Anyone have any good recommendations for tests to diagnosis dysgraphia?
Thanks!

PAL-2
TOWL-4
selected subtests of WJIII/IV, KTEA-III
selected subtests of various cognitive and neuropsych instruments

But you want these in the context of the child's overall cognitive and academic functioning.

mykids, I was curious about what brought you to consider testing for dysgraphia, so I looked back through a few of your old posts. Is this your 3rd grade ds that you're interested in testing? If so, I'd really recommend an evaluation that looks at his overall educational picture - not just dysgraphia. Your previous posts indicated he's had ongoing issues with possible underachievement in integrating reading, writing and spelling skills, and I think you mentioned he's already been through a Lindamood Bell course? Please forgive me if I'm remembering anything incorrectly. My concern as a parent would be that there's more going on than straightforward dysgraphia - possibly dyslexia, possibly something else. It sounds like you are having a PPT meeting at school soon - I'd recommend you either request a full eval through school, or seek out private neuropsychologist testing. Your previous posts mention having had an ed-psych eval at 6 that found no challenges other than EG, but now that 2-3 years have passed and your ds has been at school, there's more info to go on at a neuropsych eval. I'd also want to be sure that behavioral questionnaires and developmental history interview were included in the eval, and those are things that sometimes aren't included in an "ed psych" eval.

If you're interested in where my opinion comes from, I have a 14 year old who is 2e with dysgraphia and a 10 year old who is 2e with a disability impacting associative memory which in turn impacts her ability to read. She's not dyslexic in the classical sense, but faces many of the same struggles dyslexic students face. With both of my children, I had no idea what the *real* issue was behind their academic underachievement until they had full neuropsych exams - I was totally guessing entirely the wrong thing going into those exams. If I'd only had them tested for what I thought was going on, we wouldn't have found appropriate accommodation and remediation strategies. I think I've also mentioned on a previous post - my EG ds was first tested at 5 (almost 6) for a gifted program, and no LDs etc were found - but the subtest score patterns that were indicative of dysgraphia were absolutely there - the psychologist didn't recognize it as a challenge. Once he'd been in school for a few years, there was no question that he was challenged by *something*, so with the second go-round of testing being with a neuropsychologist, and going in with examples of issues such from his schoolwork, it was much a much clearer path to diagnosing the challenge.

If you're asking about testing for dysgraphia because you've already had the PPT team meeting and the school is going to do an evaluation, ask *your school staff* what tests they can use to evaluate written expression, handwriting legibility, handwriting speed, fine motor strength and dexterity etc.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Thanks aeh and Polar Bear! Polar Bear, to answer you questions, yes same kid. I rushed off to get this post out this am, but the story is, as usual, more complicated. I have a ppt scheduled to review my request for a full eval. I was speaking to a friend who has a 6th grader who is very similar to my son and told me about dysgraphia dx in 6th grade. Turns out in our district, dyslexia and dysgraphia are not part of the "normal" panel of tests offered unless you specifically request them by name prior to 6th grade. I just want to arm myself as much as possible. Also, he has had a full behavioral work up as well and everyone is quite confident he does not have any behavioral issues interfering with his work. Thanks for the help.

I am very interested in this as well. If ds gas horrific handwriting that affects not only taking notes but also showing math to the point he can't even read his own writing is that cause for concern?

Possibly.

Cola, teach him to type. There's an old thread here with recommended apps and programs to try using to take the writing load off and free his mind for more useful purposes.

http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....nd_programs_for_dysgraph.html#Post177675

He can type very well and play piano. I already brought up to the teachers about letting him type instead of writing and they said they don't have computers in class. I was finally able to get permission to let him type up the homework at home but in class they expect him to write. Funny thing...he had a bunch of homework and he would always fight us on doing it and complain. We made the same kind of chart on word and let him type it instead of write by hand and not only did he get it done quickly but he was way more elaborate than he ever has been!

That's the biggest bummer about handwriting struggles. Expression and demonstration of non-handwriting related subjects are stilted due to efforts to minimize writing or reduce the error rate.

These two observations together sound a lot like dysgraphia. I would ask him why he complains when he has to use handwriting for homework - you might ask him specifically if his hand hurts when he writes. Also observe his posture while he writes - does he hold his wrist or his elbow? Does he tire quickly when writing? Look at his handwriting samples - is his spelling ok or irregular? Does he use caps and lower case correctly consistently or does he have random caps where they don't belong? Are his letters and words spaced appropriately or irregularly? Does he have even pencil pressure when writing or do his papers look messy and crumpled?

