Written language is the highest and most complex type of
communication. In the hierarchy of the development of language skills, it is the
last to be learned.
The complexity of written expression can eb attributed to
the various related abilities and skills it requires such as
- Auditory
– visual – motor coordination
- Adequate
oral language skills
- Knowledge
of rules of written usage
- Ability
to develop ideas, etc.
Despite its complexity, the importance of written expression
cannot be denied for the following reasons:
- Writings
allow the relay of information and have given us links to the past.
- Effective
writings of great men and women have influenced society.
- Writings
of others help us to improve our own ability to express our thoughts.
- Some people
may express themselves better by writing. Writing can be therapeutic.
- Writings
leave lasting impressions.
- For students,
writing is indispensable for most subjects.
- The need
to write can only be reduced but not eliminated.
Components of writing
- Handwriting
- Spellings
- Mechanics
- Usage
- Ideation
DSM 4 criteria for disorder of written expression
a. Writing
skills as measured by individually administered standardized tests (or
functional assessments of writing skills), are substantially below those
expected given the individual’s chronological age, measured intelligence and
age-appropriate education (criterion A)
b. The disturbance
in criterial A significantly interferes with academic achievement or activities
of daily living that require the composition of written texts (e.g., writing
grammatically correct sentences and organized paragraphs).
c. If a
sensory deficit is present, the difficulties in writing skills are in excess of
those usually associated with it.
Symptoms
Students who have difficulties in written expression
usually show the following characteristics:
- Discrepancy
between verbal and writing skills.
- Saying
words out loud while writing.
- Tend to
dislike coloring, drawing, printing readiness activities.
- Broad range
of avoidance behaviors around paper-pencil activities.
- Tendency
to copy extremely slowly from the board.
- Difficulty
in improving their work.
- Often labelled
as ‘lazy’ with comments like ‘does not complete his work in class’.
- Difficulty
with syntax structure and grammar.
- Illegible
handwriting.
- Unusual
pencil grip.
- Inconsistent
positioning on page.
- Inconsistent
spaces between words and letters.
- Slow or
labored copying or writing – even if it is neat and legible.
- Tiring
quickly.
- Inconsistencies
in letters: mixtures of print and cursive, upper and lower case, or irregular
sizes, shapes, or slant of letters.
- Random
or non-existent punctuation.
- Difficulty
in maths when it becomes written.
- Occasionally
have general organizational difficulties.
- Spelling
errors – same word spelled differently, reversals, phonic approximations,
unfinished or omitted letters or syllables, difficulty with phone-grapheme
correspondence, difficulty with sight words.
- Reversals
of numbers.
- Confusion
about similarly formed letters e.g., w and u or letters and numbers e.g., 2 and
z.
- Pain in
hand and body while writing.
Often one parent has had similar difficulties.
Stress, frustration, action out behaviors and withdrawal
are common problems often associated with dysgraphia.
Strategies to help a person with difficulties in written
expression to achieve success:
- Accommodations:
providing alternatives to writing expression.
- Modifications:
changing expectations or tasks to minimize or avoid the area of weakness.
- Remediation:
providing instruction for improving handwriting and writing skills.
Strategies for graphomotor or handwriting difficulties:
- Kinesthetic
pattern or feel of letters.
- Writing
instrument that is most comfortable.
- Typing
(keyboarding) skills.
- Use of
cursive or manuscript, whichever is most legible.
- Alphabet
lines at corner of desk.
- Paper with
the raised lines for primary students.
- Line width
of students’ choice.
- Graph paper
for math, or lined paper turned sideways.
- If a
student becomes fatigued have them try the following:
Shake hands fast, but not violently.
Rub hands together and focus on the feeling
of warmth.
Rub hands on some mild texture in circles.
Use the thumb of the dominant hand to
click the top of a ballpoint pen while holding it in the hand. Repeat using the
index finger.
Sitting position, paper placement, pencil
grip.
Writing readiness activities such as
scribbling, chalkboard activities. Variety of material for writing practice
e.g., sand tray, finger painting.
Find motor activities e.g., picking tiny
objects, molding play dough, stringing spools, finger Olympics, using tweezers,
stencils, tracing with reducing cues, coloring and drawing within lines, verbal
cues, letters to words to sentences.
Strategies for spelling difficulties
Phonological awareness (Consonants, vowels – including double
vowels, blends, digraphs, position of phoneme in word, segmenting speech sounds,
segmenting syllables)
Word families e.g., silent ‘e’ words
Spelling rules e.g., If a word ends in one vowel and one
consonant, the last consonant should be doubled before adding ‘ed’, ‘ing’, e.g.,
hopped, hopping (double ‘p’) but rest – rested, resting, (no double ‘t’ because
there are two consonants in the end).
Keywords to form a group e.g., ‘air’ (keyword) – pair,
chair, airplane.
Sight words may be taught separately.
Multisensory methods
Fitzgerald (1955) – Meaning and pronunciation – imagery –
recall – writing – mastery.
Fernald method – Students select word – teacher writes and
says word – students trace saying it several times, write it while saying it – write
from memory – if incorrect tracing repeated, if correct goes into box – later stages
all steps not needed.
Personal spelling book
Spell check
‘Test – study – test; versus ‘study – test’
Strategies to improve written content
Abundant input – through reading, listening, discussions, observations,
experiences.
Dictation of ideas into a tape recorder and listening and writing
them down later.
Talking aloud while writing.
Topics of students’ choice.
Provision of written outlines,
Mind map
Graphic organizer.
Students may draw a picture of a thought for each
paragraph.
Sense of audience.
Language for thinking – grammar, figures of speech, idioms,
direct/indirect speech, active/passive voice, transformation of sentences, use
of thesaurus.
Ideation e.g., continue a story, interpret a picture /
sounds, providing alternatives.
Some more strategies:
Provision of information such as teacher prepared handouts
or photocopies of other students’ notes.
Practice of writing.
Teaching of stages of the writing process – pre-writing,
drafting, revising, and sharing with audience.
Imitation of students’ errors.
Identification and connection of own errors, reference to
list of errors while self-correcting.
Removal of ‘neatness’ or ‘spelling’ (or both) as grading criteria
for some assignments / designing of assignments to be evaluated on specific
parts of the writing process.
Use of abbreviations
Extended time for written tasks.
Provision of extra structure and use of intermittent
deadline for long term assignments.
Exemption from unnecessary copying.
Dictation to a writer and then changes made without assistance
from the writer.
Tape recording of some assignments, oral answers to
exercises / tests.
Modelling of the writing process and strategic thinking.
Reinforcement of the positive aspects of students’ efforts.
Be patient and encourage the student to be patient with him
/ herself.
