Dysgraphia: definition, causes, symptoms and treatment

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

“Silence reigns in the slumbering forest, Turns are tush zatya zeros sonse, The birds clap the whole day.

Rutzei melte recki"

"What are these interesting words?" - you ask, and you will be right, because there are no such words in our language. Meanwhile, this is quite a Russian language, albeit a strange one. And these words are written in their notebooks and copybooks by children (most often - younger students, but more on that later) suffering from a special disorder called "dysgraphia". Next, we will talk about what this deviation is, how it manifests itself and is diagnosed, and how to treat it.

What is dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a pathological condition in which there is a disorder in the writing process. About 50% of junior schoolchildren and about 35% of secondary school students are familiar with this ailment firsthand. Also, this pathology can develop in adults (10% of all cases), in whom, due to any reason, the work of higher mental functions was impaired. In addition, this disorder is closely related to dyslexia - a deviation in the process of reading, because both reading and writing are two components of the same mental process.

In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of children with dysgraphic and dyslexic disorders. Currently, in elementary school, up to 50% of schoolchildren experience specific difficulties in mastering writing and reading. Moreover, for most of them, these violations persist in the older grades.

History of dysgraphia

The German therapist Adolf Kussmaul was first identified as an independent pathology of writing and reading disorders in 1877. After that, many works appeared, which described various violations of writing and reading in children. However, they were considered as one disorder of writing, and some scientists pointed out that it is generally a sign of dementia and is characteristic only of retarded children.

But already in 1896, the therapist V. Pringle Morgan described the case of a 14-year-old boy who had a completely normal intellect, but there were writing and reading disorders (it was about dyslexia). After that, others also began to study the violation of writing and reading as an independent pathology, in no way associated with mental retardation. A little later (in the early 1900s), the scientist D. Ginshelwood introduced the terms "alexia" and "agraphia", denoting severe and mild forms of the disorder.

As time went on, the understanding of the nature of rejection of writing and reading changed. It was no longer defined as a homogeneous optical disturbance; began to use different concepts: "alexia" and "dyslexia", "agraphia" and "dysgraphia"; began to distinguish different forms and classifications of dysgraphia (and, of course, dyslexia).

Subsequently, disorders in the process of writing and reading began to be studied by an increasing number of specialists, including domestic ones. The most significant were the works of neuropathologists Samuil Semenovich Mnukhin and Roman Aleksandrovich Tkachev. According to Tkachev, the basis of violations is mnestic disorders (memory impairments), and according to Mnukhin's ideas, their general psychopathological basis lies in structural disturbances.

Eventually, in the 30s of the 20th century dysgraphia (and dyslexia) began to be studied by defectologists, teachers and psychologists, such as R. E Levin, R. M. Boskis, M. E. Khvatsev, F. A. Rau and others. … If we talk about modern scientists and more specifically about dysgraphia, then L. G. Nevolina, A. N. Kornev, S. S. Lyapidevsky, S. N. Shakhovskaya and others made a significant contribution to its study. Based on the results of their research, we will continue our article.

Dysgraphia reasons

Despite an in-depth study, the causes of dysgraphia are not fully understood even today. But certain data are still available. For example, the aforementioned scientists say that writing disorders can cause:

Biological reasons: heredity, damage or underdevelopment of the brain at different periods of the child's development, pathology of pregnancy, fetal trauma, asphyxia, serious somatic diseases, infections affecting the nervous system.

Socio-psychological reasons: hospitalism syndrome (disorders caused by a long stay of a person in a hospital away from home and family), pedagogical neglect, insufficient speech contacts, upbringing in bilingual families.

Social and environmental reasons: overestimated requirements for literacy in relation to a child, incorrectly defined (too early) age of literacy learning, incorrectly chosen tempos and methods of teaching.

As you know, a person begins to master the skills of writing when all the components of his oral speech are adequately formed: sound pronunciation, lexical and grammatical component, phonetic perception, coherence of speech. If, during the formation of the brain, the disorders indicated above occurred, the risk of developing dysgraphia is very high.

It is equally important to note that children with various functional disorders of the organs of hearing and vision are susceptible to dysgraphia, which cause deviations in the analysis and synthesis of information. And in adults, strokes, traumatic brain injuries, neurosurgical interventions and tumor-like processes in the brain can serve as an impetus for the development of pathology. Providing a certain impact on human development, these or those of the above factors lead to dysgraphia, which can manifest itself in different forms.

If you look at our education reform and compare it with the reasons, you can understand why we are seeing the growth of this problem.

Types of dysgraphia

Today, experts divide dysgraphia into five main forms, each of which depends on which specific written operation is impaired or not formed:

Acoustic dysgraphia - characterized by impaired phonemic recognition of sounds

Articulatory-acoustic dysgraphia - characterized by impaired articulation and perception of phonemics (phonemic hearing), as well as difficulties in sound pronunciation

Agrammatic dysgraphia - characterized by problems in the lexical development and the development of the grammatical structure of speech

Optical dysgraphia - characterized by undeveloped visual-spatial perception

A special form of dysgraphia due to the lack of formation of language synthesis

In practice, any kind of dysgraphia in its pure form is quite rare, because in most cases, dysgraphia takes a mixed form, but with a predominance of some kind. It can be established by its characteristic features.

