Diagnosing Dysgraphia Can Lead to Helpful Treatments

It takes more than looking at a person’s writing when diagnosing dysgraphia. Dysgraphia, a disorder that hinders a person’s handwriting ability, is a learning disability few people know about or recognize. Often times, people who have dysgraphia are looked upon as lazy and sloppy, but in reality most who suffer from the disorder are bright. This is why diagnosing dysgraphia at an early age is essential.

Doctors should look at each of the three forms of this disorder when diagnosing dysgraphia:

Dyslexic dysgraphia—those who suffer from this version have illegible writing when they write spontaneously. Oral spelling is flawed, but drawing and copying written text is normal. Finger tapping speed is normal.
Motor dysgraphia—spontaneous text and copied written text are sloppy and unreadable. Oral spelling is normal, while drawing is laborious. Finger tapping speed is abnormal.
Spatial dysgraphia—any writing is illegible. Oral spelling is normal as is finger-tapping speed. Drawing is not normal.

When diagnosing dysgraphia, doctors directly test the patient. When diagnosing dysgraphia, a physician will ask the person to write spontaneous sentences and paragraphs as well as instruct them to copy written text. Diagnosing dysgraphia involves more than the actual writing; the examiner also looks at the person’s posture, position, pencil grip and whether their hand tremors when writing. Motor skills like finger tapping and wrist turning are also analyzed.

Diagnosing dysgraphia can be somewhat complex. If you suspect you may this disorder, contact a physician. Diagnosing the dysgraphia is your first step to feeling better.