Therapeutic dysgraphia tutoring combines expertise in both psychological and educational strategies to help students overcome the challenges associated with this learning difference. Online tutoring for dysgraphia is uniquely designed for each student. It often involves exercises that the student can do using certain apps and with paper and pencil and often involves specific homework that helps them maintain gains. This post provides an overview, but If you still have any questions about getting a dysgraphia tutor or Therapeutic Tutoring in general, please feel free to contact us or schedule a consultation.
Background Information 
Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing abilities, including handwriting, spelling, and organizing thoughts on paper. It’s a neurological condition that makes writing physically difficult and often leads to messy or illegible handwriting, slow writing speed, and trouble with written expression.
Common Signs of Dysgraphia
- Illegible or inconsistent handwriting
- Trouble with spacing letters and words correctly
- Difficulty holding and controlling a pen or pencil
- Unusual hand, wrist, or body position while writing
- Frequent spelling mistakes and trouble with punctuation
- Difficulty organizing ideas and structuring sentences in writing
- Avoiding writing tasks due to frustration or fatigue
Causes
Dysgraphia is thought to be related to differences in brain function, particularly in areas responsible for motor coordination and language processing. It often coexists with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism.
How Dysgraphia Affects Learning:
- Handwriting Challenges: Students with this learning difference often produce illegible handwriting, struggle with proper letter formation, and have inconsistent spacing, making written communication challenging.
- Organizational Difficulties: Organizing thoughts coherently on paper is difficult, leading to disjointed and unclear written work.
- Spelling and Grammar Issues: Frequent spelling and grammatical mistakes are common, further impacting the quality of written assignments.
- Writing Fatigue: The effort required for writing tasks can lead to fatigue, making it challenging to keep up with classroom demands.
These challenges can result in students falling behind academically, experiencing frustration, and developing a reluctance toward writing tasks.
Emotional and Social Implications
Beyond academics, this learning difference can affect a student’s emotional and social well-being. Persistent struggles with writing may lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and a fear of negative evaluation from teachers and peers. This emotional toll can further hinder academic performance and social interactions.
Support & Accommodations
- Using a laptop or speech-to-text software instead of handwriting
- Extra time for written assignments and tests
- Access to note-taking assistance or audio recordings of lectures
- Occupational therapy to improve fine motor skills
- Breaking writing tasks into smaller steps with structured outlines
What a Dysgraphia Tutor Does
A dysgraphia tutor focuses on helping students who struggle with writing skills due to this learning disability. Here are some key roles and strategies that they typically use:
- Assessment and Goal Setting: The dysgraphia tutor starts by assessing the student’s specific writing difficulties and setting individualized goals based on their needs.
- Fine Motor Skill Development: They often incorporate activities to strengthen fine motor skills, which are crucial for writing. This can include exercises with playdough, scissors, or drawing.
- Multisensory Approaches: A dysgraphia tutor uses multisensory techniques, combining visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile methods to enhance learning and retention.
- Structured Writing Programs: They may implement structured writing programs that teach organization, grammar, and sentence structure in a systematic way.
- Assistive Technology: A dysgraphia tutor can introduce assistive technology tools such as speech-to-text software or typing programs to help students express their thoughts without the physical challenges of writing.
- Handwriting Practice: They provide explicit instruction and practice in handwriting techniques, focusing on letter formation, spacing, and alignment.
- Graphic Organizers: Dysgraphia tutoring often uses graphic organizers to help students plan and organize their writing before they start drafting. This can improve clarity and coherence.
- Encouragement of Expression: A dysgraphia tutor encourages students to express their ideas verbally before writing them down, which can help ease the pressure and improve content quality.
- Regular Feedback: Providing constructive feedback on writing assignments helps students understand their mistakes and learn from them.
- Building Confidence: Dysgraphia tutoring builds students’ confidence in their writing abilities through positive reinforcement and celebrating small achievements.
- Collaboration with Educators: A Dysgraphia tutor collaborates with teachers and parents to ensure consistency in strategies and support across different learning environments.
By focusing on these areas, a dysgraphia tutor helps students develop effective writing skills and strategies to manage their difficulties.
Online Tutoring for Dysgraphia Strategies
Here are some effective strategies used in online tutoring for dysgraphia:
- Assessment and Goal Setting: Online tutoring for dysgraphia starts with assessing the student’s specific challenges and setting personalized, achievable goals for their writing development.
- Fine Motor Skill Development: Next, online tutoring for dysgraphia incorporates activities that strengthen fine motor skills, such as using playdough, threading beads, or practicing with scissors to improve hand strength and dexterity. The clinician will give the student or parent a list of items to buy before the first session.
- Multisensory Techniques: A dysgraphia tutor will use a multisensory approach to learning that engages visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities. For example, students can write letters in sand, use tactile materials, or incorporate movement while learning.
- Handwriting Practice: Dysgraphia tutoring will provide explicit instruction in handwriting, focusing on letter formation, spacing, and alignment. They use resources like handwriting workbooks or apps designed for practice. They will also teach keyboarding skills to help students use technology as an alternative to handwriting. Typing can often be more manageable and less frustrating.