Dysgraphia symptoms

Like any speech therapy disorder, dysgraphia has a number of its symptoms. As a rule, it makes itself felt by systematic errors in writing, but these mistakes are made by the cheeks by no means out of ignorance of linguistic norms and rules. In most cases, mistakes are manifested in the replacement or displacement of similar sounds or similar letters, omission of letters and syllables in words or changing their places, adding extra letters. There is also a continuous spelling of many words and a lack of consistency of words and word forms in sentences. At the same time, the writing speed is slow and the handwriting is difficult to distinguish.

But let's talk about the symptoms by which it is possible, with a certain degree of probability, to talk about the development of a particular type of dysgraphia:

With acoustic dysgraphia, there may not be any disturbances in the pronunciation of sounds, but their perception will definitely be incorrect. In writing, this manifests itself in the replacement of sounds that a person hears with those that are similar to them when pronounced, for example, whistling sounds are replaced by hissing, deaf sounds - voiced (S-W, Z-Z, etc.), etc. …

In articulatory acoustic dysgraphia, writing errors are associated specifically with incorrect pronunciation of sounds. A person writes exactly as he hears. As a rule, similar symptoms are found in children who have an underdeveloped phonetic-phonemic side of speech. By the way, mistakes in dysgraphia of this type will be similar both in pronunciation and in writing (for example, if a child says "smishny zayas", he will write in the same way).

In case of agrammatical dysgraphia, words change by case, declensions are confused, the child is not able to determine the number and gender (for example, "bright sun", "good aunt", "three bears", etc.). Sentences are distinguished by inconsistency in the formulation of words, some members of the sentence may be skipped altogether. As for speech, it is inhibited and underdeveloped.

In optical dysgraphia, the letters are mixed and replaced with those that are visually similar to the correct ones. Here one should distinguish between literal optical dysgraphia (isolated letters are incorrectly reproduced) and verbal optical dysgraphia (letters in words are incorrectly reproduced). Most often, the letters are "mirrored", extra elements are added to them or the necessary ones are not described (for example, T is written as P, L - as M, A - as D), etc.)

With dysgraphia, due to the lack of formation of linguistic synthesis, the child changes letters and syllables in places, does not add the endings of words or add unnecessary ones, writes prepositions together with words, and separates the prefixes from them (for example, “on went”, “table”, etc.)). This type of dysgraphia is considered the most common among schoolchildren.

Among other things, people with dysgraphia may have symptoms that are not related to speech therapy. Usually these are disorders and disorders of a neurological nature, such as low performance, problems with concentration, increased distractibility, memory impairments, hyperactivity.

With the systematic manifestation of the considered symptoms, it is necessary to contact a specialist who can carry out a full diagnosis and distinguish pathology from banal illiteracy. Such a specialist is a speech therapist. By the way, keep in mind that the diagnosis of "dysgraphia" is made only if the child already knows writing skills, ie. not earlier than reaching the age of 9. Otherwise, the diagnosis may be erroneous.

Dysgraphia diagnostics

As we said, you need to visit a speech therapist to diagnose dysgraphia. However, consultation with other specialists is also very important. These specialists include a psychologist, ophthalmologist, neurologist, ENT. They will help to exclude defects in the organs of vision and hearing, as well as mental abnormalities. Only after this, the speech therapist, having studied the symptoms, can establish that dysgraphia is developing and determine its type.

Diagnostic measures are always carried out comprehensively and in stages. Written works are analyzed, general and speech development, the state of the central nervous system, organs of vision and hearing, speech motor skills and articulatory apparatus are assessed. To analyze written speech, a specialist may offer a child to rewrite a printed or handwritten text, write down a text under dictation, describe a plot from a drawing, and read aloud. Based on the data obtained, a protocol is drawn up, and the doctor makes a conclusion.

The time during which it passes plays a huge role in diagnostics. It is best to seek advice at the lowest possible age (preferably in kindergarten) in order to be able to begin to correct the deviation in its early stages. If the necessary measures are not taken in childhood, dysgraphia will manifest itself in adulthood, and it will be much more problematic to eliminate it.

Correction and treatment of dysgraphia

Unlike Western countries, where special programs have been developed for the treatment and correction of dysgraphia, there are no such programs in Russia yet. That is why correctional measures should begin already in kindergarten age, and include special techniques and techniques that speech therapists master. But with the help of a regular school curriculum, it will not work to eliminate dysgraphia. Actually, no one can completely eliminate the deviation - such is its specificity. However, it is still possible to bring the writing skill closer to the ideal.

Corrective programs are necessarily developed taking into account the individual characteristics of each individual case and, of course, the form of violation. To correct the deviation, the specialist develops a system for filling gaps in the processes important for the formation of writing skills, works on the development of speech and its coherence. Also, tasks are given for the formation of grammar and the development of vocabulary, spatial and auditory perception is corrected, thought processes and memory are developed. All this leads to the development of writing skills.

