DYSGRAPHIA
Handwriting
Handwriting difficulties are distributed over a range of the spectrum of ability. The only common factor is that when they occur, there is little sympathy and a greater degree of irritation.
Imagine having a teacher who has to mark 80 books being presented with a ‘Scrawl’ which is ‘messy’, ‘illegible’, and taxes her patience. If the child is of above average intelligence, his thoughts may be a step ahead of his writing and even though the content is excellent, it will be ignored. In fact a speed of less than 13 to 14 words per minute spells and issue serious enough to be addressed immediately.
When a child is brought to the Dyslexia Association of India™, we use almost 4 to 5 different types of analysis. We do not look only at the handwriting, but we examine the Neuromotor and Neuromuscular issues along with cognitive development before reaching any form of a considered suggestion to the parents.
The Dyslexia Association of India™ uses fluency and speed assessments, letter formation analysis, vestibular and grip and a diagnostic analysis of motor coordination.
When parents consistently observed that their child is showing a writing style where his/her
⇒ Writing is pulling in from the margin towards the midline,
⇒ There is an inability to maintain the writing on the line,
⇒ Writing which varies in colour, sometimes dark and in other places very faint – which indicates variation in pressure and more importantly getting tired,
⇒ Gaps of space running down through the writing,
⇒ Inability to make syllables and letters in one fluid movement,
⇒ Ridges and holes on the page and ridges which look like mountains and hills on the reverse of the page,
⇒ w, k, t & s look like capital letters, but are lowercase and simply not co-coordinated and jerked by the hand.
It is time you as a parent took it as a serious sign of a possible fine motor problem, which has a neurological issue.
Poor formation of letters where the style changes from line to line - or page to page, or slopes upwards and downwards with varied body size - is not an indicator of a child who does not want to write or who is messy or untidy.
It is an indicator of a co morbidity of a learning disorder that needs to be examined and your child needs immediate help.
The importance of neural organisation and brain structure to successful handwriting is a direct one, and any anomaly means that the child's brain is subconsciously not firing within the neurological substrates necessary for the development and optimal functioning of bodily movement.
The dyslexia Association of India, uses its T.R.A.I.N™ programme for handwriting deficits based on ‘sensorimotor’ and ‘perceptual motor’ activities to bring about a targeted change in a child's expressive ability.
There are very scientific Neuroplasticity based interventions, which cannot be provided in the school or via simple “special teaching”. Our equivocal observation of the so-called special education classes that are being conducted in our country is that there is no emphasis on individualized educational plans and that the teaching methodology that is being followed is more mass-market rather than child specific.
Putting theory into practice takes time and needs the research based tools which the Dyslexia Association of India™ has developed and uses successfully with its T.R.A.I.N™ program. Where changes to a child's output are not a sequence of accrued skills, but a remediation of an interactive hierarchy of brain functions, which are schematically improved over time.
Schematic improvement follows a graded re-organisation of the areas responsible for motor coordination of the upper limbs of the child. Cognitive exercises which integrate a ‘feed forward’ and ‘reinforcing’ backward loop of stimulus that ensures Synaptic reorganization between the upper motor neuron system and the lower motor neuron system are delivered in a targeted and phased manner, that ensures that skilled and fluid expressive writing begins to take shape gradually.
We would encourage parents not to ignore obvious symptoms of handwriting difficulties, and also not to express displeasure or any form of anger towards their child, if the child is not able to produce written work than the grade the child is studying in.
It would be prudent to seek professional assistance and a comprehensive evaluation of the underlying factors that are causing the visible symptoms as no child would purposely write untidily. Human children have an intuitive sense of homogenetity and most children would want to be seen as intelligent, neat, and worthy of praise. No child likes to be reprimanded or punished especially when it comes to the schoolwork, as the embarrassment and shame associated with what the child's peers would be thinking are significant even for the most this interested child.
If you feel that your child needs help, do not hesitate to get in touch with other professionals at 8826022886 or email us at info@dyslexiaindia.org.in for further information.
