysgraphia: ophthalmologist, psychologist, psychomotor therapist, etc.

How to treat dysgraphia?

If your child is diagnosed with dysgraphia, you will need to go through a re-education to enable him to overcome his disorder. For this, it is necessary to consult a speech therapist regularly, especially if his dysgraphia is mainly due to a linguistic disorder. This will set up a care program that will help your child to heal little by little. On the other hand, if the dysgraphic disorder is linked to spatial and motor disorders, you will need to consult a psychomotor.

Help my dysgraphic child by making him want to write again

There is no point in making him write lines and lines in the evening at home. On the contrary, it is necessary to de-dramatize and focus on ancillary activities, very close to writing and which lead the child naturally to draw shapes resembling letters. This is also what he does in the middle section of kindergarten, and at the beginning of the year of the major section in class. For this, it is necessary that the child feels relaxed : relaxation will help him greatly. The point is to make him feel his dominant arm getting heavy, then the other, then his legs, then his shoulders. He must then keep this heaviness (and therefore this relaxation) when he writes (first standing, then sitting). Thus the dreaded cramp will be avoided.

Teacher’s tips against dysgraphia

If your child is dysgraphic, rehabilitation will be necessary (seek advice from a speech therapist); it usually lasts six to eight months. But in the meantime, here are some things to try at home.

— Vary the supports : down with the traumatic white sheet. Try the blackboard (to make large vertical gestures) and the carbon paper (to make him aware of his pressure force).

— Remove the tools that complicate : small fine brushes, inexpensive colored pencils whose lead constantly breaks, fountain pens. Buy large, long-handled, hard-brushed paintbrushes, and round, of various diameters. Double advantage: the handle forces the child to take a step back from his work, to detach himself from the sheet. And the brush uninhibits him because it shows less errors in lines than a fine brush. Introduce the child to watercolor rather than gouache, which will force him to paint in a light, airy way, without any notion of “correct line”. And let him choose the brush so he gets used to anticipating his stroke.

— Take care of the position : we write with our body. A right-hander therefore also uses his left arm when he writes, to support himself or hold the sheet for example. Now the dysgraphic child often tenses up on the writing arm, forgetting the other. Encourage him to use his whole arm, wrist, and not just his fingers. From the large section, check the grip of the pen, avoiding the crab claws that clench your fingers.

Readings to understand my child’s writing problems

Don’t wait until your child has crippling cramps in middle school to react! Rehabilitation is effective when it is early ; sometimes it allows a false left-hander to change dominant hand and become right-hander!

To dig deeper into the subject:

– a psychiatrist, Dr de Ajuriaguerra, wrote an excellent book full of practical advice. “The writing of the child”, and its volume II, “The Reeducation of writing”, Delachaux and Niestlé, 1990.

– Danièle Dumont, a former schoolteacher, specialized in re-education of writing and details the correct way to hold a pen in “Le Geste d’Éwriting”, Hatier, 2006.