In addition to a speech therapy complex, doctors often use physiotherapy exercises, massage, and physiotherapy. As for drug treatment, its feasibility and effectiveness remain a big question.

If you decide to be directly involved in the treatment of dysgraphia in your child, use play activities. It is useful for younger schoolchildren to give assignments for composing words with magnetic letters - this significantly reinforces the visual perception of the elements of the letters. And writing dictations improves the auditory perception of sounds.

It is useful to play historian with your child - when the child writes letters with pen and ink. Choose your common writing tools wisely. It is recommended to buy pens, pencils and markers with rough or uneven bodies. they massage the distal ends of the fingers, whereby additional signals are sent to the brain.

In fact, there are many options for working out letter deviations, but all of them must be discussed with a speech therapist. We also recommend referring to specialized literature. Pay attention to the books by E. V. Mazanova ("Learning not to confuse letters", "Learning not to confuse sounds"), O. V. Chistyakova ("30 lessons in the Russian language to prevent dysgraphia", "Correcting dysgraphia"), I. Yu. Ogloblina (Speech therapy notebooks for the correction of dysgraphia), O. M. Kovalenko ("Correction of written speech disorders"), O. I. Azova ("Diagnostics and correction of written speech disorders").

These books contain a lot of useful material for self-study at home. But a quick result is hardly possible, and therefore you need to be patient and respond to mistakes adequately. Classes should be systematic, but short-lived; be sure to give your child the opportunity to relax, play and do what they love.

In addition, we note that even if the problem of dysgraphia is not relevant to you, this does not mean that you can write it off. In order to prevent it from developing, we advise you to carry out preventive measures from time to time, about which a few words also need to be said.

Prevention of dysgraphia

Preventing dysgraphia involves taking steps before your child learns to write. They include exercises to develop mindfulness, memory, thought processes, spatial perception, visual and auditory differentiation and other processes responsible for mastering the skill of writing.

Any, even the smallest, speech impairments must be corrected immediately. It is equally important to expand your child's vocabulary. At an older age, handwriting needs to be trained. We also want to offer you several exercises that can be used both for the prevention and correction of dysgraphia.

Exercises for the prevention and correction of dysgraphia

These exercises are quite suitable for children of primary school age, but can be performed by older children:

• Take a book with your child that he is not yet familiar with. It is desirable that the text be printed in medium font, and also be a little boring so that the child's attention is not distracted by the content. Give the task to find and underline a specific letter in the text, for example, C or P, O or A, etc.
• Make the task a little more complicated: have the child look for a specific letter and underline it, and the letter following it, circle or cross out.
• Invite your child to mark similar paired letters, such as L / M, R / P, T / P, B / D, D / Y, A / D, D / Y, etc.
• Dictate a short passage of text to your child. His task is to write and pronounce aloud everything that he writes, exactly as it is written. In this case, it is necessary to emphasize the weak beats - those sounds that are not paid attention to when pronouncing, for example, we say: “on the steel there is a cup with MALAK”, and we write: “there is a cup with milk on the table”. It is these shares that the child must emphasize. The same applies to adding and pronouncing the endings of words.
• Exercise for the development of attention and gross motor skills - movements of the body, arms and legs. The bottom line is that the child draws a continuous line with a pen or pencil, without changing the position of the hand and the sheet. Best suited for this are special collections of drawings, the nodal points of which are marked with serial numbers for connection.
• Explain to your child the differences between hard and soft, dull and sonorous sounds. Then give the task to select words for each of the sounds and analyze the words with it: what letters, syllables and sounds they consist of. For convenience and clarity, you can use various items.
• Train your child's handwriting. For this, it is useful to use a checkered notebook so that the child writes words, placing letters in separate cells. Make sure that the letters completely fill the space of the cells.

And a few more tips for conducting classes:

• The environment should be calm, the child should not be distracted by anything.
• Select tasks according to the age and capabilities of the child
• In case of difficulty, help the child, but do not complete the tasks yourself
• Do not teach your child foreign words if he is not yet ready for it psychologically
• In everyday communication, speak as correctly and clearly as possible.
• Do not repeat after your child words and phrases that he or she pronounces incorrectly.
• Remember to choose your writing tools carefully
• Provide psychological support to the child, because often children with dysgraphia feel "not like everyone else"
• Never scold a child for mistakes.
• Encourage and praise your child for any, even the smallest, success

Remember that a competent approach to upbringing, care and attention to the child, as well as extreme attentiveness to the process of his development will help you recognize deviations in time and take measures to correct and eliminate them.

And we wish you and your children success in learning and mastering new skills!

We recommend referring to specialized literature:

Chistyakova O. V. 20 lessons of the Russian language for the prevention of dysgraphia. 1 class..pdf O. V. Chisyatyakova 30 lessons in Russian for the prevention of dysgraphia.pdf Chistyakova O. V. 30 lessons in Russian for the prevention of dysgraphia, 3-4 class.pdf Azova O. I. Diagnostics and correction of written speech in primary schoolchildren (2).pdf Mazanova EV, Learning not to confuse letters.doc Mazanova EV Learning not to confuse sounds. Album 1-2..docx