| RESEARCH |
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RESEARCH FINDINGS: Some of the research on dysgraphia focuses on the source of the writing difficulty, as well as determining which other learning deficits co-exist with dysgraphia. Writing is a very demanding task requiring the orchestration of a variety of cognitive resources. The student must know what he wishes to write, remember how to spell the words and shape the letters, and physically produce the writing. The source of a student’s dysgraphia can come from the motor area, from memory, in language, in perception, or some combination. Often, dysgraphia goes hand in hand with other learning disabilities. Some research has shown, for example, that individuals with dyslexia and dysgraphia share a left hemisphere processing limitation that is not confined to written language (Mather, 2003). For many other children, however, writing problems develop even though they learned to read quite easily. Some research shows that children with dysgraphia possibly suffer from cognitive difficulties that influence visual memory more than visual-motor skills (Vlachos, 2003). Abbott, Berninger, and others (2006) studied the interrelationships among language by ear (listening), mouth (speaking), eye (reading), and hand (writing). They found that children show individual differences within their own profiles in relative strengths in listening, speaking, reading and writing. They found that the children’s strengths and weaknesses were stable developmentally, but each function was only moderately correlated with the other. To sum it up, language is not a unitary skill. These researchers also looked at skills in manuscript writing, cursive writing, and keyboarding, and also found these to be only moderately correlated, with each skill having a different set of neuro-psychological predictors. All of the above research suggests that each child must be viewed as an individual when investigating the source of his or her dysgraphia. Even though many dysgraphic students have other learning weaknesses, there is no sure-fire relationship between various academic skills. Reading difficulties may be identified sooner than writing difficulties, but writing difficulties may be more persistent. A study showed that second graders with dysgraphia still had writing problems in the higher grades (Homstsra-Bletz, 1993). However, there is much evidence that writing can be improved with effective instruction, particularly with early intervention. At the University of Washington, for example, the Write Stuff Project has developed and validated effective early intervention for at-risk writers and treatments for students with writing disabilities. REFERENCES: Berninger, V., Abbott, R., et al, “Early Development of Language by Hand: composing, Reading, Listening, and Speaking Connections,” Developmental Neuropsychology, 2006, 29, 61-92. Vlachos, F. and Karapetsas, A, “Visual Memory Deficit in Children with Dysgraphia,” Perceptual and Motor Skills, Dec2003 Part 97 Issue 3, p1281-1288. Mather, David, “Dyslexia and Dysgraphia: More than Written Language Difficulties in Common,” Journal of Learning Disabilities, Jul/Aug2003, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p307, 11p. Hamstra-Bletz, L. and Blote, Anke, “A Longitudinal Study on Dysgraphic Handwriting in Primary School, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Dec93, Vol. 26 Issue 10, p689, 11p. |
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