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Dyslexia and dysgraphia are neurological disorders that affect reading and writing, respectively. They can manifest in childhood or later in life, and diagnosis involves medical and neurological tests. Treatment is individualized and can include special classes, corrective instruction, occupational therapy, and sometimes replacing writing with typing.
Dyslexia and dysgraphia are neurologically based disorders, but dyslexia is considered a reading comprehension disability while dysgraphia is considered a writing disability. Both disorders tend to manifest in childhood, although certain circumstances can delay a diagnosis or even cause the disorder to develop later in life. Doctors use a variety of means to diagnose these disorders, and treatment is usually based on each individual’s circumstances. Although treatment can help manage and prevent the disorders from getting worse, the effects of the disorders can persist for life for some people.
Although dyslexia and dysgraphia are both neurological disorders, they are characterized by different symptoms and challenges. Dyslexia is classified according to the reading disabilities it introduces and usually causes the patient to have difficulty understanding sentence content, recognizing written words, and even rhyming. Dysgraphia, on the other hand, can affect the patient’s motor skills, making his or her handwriting sloppy or even unintelligible. Both dysgraphia and dyslexia are considered learning disabilities, but neither is considered an intellectual disorder.
While dyslexia and dysgraphia tend to manifest in childhood, there are individual circumstances and exceptions. For example, many children with dyslexia go undiagnosed for years, often because they’ve been misdiagnosed with other types of learning disabilities or even behavioral problems. This means that a child could become a teenager or even an adult before receiving an accurate diagnosis. At the same time, adults can develop dysgraphia after experiencing some sort of trauma in their life. When this happens, the disorder is often referred to as agraphia.
Typically, doctors use a combination of medical and neurological tests and questions about social, educational, and developmental performance to diagnose one of these conditions. Because the disorders, especially dyslexia, can run in families, doctors typically ask about any family history as well. Additionally, there are research-backed assessment tools for diagnosing dyslexia and dysgraphia. Even so, diagnosing ailments can be difficult and requires an experienced doctor and patience. Because both conditions can be present with other related disorders, and sometimes together, your doctor may do additional tests.
Similar to other learning disabilities, treatment for dyslexia and dysgraphia depends on the individual. Generally, people with dyslexia enroll in special classes and receive corrective instruction. Because teachers specialize in the kinds of challenges that reading disabilities present, such classes can be extremely helpful. Additionally, these teachers typically have more time than regular classroom teachers to devote to the special needs of students with dyslexia. Although the reading and comprehension problems associated with dyslexia can persist throughout life, the type of remedial education affected students receive can help them better cope with and manage the disorder.
People with dysgraphia, however, tend to receive treatment designed for neurological issues such as memory impairment or motor impairment. They might also get occupational therapy to help strengthen muscles, improve dexterity, and develop hand-eye coordination. For some, treatment helps improve handwriting, or at least keeps it from getting worse. For others, dysgraphia persists. Depending on the severity and a patient’s receptivity to treatment, his doctor may advise him to replace writing with typing whenever possible.
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