SYMPTOMS OF DYSGRAPHIA

SYMPTOMS

1. Students may exhibit strong verbal but particularly poor writing skills .

2. Random (or non-existent) punctuation. Spelling errors (sometimes same word spelled differently); reversals; phonic approximations; syllable omissions; errors in common suffixes. Clumsiness and disordering of syntax; an impression of illiteracy. Misinterpretation of questions and questionnaire items. Disordered numbering and written number reversals.

3. Generally illegible writing (despite appropriate time and attention given the task).

4. Inconsistencies : mixtures of print and cursive, upper and lower case, or irregular sizes, shapes, or slant of letters.

5. Unfinished words or letters, omitted words.

6. Inconsistent position on page with respect to lines and margins and inconsistent spaces between words and letters.

7. Cramped or unusual grip, especially holding the writing instrument very close to the paper, or holding thumb over two fingers and writing from the wrist.

8. Talking to self while writing, or carefully watching the hand that is writing.

9. Slow or labored copying or writing - even if it is neat and legible.

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DYSGRAPHIA

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"Dysgraphia" is a learning disability resulting from the difficulty in expressing thoughts in writing and graphing. It generally refers to extremely poor handwriting.

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Each State has its own criteria which determine if a student has a learning disability as it is defined by special education guidelines. When a student's writing or graphing difficulties are severe enough to meet these criteria, special education services are indicated. Problems arise because "dysgraphia" has no clearly defined criteria. A student with any degree of handwriting difficulty may be labeled "dysgraphic" by some educational specialists, but may or may not need special education services.

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Most learning disabled students experience difficulty with handwriting and probably could be considered "dysgraphic". However, the term is seldom used within public schools because of the lack of any generally recognized or measurable criteria.

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TEACHING METHODS FOR DYSLEXIC CHILDREN

MULTI-SENSORY TEACHING METHODS

Studies from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development have shown that for children with difficulties learning to read, a multi-sensory teaching method is the most effective approach or treatment.

This is especially crucial for a dyslexic child. But what does it mean?
Using a multi-sensory teaching approach means helping a child to learn through more than one of the senses. Most teaching in schools is done using either sight or hearing (auditory sensations). The child's sight is used in reading information, looking at diagrams or pictures, or reading what is on the teacher's board. The sense of hearing is used in listening to what the teacher says. A dyslexic child may experience difficulties with either or both of these senses. The child's vision may be affected by difficulties with tracking, visual processing or seeing the words become fuzzy or move around. The child's hearing may be satisfactory on a hearing test, but auditory memory or auditory processing may be weak.

TEACHING PHONEMIC AWARENESS

To assess the skills needed I do a simple phonic spelling test. Where the group are found to have similar needs we work together using a range of games and activities. The children's individual needs are then targeted on their I.E.Ps and worked on in a one to one situation. The learning objectives are then divided into three sections;
• Learning and saying.
• Identifying phonemes and spelling.
• Recognising letters and reading.

To begin with I ensure the children know all the letter sounds beginning with the vowels. The children particularly enjoy learning a 'vowel rap'. When they know it well they are keen to go back to their class and perform it to the rest of the class. This helps build their self-esteem and confidence; they have learned something their peers don't know.
We then continue learning individual letter sounds [phonemes] and consonant digraphs. The children like to use these 'special' words and again take them back to class.
We then play games listening for phonemes and also their position in the words using a 3-,4- or 5-phoneme frame, [depending on how many phonemes are in the words.] The children slide letter cards in and out of the frame.

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