Dysgraphia 101: Definition and Symptoms 

Dyslexia is perhaps the most widely known learning disability related to reading and writing. Its cousins, dysgraphia and dyscalculia, are lesser known. However, more and more parents and teachers are looking into these learning challenges, to understand it and learn how to help children who are diagnosed with it. 

Dysgraphia a neurological learning disability that affects a child’s ability to write. It is a common cooccurring condition for someone also diagnosed with ADHD, and may also co-occur with dyslexia. 

What is Dysgraphia?  

Dysgraphia is a form of neurodivergence, or a set brain wiring, that affects a person’s ability to write, both in the technical sense and the mechanical sense. It occurs not just in children, but also in adults. 

Dysgraphia usually affects a person’s fine motor skills. These challenges can impact the mechanical art of writing, such as learning to form letters correctly, the legibility of handwriting, and making the correct sizing and spacing of letters.

Dysgraphia may also affect a person’s processing skills, particularly related to putting one’s thoughts down to paper. It may also affect the individual’s spelling. 

Research estimates between 5 to 20% of children have some form of dysgraphia. Most cases of dysgraphia are recognized when the child struggles to write past an age that is deemed “normal.” However, because dysgraphia can also occur in the context of difficulty expressing oneself in written language, this type can be overlooked and undiagnosed even through adulthood. 

Symptoms of Dysgraphia 

Some of the most common symptoms of dysgraphia are detailed below. However, we note that people diagnosed with dysgraphia may or may not display all of the symptoms; some may struggle in one area but appear normal in others. 

Fine Motor Skills

• Awkward pencil grip or one that’s too tight and painful 
• Difficulty forming letter shapes 
• Slow handwriting
• Trouble tracing, drawing, or even finger-tapping 

Spatial Perception 

• Trouble following a line
• Difficulty staying within margins
• Difficulty estimating correct letter spacing 

Linguistic Skills 

• Often illegible handwriting 
• No difficulty speaking grammatically but trouble comes up in grammar when writing 
• Struggle to express thoughts in written form 
• A distinct gap between speaking and writing to show understanding of a given topic 

Note that the symptoms are typically signs of the underlying condition if they persist beyond the age range that they should typically be resolved. 

For example, a child in the preschool years who is forced to learn to write may not have his fine motor skills fully developed yet, and may not necessarily point to dysgraphia. Similarly, a child in the elementary years may just be learning to express themselves in writing and should not be expected to be fully eloquent in writing essays! 

We encourage you to get professional testing if something seems off based on the typical achievements expected for the person’s developmental age. 

Dysgraphia and Dyslexia 

Dysgraphia and dyslexia may have some overlap, as both of these can cause difficulty with spelling. Dyslexia affects short-term memory, a skill needed for remembering spelling, whereas dysgraphia makes the mechanical act of writing difficult, and may also affect how a person translates his thoughts to paper. This is why it might make diagnosis complicated. 

Diagnosis for Dysgraphia 

At the time of this writing, the American Psychiatric Association does not have a specific diagnosis for dysgraphia, and instead lists symptoms related to the condition under the diagnosis of “specific learning disorder” (SLD), under the specifier, “SLD with impairment in written expression.” 

Ideally, psychologists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers work hand-in-hand to help students diagnosed with dysgraphia.  

Remediation for Dysgraphia 

Since dysgraphia is a neurodivergent condition, it is not something that can be cured. Instead, we look at ways to help the person with the condition through remediation and accommodation. 

Some remediation strategies we can use to help a child with dysgraphia may include: 

• Occupational therapy to help strengthen the hand and improve fine motor coordination 
• Learning the correct body posture and arm position to make writing more comfortable 
• Letting the child use larger pencils for an easier grip 
• Using special grips to make pencil grip more comfortable 
• Using raised lines in paper to make margins more obvious 
• Teaching cursive instead of print, as print requires straight lines that are more difficult to execute 

Accommodations for Dysgraphia

Despite remediation, we may still need to make accommodations for the child with dysgraphia. Some accommodations related to schoolwork and writing are: 

• Giving extra time for writing-related tasks 
• Not limiting school output to written work and a slowing more oral output 
• Using assistive technology such as voice-to-text apps and programs 
• Teaching the child to type and using typing as a form of written output 

Understanding and Helping the Child with Dysgraphia 

Knowing if dysgraphia is the culprit for your child’s struggle to write is an important first step at getting him the help he needs.