Dysgraphia is a deficiency in the ability to write, regardless of the ability to read, that is not due to intellectual impairment.

Dysgraphia may cause people distress due to the fact that no one can read their writing, and consequently they will seem to be underperforming. This can trigger a whole range of Emotional problems that may occur alongside dysgraphia.

They may put in extra efforts in order to have the same achievements as their peers, but often get frustrated because they feel that their hard work does not pay off.

Dysgraphia is not specifically linked to age, gender, or intelligence

Dyslexic Dysgraphia

People with dyslexic dysgraphia have illegible spontaneously written work. Their copied work is fairly good, but their spelling is usually poor.

Motor Dysgraphia

Motor dysgraphia is due to deficient fine motor skills, poor dexterity, poor muscle tone, or unspecified motor clumsiness.

Spatial Dysgraphia

A person with spatial dysgraphia has a defect in the understanding of space. They will have illegible spontaneously written work, illegible copied work, and problems with drawing abilities.

Signs and symptoms of Dysgraphia

The symptoms to dysgraphia are often overlooked or attributed to the person being lazy, unmotivated, not caring.

In order to be diagnosed with dysgraphia, one must have a cluster, but not necessarily all, of the following symptoms:

• Cramp or pain in the hands or fingers while writing short passages
• Unusual wrist, arm, body, or paper orientations
• Multiple corrections
• Mixed upper case and lower case letters
• Inconsistent form and size of letters, or unfinished letters
• Misuse of lines and margins
• Inefficient speed of copying
• Inattentiveness over details when writing
• Frequent need of verbal cues
• Referring heavily on vision to write
• Poor legibility
• Handwriting abilities that may interfere with spelling and written composition
• Having a hard time translating ideas to writing, sometimes using the wrong words altogether