Like most learning disabilities, Dysgraphia makes learning difficult for students. In this case, this learning disorder is peculiar to handwriting and motor skills proficiency. Students living with Dysgraphia can suffer from problems ranging from forming letters accordingly, transferring their thoughts onto paper, tying their shoelaces, and zipping a jack. It is pretty standard that Dysgraphia sufferers compensate for their struggles with handwriting by developing remarkable verbal skills. However, this disorder is prone to misdiagnosis. It is due to a lack of sufficient research on the subject.

As a parent or an educator, if you have students who live with Dysgraphia, this post will show you which accommodations you need to put in place to help them learn correctly.

Classroom Accommodations

Students with Dysgraphia can lead everyday academic lives like every other student, as long as they have access to adequate support and understanding from their teachers and fellow students alike. The classroom accommodations for students with Dysgraphia include:

• Students living with Dysgraphia will need pencil grips for classes.
• It’s not ideal to have them copying from the board. It’s preferable to provide handouts instead.
• Students with Dysgraphia learning disorder should be allowed to use either a laptop, a recorder, or even both.
• Dysgraphia affects a student’s handwriting abilities. To help them write correctly, give them papers with different colors with raised lines.
• Break assignments down into bits and steps to avoid overloading before fully understanding the task.
• You can permit them to start working on tasks earlier than others.
• Allow for an alternative to handwritten responses. Students can use oral reports instead.
• Their paper assignments can be pre-filled in with title, date, name, etc.
• Hand the learner a copy of the rubric and provide a detailed explanation of the grading scheme.
• Modify test formats to reduce the number of handwritten inputs as much as possible. You can also give them a custom-made test format.
• Show them examples of completed tasks.
• Allow students to use speech-to-text to dictate their answers to tests and assignments.
• Remove handwriting or spelling from the grading points. Make it about knowledge instead.
• Let them work with a proofreader to help point out errors in spelling.
• Students with Dysgraphia work better in quiet environments. If the classroom is not conducive enough, it’s advisable to let them write tests in a separate space.
• Learners must be able to choose to print or use cursive if a handwritten response is necessary.
• Allow for in-school tutoring, as well as parental assistance with homework.
• According to the teacher’s discretion, students with Dysgraphia can be given extra time to spend on tests.

At Home Accommodations

Teachers of students with Dysgraphia do essential work in the classroom, but it must go hand-in-hand with the efforts of their parents at home. Parents should provide the following home accommodations:

• Just as in school, students with Dysgraphia need their quiet space to focus on their work. Give them this space.
• They’ll need pencil grips as well so you must provide them.
• Help to proofread their homework.
• Be kind and understanding.
• A laptop and voice recorder could help them understand their work better. If you can provide these, please do. 
• Let them play word games. If possible, join them to play. 
• Work closely with your child to understand how he works. Then help him manage his time effectively.