Understanding Writing Disabilities in Students: Dysgraphia, Spelling, and Composition Challenges

1. Unit 5 - Writing Disabilities Prepared by: CiciliaEviGradDiplSc., M. Psi

2. Brief Introduction • 3 major areas of written expression  handwriting, spelling, composition • Dysgraphia written language disorder that concerns with mechanical writing skills  manifest in poor writing performance • Characteristics of students with dysgraphia  p. 408

3. Writing Problems (WP) • Letter formation  malformations, poor spacing, extremely slow writing • Far-point copying & near-point copying • Reversal errors  common when children are first learning to read and write • Fluency  so slow, seems to draw each letter • Poor handwriting can cause  lack of spelling skills  due to eligibility and speed of writing

4. Near-point Copying

5. Assessment on WP • No need of formal assessment • Examine students’ writing and identify parts that need further instructional work • Point of copying  far or near • P. 412  table 13.1

6. Monitoring the Progress of WP • Curriculum-based assessments  designed to evaluate performance in the particular curriculum to which the students are exposed • Probing from teachers  ask students to write in specific period of time  score the results • Self-evaluation  improves the quality of handwriting  using plastic overlays showing the correct form of the letters

7. Intervention for WP • Manuscript or cursive ???? • Teacher modeling and student practice  p. 413 • Reinforcement  effective for ‘near cure’ oriented • Self-instruction training  part of CBT  self-guiding statement and self-correction procedure

8. Can you read it?

9. Spelling Problem (SP) • Spelling error  through spelling test, dictation • Read p. 417  characteristics • Effects : • Hamper handwriting and vice versa

10. Assessment of SP • Basic methods (p. 418): • Dictation – connected writing – recognition • Standardized assessments

11. Intervention for SP • Effective VS less effective spelling instructional practice  p. 422 • Remedial intervention  p. 425 • Effective Teaching Procedures • Test – Study – Test • Practice Procedure • Time Delay • Morphographic Spelling • Add-a-Word

13. Composition Problems (CP) • Read characteristics on p. 428-429 • Fig 13.4  p. 429 • Assessment : • Screening  difficult • Planning Composition Instruction • Monitoring  regular evaluation on students’ composition samples

14. Intervention for CP • Expression OR traditional aspects of writing?? • Developmental intervention: • Label cut-out pictures and put in their books • Then, writing one sentence about the picture • Followed by two-sentence descriptions • Three-sentence or longer descriptions • Write thematically • Basic for instruction  p. 435

15. Intervention for CP (2) • Six principle to prevent and address writing difficulties  p. 435 and table 13.3 • Remedial intervention  expressive writing • Effective teaching procedure: • Self-regulated strategy development  p. 438 • Learning Strategy Interventions • Explicit teaching of steps in writing process • Explicit teaching on the conventions of a writing genre