Aspergers Syndrome

Many people with Aspergers Syndrome have motor skills difficulties.  One of those motor skills is handwriting.  This is also known as dysgraphia which is a form of dyslexia but affects the handwriting instead of reading.  Dysgraphia in dictionary terms is a deficiency in the ability to write even with the ability to read.  It is not due to any intellectual impairments.  Although on some level they can usualy write there still is a lack of coordination.  There also a lack in basic spelling skills.  Often “p,q,b,d” are difficult and the wrong word can be written when trying to formulate thoughts on paper.  Dysgraphia will appear as inapproprately sized and spaced letters, writing incorrect or mispelled words even when instructed.  There may be other learning disabilities present but usually academic problems are not present.  When tested for dysgraphia it is found that their writing skills are substantially below those expected for their age, measured intelligence and age appropriate education.

Our daughter was diagnosed by the school district in 3rd grade as having dysgraphia.  At first we thought she was either rushing her work or being lazy.  Her writing looked worse then a kindergartener and even she had trouble reading it.  She often complained of her hands hurting after long writing assignments.  When diagnosed she was given weekly time with an instructor from the school district who worked with her on visualizing space and size of letters.  She learned the “feel” of each letter as it is written.  Although when writing slowly she can now form decent letters, her speed is obviously lacking to keep up with grade level work.  Most doctors will suggest writing instruments and computers for most of their work because of the time involved as well as pain in the hands that often occurs when writing.  We were able to meet with our school for a 504 plan meeting (Texas).  Here we discussed with the teachers, principal, district representative and myself all the things we felt she needed accomidations for at school/home.  She was provided access to a computer for almost all assignments.  She also is given copies of notes and transparencies so she isn’t having to copy them.  Many assignments were shortened or given longer due dates to provide for her disability.  We currently are working on getting her own laptop or writing tool (like an Alphasmart machine) that she can use at her desk. 

 We believe that her dysgraphia is directly related to motor skills difficulties associated with Aspergers Syndrome and continue to research and work with her.  Although physical thearapy as well as the school district courses have shown improvement in many people with dysgraphia they still will probably need use of a computer for most of their lenghty writing projects. 

 Our doctor made a profound statement to me when I inquired about what options were out there to help fix this.  He said it is just like being blind….in most cases you can’t cure blindness but you can help them learn other techniques to function in society and have a full life.