Make a list of everything you've noted, and request the school do an evaluation for SLD / written expression. I would not be put off by his teacher not recognizing what dysgraphia is or thinking everything is a-ok. Just state your concerns and make a written request (email is ok) for the evaluation. Even though the teacher might not be familiar with dysgraphia, there is no doubt someone somewhere in the school district's SPED department that understands the terminology "specific learning disability in written expression". I suspect that the SPED department is familiar with the term dysgraphia, but it isn't something that a classroom teacher will necessarily understand.

Best wishes,

polarbear

His handwriting is horrible with letters pretty much over lapping each other. His hand hurts and he holds the pencil awkwardly. He's only inattentive or not doing what he's told when it comes to writing which unfortunately is most of the day and then he gets behind on other work because the teachers make him re-do it over and over again until they can somewhat read it.

Cola, we got DS9 (dysgraphic) his own iPad with keyboard to get around the sporadic availability of school computers. We have also gotten a lot more traction out of emphasizing the physical consequences of writing than the learning consequences (go figure). I heartily agree with the keyboarding recommendations.

I will definitely look into doing that thank you so much!

This struck me - our DD9 has always had horrendous handwriting. She used to write so tiny that the teachers had to squint to read it. I have to consistently remind her to hold her pencil correctly. However, she is incredibly detailed and imaginative in her art. She illustrates all her stories usually using fine point markers. She writes a bit bigger now, but it's still hard to read any of her work. Whenever I read I feel my face scrunching up as I try to decipher the words. Is there a difference between drawing and handwriting? Her spelling is pretty awful as well, yet she jumps on misspelled words when she sees them in a homework sheet where she's supposed to circle them. If asked, she can write very nicely, but on her own, blaaah. I just looked at one of her lined homework sheets - the handwriting on that is clear. I just looked at a list of dysgraphia warning signs, and one was
•Trouble thinking of words to write.
DD writes all the live long day. That's her passion. So, bad spelling, horrible handwriting (unless really focused). Should we be concerned?

Letter formation is symbolic, where drawing is meaningful, concrete images. She can edit effectively when that's all she's doing, from what you're saying, but not necessarily when generating her own writing, so she does know how to spell, just doesn't apply it very consistently, or can't apply it and generate meaningful written language at the same time. It sounds like she has the basic skills (handwriting and spelling), but doesn't do well executing them and doing a higher-level language task at the same time. This scenario could have some dysgraphic elements to it, but I would probably look first to executive functions and even motivation. Does her handwriting bother her, or interfere with her legibility to herself or others?

I would probably look first to executive functions and even motivation. Does her handwriting bother her, or interfere with her legibility to herself or others?

aeh - Yes, DD9 has ADHD, inattentive type. So that could keep her from writing well, spelling well, and writing legibly at the same time. Interesting. Her focus is on the thoughts coming out, not the less important (to her) items. I asked her today if she could read her own handwriting. She was rather put out with me for asking! Evidently she can read the scribbles, tiny as they are. Her teachers have trouble though - she gets smiley faces, praise, and thanks when she writes neatly!! I push her to do her homework on the computer, with the teacher's permission. I feel bad for her pre algebra teacher because the problems she writes out are horribly messy. I don't know how he knows what is going on. Someone mentioned here to use graph paper for the math. I might try that.

We are starting graph paper tomorrow with ds 9 and hopefully that helps. I would assume if it is helpful we should be able to tell fairly quickly.

Yes, your further description sounds more like the writing issues have their origins in ADHD/EF/organization. Handwriting is just not that exciting. =)

My #1, who would probably have been referred for ADHD eval in many school systems, had excellent grades in handwriting while in the tiny private school that actually taught that, and is also an exceptional writer and speller, BUT, presents with awful handwriting unless specifically instructed to self-monitor, or especially motivated (such as when creating posters, cards, or hand-lettering artwork). Back when handwriting was a relatively new and interesting task, we had lovely handwriting (cursive was a particular love), but now that handwriting is merely a tool for language expression, we don't care about it at all. Handwriting in math improved only after enough incidents of self or others mis-reading numerals, operations, or signs. Plus, now that proofs are a part of our math, the communicative value of written math work has become more important.

Oh yeah, and tiny handwriting and a desire to save paper (trees!) was also an issue for us.