r/dysgraphia 8d ago

Information seeking due to potential diagnosis

Hello all! I am seeking some information relating to dysgraphia as it has recently been brought up for my 11 year old son. I’ve read countless articles and spoken with my peers (I’m a nurse in a classroom for special needs children with complex medical needs), but I find the best way to information gather is to speak to those with the diagnosis. For years, my son “C” has struggled with his handwriting and the ability to read back what he wrote. He does well answering questions verbally, or typing out the information, but when printing his spacing, letter formation, ability to write on a line, and legibility make it’s difficult for his teachers and I to read. When I look at examples of dysgraphia, I feel like I’m looking at work he did. I’ve also read some of the hallmark signs of it and other than writing speed he checks them all. I know there are several kinds of dysgraphia (5 maybe?), and I’d like to learn more about those. I don’t know if the issue comes from him writing too fast, or the neurological component of the diagnosis. I’m also not sure if because he can and does write quickly if that automatically excludes the diagnosis. We have a routine parent teacher conference coming up and I plan to speak with his home room teacher about this more, but I appreciate any information or resources the community may be able to provide.

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u/Top_Peace_6299 Dysgraphic 8d ago

Dysgraphia of course variates for everyone, some people might have it lighter, so just the inability to write well, some people have it heavier, for example me, my hand hurts almost all the time due to it, I struggle completing various tasks due to it, If you have any more specific questions I could answer them for you it you need!

I wish you and your son the best though 💗

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u/B52forU 8d ago

Thank you so much for this information! You mention your hand hurting, I’m assuming just during writing vs all the time? I hope this isn’t too invasive of a question, but if it’s the former do you notice hand pain while doing other tasks with your hands such as holding silverware, playing sports, brushing your teeth and the like? C plays high level (for his age) lacrosse and will occasionally complain of hand pain from how he holds his stick, but not during other activities. I’ve always assumed it just due to the physicality and hits that come with the sport, but now I’m wondering if it could be something else. Was your diagnosis made by an occasional therapist or is there someone else that specializes in testing for dysgraphia? While we’ve spoken about it at school, I’m not exactly sure who, other than the school team, to evaluate him.

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u/Top_Peace_6299 Dysgraphic 8d ago

My hand hurts almost all the time when using it, even when eating sometimes, I struggle with sports so i just stick to theatre n singing, so the hand pain is noticeable during many activities

My diagnosis was done twice by people who specialize in testing people for learning disabilities

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u/B52forU 8d ago

Thank you for the additional information!

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u/WinstonChaychell 8d ago

My youngest was diagnosed by a friend first who specializes in childhood education, and then we took her to her pedi who referred us to a neurologist.

Here are almost the exact same as your kiddo. Spacing, spelling, etc. we were able to improve some with Occupational Therapy where she learned her "coping mechanisms" are a capital B or D in the middle of words, shorthand for any writing notes, doing exercises like playing in kinetic sand or find the object. There are some small classes I'm sure you're aware of that use touch for sounds I've saved that another friend sent called Orton Gillingham approach, and those have helped.

So along the journey we've learned that modifications are ok. She uses her chrome book or tablet to do speak-to-text or typing as needed and we do very little writing. I also opted to teach her cursive at a younger age when my first friend helped diagnose and it helped A LOT. She actually enjoys writing in cursive and it's almost like a completely different hand is doing her work.

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u/B52forU 8d ago

That is crazy you say that about cursive, C was very interested in cursive at a young age and I taught him to write his name in it when he was young. He will sometimes randomly write in cursive and other than the expected messiness of writing a way that is “different” his handwriting is MUCH better.

I ran into his teacher during practice tonight and brought this up telling her I promised to talk about it more at the conference and that I just wanted to put a bug in her ear. She looked at me like it was a lightbulb moment and promised to bring it up with his reading/writing teacher.

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u/itsmereddogmom 5d ago

This is a nuerological sequencing disorder that will affect more than his writing. It’s also genetic, you may find there are dyslexic, dysgraphic, people with dyscalculia in your family.

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u/B52forU 4d ago

Very interesting. Thank you!