Welcome to the forum cathy! Was your ds diagnosed with dyslexia through a neuropsych eval, through private reading specialist testing, through the school, or other?
FWIW, I have a child with dysgraphia and another child who is dyslexic, but my dysgraphic ds is not dyslexic and my dyslexic dd is not dysgraphic - although her handwriting looked dysgraphic early on, and she continues to be extremely challenged with spelling. The differences in handwriting that were very noticeable between my dysgraphic ds and my dyslexic-but-not-dysgraphic ds were/are:
* handwriting caused wrist pain for my ds - he didn't say his hand hurt when he was little, but he would rub his wrist frequently while writing and refuse to write for more than a few minutes at a time.
* my dysgraphic ds had a very odd pencil grip and weird posture while writing (before he went through handwriting OT). He would bend over his paper, and also hold the elbow on the hand he wrote with using his other hand in order to keep his arm steady.
* my dysgraphic ds made (and still makes) tons of mistakes when copying, either from the board or while doing a math problem etc. This didn't seem to be an issue for my dyslexic dd.
* papers handwritten by my dysgraphic ds, in early elementary prior to handwriting OT, were extremely messy - crumpled up, soft-dark pencil marks etc - due to uneven pencil pressure.
* most significantly, handwriting caused my dysgraphic ds a *ton* of frustration and it didn't really seem to bother my dyslexic dd, it was just sloppy and full of reversals and misspellings etc.
* there was a notable difference in ds' verbal output vs written output - significantly different. My dd, otoh, could write for a longer period of time and the sentences she composed sounded like the things she would tell us verbally.
The similarities in their handwriting were: in early elementary, both had very sloppy handwriting, uneven spacing, mixing up caps and lower case, letter reversals, and lots of challenges with spelling. Around 3rd/4th grade they *both* had a sudden increase in handwriting legibility, but both continued to reverse letters and numbers.
Another thing that has come up as they moved along in school: my dysgraphic ds had fluctuations in test scores before he was given accommodations for handwriting while testing, but the fluctuations clearly tracked where you would expect a handwriting-challenged person to have issues. My dyslexic dd has test scores that fluctuate all over the place and don't seem to have any kind of reasonable pattern. From working with her on homework, my suspicion is that the variable test scores are related to challenges with reading.
Re testing and getting a diagnosis:
My dysgraphic ds was diagnosed through a neuropsych eval. If your dd has had a neuropsych eval, you can look for a few things in the test scores: a discrepancy greater than 1.5 SD between processing speed subtests on the WISC (coding, symbol search) and the other WISC subtest scores. A similar discrepancy on WJ-III etc achievement subtests if you separate out the tests that require oral vs written response. Discrepancies or low scores on tests of visual-motor skills (Beery VMI is a commonly used test for this and helps determine if a challenge is related to visual processing or fine motor skills). There are tests called "finger tapping" which are used to diagnose fine-motor related dysgraphia. Although our neuropsych didn't use this type of test, you can also time how long it takes to produce handwriting and there are a lot of sources for comparing letters/minute to grade level expectations. All of these tests (except handwriting speed) were used in combination with a look at ds' handwriting samples as well as the parent interview where I was asked questions about behaviors etc surrounding written work (things like holding his elbow, frustration, refusal to complete worksheets we knew he knew how to do etc). DS' dysgraphia is also severe enough that you can watch him writing and realize something's up - he is just extremely extremely slow.
DD's dyslexia diagnosis was made through a reading specialist prior to neuropsych testing. The challenge that impacts dd's ability to read is clear from her ability testing. OTOH, when she later had neuropsych testing, her scores were not easy to directly translate into scores impacted by reading challenges and the discrepancies between high and low scores didn't fit into easy-to-correlate patterns. As I mentioned earlier, the scores on neuropsych testing were clear-cut for ds - it was obvious that his low scores were directly related to timed tasks requiring handwritten output. I am not sure if dysgraphia would have been as noticeable through neuropsych testing (the achievement vs ability testing) for dd as it was for ds, simply because the reading challenge seems to cause an added layer of complications in interpreting the test scores. Some of the tests, such as the Beery VMI and the finger-tapping tests, wouldn't be impacted by reading challenges.
FWIW, it sounds like dysgraphia might be an issue for your ds. We've seen in both dysgraphia and dyslexia in our extended family, sometimes occurring together in the same person.
If you can let us know more about the testing your ds has had, it might help us with further advice.
Best wishes,
polarbear