- Graphic Organizers: A dysgraphia tutor will utilize graphic organizers to help students plan and structure their writing. These tools can assist in organizing thoughts before they begin drafting.
- Assistive Technology: They will introduce tools like speech-to-text software, word prediction programs, or typing applications to help students express their ideas without the physical demands of writing.
- Short Writing Tasks: Dysgraphia tutoring helps students break writing assignments into smaller, more manageable tasks. It encourages students to focus on one section at a time, which can help reduce anxiety. They also provide clear examples of writing tasks and model the writing process step-by-step. Show students how to develop ideas and structure their writing.
- Positive Feedback and Encouragement: Online tutoring for dysgraphia offers constructive feedback and celebrates small successes. Positive reinforcement can boost motivation and confidence. Each clinician is patient and flexible in their approach, understanding that students with dysgraphia may need more time to complete writing tasks and that their progress may vary.
By implementing these strategies, online tutoring for dysgraphia can help students with dysgraphia develop their writing skills and build confidence in their abilities. The clinician will also work with parents and teachers to ensure consistency in strategies and support across different learning environments. We also rely on feedback from teachers and parents to improve our services.
Case Example: Dysgraphia Tutoring
- Name: Alex
- Age: 9 years old
- Grade: 4th grade
- Diagnosis: Dysgraphia
- Strengths: Strong verbal skills, creativity, and a good sense of humor
- Challenges: Difficulty with handwriting, spelling, and organizing thoughts on paper
Background: Alex has always struggled with writing tasks and is often frustrated when asked to complete handwriting assignments. His teachers have noticed that his written work is frequently messy, and he has difficulty expressing his ideas clearly on paper. Alex is bright and articulate, but his learning difference has hindered his academic performance and confidence. We provide online tutoring for dysgraphia that is uniquely designed to address Alex’s strengths and challenges.
Therapeutic Dysgraphia Tutoring Plan:
- Assessment and Goal Setting:
- Conduct an initial assessment to identify Alex’s specific challenges with writing.
- Set achievable short-term dysgraphia tutoring goals, such as improving letter formation and increasing writing speed.
- Fine Motor Skill Activities:
- Incorporate fun, hands-on activities to strengthen Alex’s fine motor skills, such as using clay to mold letters, threading beads, and practicing with scissors.
- Use games that involve pinching and gripping to improve hand strength.
- Multisensory Writing Instruction:
- Introduce a multisensory approach to teaching handwriting. For example, have Alex trace letters in sand or use a textured surface while saying the letter sounds aloud.
- Encourage him to practice writing letters in the air with large arm movements to build muscle memory.
- Explicit Handwriting Instruction:
- Provide structured handwriting practice using worksheets that emphasize proper letter formation and spacing.
- To make learning more visual, color-code different parts of letters (e.g., starting points and lines).
- Graphic Organizers:
- Teach Alex to use graphic organizers to help him plan and organize his writing before he starts. For example, he could use a mind map to brainstorm ideas.
- Encourage him to break down writing assignments into smaller sections, focusing on one part at a time.
- Assistive Technology:
- Introduce Alex to speech-to-text software and typing programs. These programs allow him to express his ideas without the frustration of handwriting.
- Provide access to word prediction tools to help with spelling and writing.
- Positive Reinforcement:
- Celebrate small successes, such as completing a writing task or improving handwriting. Provide verbal praise and small rewards to boost confidence.
- Create a positive and supportive environment where Alex feels safe to express his frustrations and challenges.
- Regular Progress Monitoring:
- Review Alex’s written work regularly and discuss his feelings about writing tasks to assess his progress with dysgraphia tutoring.
- Adjust the tutoring plan as needed based on his progress and feedback.
- Collaboration with Teachers and Parents:
- Communicate with Alex’s teachers to ensure consistency in strategies used at school and at home.
- Provide parents with resources and activities they can do with Alex to reinforce learning outside of dysgraphia tutoring sessions.
Working with a Dysgraphia Tutor: Outcome
Over several months of working with a dysgraphia tutor, Alex has significantly improved his handwriting and overall writing skills. He becomes more confident in his abilities, participates actively in writing assignments, and can express his ideas more clearly. The combination of therapeutic tutoring strategies, positive reinforcement, and technology helps Alex overcome some of his challenges, leading to a more positive attitude towards writing and school.
More Information:
Who do tutors and educational therapists serve best | What does special needs tutoring provide | Where can we provide tutoring for children with learning disabilities | When does tutoring for learning difficulties work best| | Why therapy and tutoring is a powerful combination
Summary and Our Work
We provide Dysgraphia Tutoring for students of all ages. Most of our work involves online tutoring for dysgraphia, so we often need a parent or other adult to be involved when we work with younger students. We can design a program for students as young as kindergarten and as advanced as those in graduate or technical school. If you have any questions about this or any of our services, please feel free to contact us or schedule a consultation.
