Dysgraphia is characterized by the inability to express thoughts in writing or graphing. Most often, it refers to illegible handwriting, according to West Virginia University. People with dysgraphia might have strong verbal skills in contrast to their poor writing skills. Dysgraphia can occur in people who have brain damage. In schools, it's considered a learning disability. There are exercises to help people who have dysgraphia.
Tape Recorder Exercise
Have the person with dysgraphia speak her ideas into a tape recorder. Then have her write the ideas later as she listens to the recording, advise the experts at West Virginia University. People who have dysgraphia often suffer sequencing problems that cause them to write words backwards or letters out of order or reverse numbers or letters. Sometimes this simply shows up as extremely sloppy handwriting. However, a person with dysgraphia may have strong verbal skills in contrast to her poor writing skills.
Air Writing and Raised Lines
Use air writing, in which the person with dysgraphia uses large arm movement to make numbers and letters. This will help with motor memory. Also have the person with dysgraphia write on paper with raised lines, says Penny Low Deiner in her book, "Inclusive Early Childhood Education." This will help the person gain the habit of staying within the lines.
Outlines
When writing, have the dysgraphic person outline his thoughts first. That helps get his main ideas down on paper with less struggle to get details like punctuation and spelling correct. A dysgraphic person might have difficulty getting the sequence of letters in words or the sequence of whole words correct. This requires a dysgraphic person to slow down as he writes, which in turn can cause him to lose the thought he is attempting to write about, say the experts at West Virginia University. Having the person with dysgraphia draw a picture of his main thought as he writes each paragraph can help him keep track of his thoughts as well.
