The Tale of The Hidden Writing Disability

Once Upon A Time…

There once was a boy from the Park, who lost that beautiful spark.

He drove his teachers crazy, because they thought him lazy. When not distracted he often acted, like a boy whose brain was hazy.

At home he was the neatest, and to his family he was the sweetest; except when it was homework time and he began to resist the written line.

Then his mood turned weary, and his eyes became all teary; despite their support and attempts to escort, the tone in the room became dreary.

In hopes of answers the adults sought help, and when a doc prescribed meds they let out a yelp.

The meds aided focus, and they found over time he was able to listen and fall into line; but his writing and spelling had not made much gains, and the progress they’d seen now started to wane.

Once again they sought help from professionals and found, the answer, so deep in his profile: profound. His cognitive strengths were so strong and so keen, while his motor skill troubles had been unforeseen. A full psych report found the deep hidden gap, and offered new strategies that would provide them a map.

With labels in tow, the boy let out a sigh, as he finally had answers; he finally knew why.

——

This cute little poem is a special way to share about a common picture of children with Dysgraphia. Dysgraphia is a specific learning disability indicated by fine motor weakness that contribute to writing challenges, including spelling, content development, and printing. Children with dysgraphia are often overlooked as being distractible, off task, fidgety, and even task avoidant. They can even present with increased challenges with attention, focus, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Children who demonstrate these challenges primarily in the face of written tasks are more likely to have dysgraphia. Only a comprehensive psychoeducational assessment can diagnose dysgraphia and rule out other possible diagnoses (e.g., ADHD) or identify when more than one diagnosis may be present. Dysgraphia is more common in children with ADHD and can compound the problems observed in the classroom and during seated work.