just that I was surprised that it would be considered typical to have written work be comparable to oral output at this age.
Oral is compared to written for dysgraphic kids, but it's in combination with other symptoms, and the difference is much more profound than it is for typically developing kids. I'd describe my dd11 as a gifted writer - her words simply flow - beautifully, and she loves loves loves to create stories. Her handwriting when she's creating a story is much sloppier than when she's telling a story (and probably looks several grade levels below her current grade), and her spelling, caps etc all fall too pieces while she's writing a rough draft etc. She will add more detail if she creates the story by telling it than by writing. So - in a post, here, that may sound like a wee bit of dysgraphia, but it's not. She's been through a neuropsych for other reasons and none of her testing and none of the reviews of her writing samples hinted at dysgraphia. She has never in her entire life hesitated to write or complained about it. My dysgraphic ds, otoh, if you were to watch him compose with handwriting in real life - especially sitting next to a NT developing child - it's really obvious he has some type of challenge going on putting his thoughts down on paper.
There are also different reasons for dysgraphia (fine motor, visual processing etc) - and those reasons will manifest in other types of symptoms. For example, my ds wasn't able to learn how to tie his shoes until 4th grade. He is very slow with buttons and zippers - not just slow but the kind of slow that you notice slow. The lack of automaticity that is part and parcel of dysgraphia shows up in other areas of his life. He will tell you things like "I like writing numbers better because there are only 10 of them I have to remember how to make" (and he's 13 years old). His hand used to hurt like crazy when he wrote. Dysgraphics often need help developing a proper pencil grip. A ton of different things going on.
Sorry I hope that didn't sound like a lecture - it wasn't meant to be! Just wanted to explain better how there is a difference (very noticable usually) in dysgraphics output via hw vs oral/keyboarding etc - and how it's different than the difference you see in typically developing children.
Best wishes,
polarbear
