Have you always struggled to write down your thoughts, even when you know exactly what you want to say? Your words may not match what’s in your mind. You may find taking notes, writing emails, or filling out forms difficult, making it almost impossible to meet professional demands that require written communication. This can impact your performance at work, resulting in lost opportunities or difficulty communicating clearly with colleagues and clients. You may feel frustrated and upset.
But there is a reason why this could be happening, and it’s called dysgraphia. You may have gone your entire life without ever having a diagnosis or appropriate treatment.
Most of us are familiar with learning challenges like dyslexia and ADHD. However, dysgraphia often doesn’t get the attention it deserves, leaving many to cope without the support they need. Let’s look at this forgotten neurodevelopmental condition.
Understanding Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a neurodevelopmental condition that impacts a person’s writing ability, affecting letter formation, spacing, spelling, and composition skills.
The current diagnostic system used in NZ, the DSM-5, includes dysgraphia under the broader category of “specific learning disorders”. This includes the more commonly recognised dyslexia, and similarly under-recognised dyscalculia, with dysgraphia identified as impairment in written expression. Sometimes specific learning disorders are referred to as “learning disabilities“.
Dysgraphia is not as well researched and understood as other forms of neurodivergence such as ADHD or dyslexia, and, therefore, is more likely to be misunderstood and remain unrecognised.
Dysgraphia is usually apparent in childhood. However, for some, it is only when the demands on these skills increase through high school, university, or into their careers, that the challenges they had previously managed become more obvious.
It is estimated that 10–30% of children experience difficulty in writing.
Dysgraphia may be indicated when a child has trouble learning to write, even though they have the intellectual capacity and sufficient learning opportunities. Dysgraphic children might struggle with handwriting, spelling, or both, but they typically don’t have problems with reading.
Many of us can recall a classmate who struggled with writing and took far longer than necessary to complete writing assignments. It was that friend from school whose handwriting was always chaotic and messy, no matter how hard they tried. Their words and sentences usually slipped over the lines of the pages, leaving them in tears and ashamed, or suffering in silence.
How Does Dysgraphia Manifest: Most Common Signs
According to the DSM-5 guidelines, symptoms of specific learning difficulties are the following:
- Inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading
- Difficulty understanding what is read
- Difficulty with spelling
- Difficulty with written expression
- Difficulties with numerical sense, facts, or calculations
- Difficulties with mathematical reasoning
At least one of these difficulties will have lasted at least six months, even when the child gets the right support. To be diagnosed, a child’s academic skills, based on standardised tests, must be lower than expected for their age.
If you are dysgraphic, you may experience the following specific challenges:
- Messy, or unreadable handwriting with letters inconsistent in size, slanted, or poorly spaced;
- Writing slowly;
- Errors in your grammar, punctuation, or paragraph structure;
- Trouble organising thoughts on paper, where your written ideas may be confusing or lack clarity for the reader;
- Cramped or unusual body position while writing, which can cause discomfort or pain, known as writing fatigue;
- Avoiding tasks that involve writing.
While the DSM-5 does not differentiate subtypes of dysgraphia, some consider there to be between three and five subtypes. “Motor” (or “peripheral”) dysgraphia involves difficulties with the physical process of writing, due to differences in fine motor skills and muscular coordination. “Spatial” dysgraphia involves difficulties presenting writing or drawing clearly due to differences in spatial perception. “Linguistic” (or “dyslexic”) dysgraphia involves difficulties spelling or forming words due to differences in language processing.
Given that our knowledge about dysgraphia is still growing, these are just some of the possible ways that we know writing difficulties may show up for someone. It is important to note that for many people experiencing learning challenges, their difficulties won’t fall neatly into categories and instead will overlap with several categories. For instance, it is estimated that anywhere from 30% to 47% of children with writing problems also have reading problems.
What Causes Dysgraphia?
There is still much debate about what causes dysgraphia, with research indicating that multiple forms of underlying neurological differences may contribute. Writing requires an extensive range of brain functions and cognitive processes. If any of these are interrupted, writing difficulties could arise.
Genetic research indicates that genes don’t directly cause dysgraphia. However, some functions of the brain are known to have a genetic foundation that could contribute to dysgraphia, such as spelling ability, or the ability to identify collections of letters as recognisable words (known as orthographic skills).
Furthermore, research suggests that the cerebellum, a part of the brain that coordinates movement and balance, may be involved in dysgraphia. Studies have shown that damage to the cerebellum (a form of “agraphia”, or “acquired dysgraphia”) can lead to writing difficulties, indicating its role in coordinating writing tasks.
Dysgraphia and Other Conditions
Dysgraphia often co-occurs with other neurodevelopmental conditions, including ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and developmental coordination disorder (DCD, also known as dyspraxia). Studies show that a significant percentage of children with other neurodevelopmental conditions, possibly upwards of 90%, also struggle with writing.
Additionally, an estimated one in three individuals with learning disorders like dysgraphia will experience co-occurring mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression at some point in their lives.
Where Can Someone Get a Diagnosis of Dysgraphia?
A diagnosis should be sought from a registered psychologist specialising in the diagnosis of learning difficulties.
An assessment for any learning difficulty usually involves a comprehensive educational and cognitive evaluation, gathering information such as academic records, and a clinical interview to understand relevant personal, developmental and medical history.
To obtain an assessment in New Zealand, it’s worth speaking to the school (for children) or your tertiary education provider (for adults, if you are studying), and also your GP, to see if you’re eligible to get referred for a publicly funded assessment. Privately, an assessment can cost between $1,500 and $2,000.
A free online screening test can also be a useful tool to help you decide whether it is worth seeking a formal diagnosis: Here is one for children and one for adults.
How to Support Someone Who Is Dysgraphic
Therapy for dysgraphia typically involves occupational therapy to improve fine motor skills, educational interventions such as study accommodations, and assistive technology to aid writing. Because every person’s needs are different, you are likely to use tailored solutions and adjustments to assist you in managing writing challenges and building your confidence. These may include:
- Using speech-to-text technology;
- Using typing instead of handwriting;
- Using graphic organisers to organise thoughts; and
- Using technology aids like specialised software to make writing more manageable and efficient.
Because there is low understanding of neurodivergence, neurodivergent people often have negative experiences, such as being punished, accused of being “lazy”, or told they are “dumb” from a young age. This can cause deep feelings of shame, low self-confidence, and fear of rejection from others. Therefore, one of the most powerful ways you can support a dysgraphic person, like any other person who is not neurotypical, is to avoid making assumptions and to be understanding and supportive.
Conclusion
Dysgraphia is often an unrecognised and misunderstood condition, leaving many individuals without the support they need. Therefore, raising awareness about dysgraphia is essential. When more people recognise and understand dysgraphia, it opens the door for those who are dysgraphic to receive the appropriate interventions and accommodations to help them thrive academically and in everyday life.
MindMatters
NZ’s leading clinical experts in workplace mental health and wellbeing, contact us today to be connected to the best psychologist to meet your specific needs. MindMatters Clinic provide individual executive coaching and psychological support to businesses, as well as working with organisations to manage mental health and psychosocial risks. We also do speaking events.
Visit MindMatters online: https://www.mindmatters.clinic/