{"id":8563,"date":"2019-07-22T13:16:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T13:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=8563"},"modified":"2021-04-21T14:46:08","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T14:46:08","slug":"14-strategies-to-help-children-with-dysgraphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/14-strategies-to-help-children-with-dysgraphia\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Strategies to Help Children With Dysgraphia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you\u2019re a parent of a child with dysgraphia it can often feel as though you haven\u2019t got the skillset or the knowledge to be able to provide them with the help that they need, which can obviously be frustrating at the best of times and even completely distressing at the worst of times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The important thing to know is that at least trying something is better than not trying anything at all. There are plenty of people affected by dysgraphia and the research into the most effective strategies to help children with this issue is already starting to change the way that these children are taught. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listed here are some possible strategies for parents to try with their children to see if they can possibly help to make an improvement to not just the quality of a child\u2019s written work, but also to how they view that written work themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some things you can try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Have your child use wide-ruled paper, graph paper, or paper with raised lines to help with letter and word alignment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is probably one of the best places to start when it comes to finding things that could help a child with dysgraphia<\/a>, as one of the main things they tend to struggle with is writing with adequate or indeed any spacing whatsoever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By increasing the amount of space they have to write in, you are making the expectation more realistic to manage as the white space is much more obvious in a visual sense. This means that problems such as children writing with hardly any spaces at all can be phased out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using graph paper, or squared paper can be an extension of this idea and this method could help in an added way as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The squared paper could ask as a guideline for where children should write each letter, and they could be encouraged to try and write one letter in each square, to begin with, perhaps decreasing the size of the squares as they make progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. Try pencil grips or other writing aids for comfort<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is a range of different pencil grips that are designed to help children with all sorts of learning difficulties, and dysgraphia is just one of the difficulties that pencil grips could help with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children <\/a>with dysgraphia can sometimes ten to grip the pencil too tightly and even hold their wrist, arm or entire body at an unusual angle. As every case of dysgraphia is personal to the individual child, there isn’t a one size fits all, fail-safe solution for the use of pencil grips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that there are so many pencil grips available to be experimented with, that it shouldn’t belong at all before you find the one that suits the child you are trying to help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are pencil grips that are designed to be chunky and fat, as well as pencil grips which allow children to hold the pencil in a way that would be considered irregular. Trial and error is the best plan of action where pencil grips are concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. Let them use a computer to type instead of write, and teach typing skills early<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a tip that is seemingly so obvious in an age where computers and technology <\/a>are taking over virtually every area of our lives, but something that doesn\u2019t seem to have caught on in schools just yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were to stop and ask yourself when the last time you had to write with a pen or a pencil was, you’d be hard pushed to remember an occasion where you did, and even then, you’d struggle even more to think of a time when technology wouldn’t have provided a suitable alternative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtually everything in the workplace is done on a computer these days and even signing for packages and important documents can be done with an e-signature. There are very few if any things leftover in life that is only suitable for handwriting, which makes it seem a little bit strange that there is such an onus put on it in schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, there does need to be a focus on handwriting for the sake of letter formation and things like fine motor, but if a child has dysgraphia, just let them type!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Don’t criticize sloppy work. Praise hard work and offer positive reinforcement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Old fashioned teachers would probably struggle with the idea of positive reinforcement, preferring to punish mistakes rather than praising successes. This would be a bad idea for children who have dysgraphia though, as it could create a vicious cycle <\/a>whereby they see writing tasks as something to be wary or even afraid of, meaning that they subsequently try to avoid them altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not what anyone wants to be doing, as the only way to improve is to practice, practice and practice some more. When children are given praise and positive reinforcement, for even the most minor of successes. They feel boosted and willing to take the next challenge and boost themselves just a little bit further to the next step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criticizing sloppy or scruffy work won\u2019t get anyone anywhere, as a person with dysgraphia can\u2019t even really do too much about the fact that their work is scruffy and sloppy, so don\u2019t be mean!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Acknowledge the condition and talk to your child about it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Being upfront with children about the challenges they are facing with anything is always much better than hiding away from something or trying to skirt around a subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a child has a proper name for a condition that they have, like dysgraphia, it can be an incredibly empowering experience and can actually enable and encourage them to take ownership of the condition and to take ownership of their learning<\/a>, knowing full well that there may be certain challenges that they have to overcome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children are usually far more insightful than we give them credit for and they will most often already be aware that there is some kind of problem. Not talking to them about the condition could lead them to try to mask it, wrongly assuming that they have done something wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is obviously the last thing that anyone wants and so talking openly and honestly about the problem is the best plan of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Teach them ways to relieve stress before writing. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For example, have them shake or rub their hands together quickly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These little interventions before beginning a writing task can be beneficial for any child, whether or not they have dysgraphia or some other learning disability, as it can help them to warm up the fingers and get their fine motor skills<\/a> ready and raring to go for the activity ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relieving stress before writing can help with things like that overly clenched grip and that unusual body position or paper angle, as a lot of these things are unconsciously caused by anxiety and stress. It can be amazing to see children relax into their tasks after a period of silliness or high activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calming the children\u2019s playful side by nurturing it and letting it out every now and then, is a great way to ensure that they are ready for the writing activity that is to come a little later. Relieving stress can be very beneficial for adults about to start writing too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. Let them squeeze a stress ball to improve hand-muscle strength and coordination<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Improving coordination and strength is important when it comes to addressing dysgraphia, as often, poor hand strength <\/a>can make the problem a lot worse than it would be if the child were trained in physically supporting the pen or pencil as it moves across the page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having a little intervention pack or box available for the child, containing things like squishy toys and stress balls can be an incredibly effective way to help them build the strength and the stamina needed to be able to write effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It isn\u2019t always just about hand strength either, and there is a good deal of research which suggests that core strength is one of the main things that can determine how successful someone is when it comes to writing, as they are able to support themselves in their chair without slumping or leaning to one side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kids don\u2019t need to hit the gym but they just might need a little something to squeeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Highlight Lines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Often, when it comes to treating dysgraphia, people can have their heads turned and their attention grabbed by colorful schemes or neat little gimmicks, aimed at encouraging better writing habits for kids with dysgraphia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something which could be just as effective, and a whole lot cheaper too, could be using a highlighter pen or even a felt tip pen to make it clear where the children need to write. Simply using highlighted lines can encourage children to think about the letter form and size, in a way that they might not have done before, you could even encourage them to use the same sort of thinking that they would in a game of \u2018the floor is lava\u2019, trying to keep all of their writing <\/a>well within the highlighted lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these suggestions could be useful for a child with dysgraphia, and in order to come up with the perfect toolbox for a specific child, a period of trial and error with the above methods is a great place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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