Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder and learning disability that concerns written expression, which affects the ability to write, primarily handwriting, but also coherence. It is a specific learning disability (SLD) as well as a transcription disability, meaning that it is a writing disorder associated with impaired handwriting, orthographic coding and finger sequencing (the movement of muscles required to write). It often overlaps with other learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders such as speech impairment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or developmental coordination disorder (DCD). In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), dysgraphia is characterized as a neurodevelopmental disorder under the umbrella category of specific learning disorder. Dysgraphia is when one's writing skills are below those expected given a person's age measured through intelligence and age-appropriate education. The DSM is unclear in whether writing refers only to the motor skills involved in writing, or if it also includes orthographic skills and spelling. Dysgraphia should be distinguished from agraphia (sometimes called acquired dysgraphia), which is an acquired loss of the ability to write resulting from brain injury, progressive illness, or a stroke. The prevalence of dysgraphia throughout the world is not known, due to difficulties in diagnosis and lack of research. The word dysgraphia comes from the Greek words dys meaning "impaired" and γραφία graphía meaning "writing by hand". There are at least two stages in the act of writing: the linguistic stage and the motor-expressive-praxic stage. The linguistic stage involves the encoding of auditory and visual information into symbols for letters and written words. This is mediated through the angular gyrus, which provides the linguistic rules which guide writing. The motor stage is where the expression of written words or graphemes is articulated. This stage is mediated by Exner's writing area of the frontal lobe.