Dysgraphia is often first recognized by a teacher in their school district. Children diagnosed with dysgraphia often have difficulty keeping up with required pace for note writing, legibility, and coordination when it comes to handwriting. This can be extremely frustrating for a child because even though they understand the subject content, they are experiencing increased challenges with motor planning and coordination skills that affect their handwriting. The individual may know how to produce letters and sentences, express their thoughts verbally, but they are unable to produce written content at an age-appropriate level. Written expression is often unintelligible or legibility may be affected because of poor pencil control.
Occupational therapy can help your child diagnosed with dysgraphia with a variety of support strategies. Your OT may assist with strengthening fine motor skills as it relates to handwriting, provide practical strategies for the classroom, recommend academic workload management, improve visual perceptional skills, and develop executive function skills.
