Poor Reading: A Deep Dive
Symptoms of dysgraphia by age groups
Spotting the signs of dysgraphia
Dysgraphia symptoms can appear as soon as children begin writing, and they change as a child grows. Early signs tend to be more concrete (handwriting-focused), while later signs involve higher-level writing skills. Below are common symptoms of dysgraphia, broken down by age group:
Preschool children
- Awkward or strange grip on crayons/pencils, or an odd body position when trying to write.
- Quickly tires and complains that hand hurts when drawing or writing.
- Avoids coloring, drawing, or writing activities altogether.
- Produces poorly formed letters – letters might be backwards, upside-down, or inconsistently spaced on the page.
- Difficulty staying within lines or margins when coloring or scribbling.
Early elementary (school-aged children)
- Illegible handwriting – letters and words are hard to read, with inconsistent shapes and sizes.
- Mixes print and cursive within a single word or sentence.
- Spacing problems – words and letters are not properly spaced; writing may not follow lines or margins.
- Struggles with copying text from the board or a book (may skip or add letters).
- Slow, laborious writing – takes far longer to write than peers, often writing in a halting, non-fluid way.
- Might speak answers well but have trouble writing complete sentences or paragraphs, often leaving sentences incomplete or words omitted.
- Frequent spelling errors and erasures; might have correct ideas but written work is full of mistakes.
Later elementary to middle school
- Continued messy or irregular handwriting—some children improve legibility, but many still have text that’s hard to read or oddly formatted.
- Inconsistent use of uppercase/lowercase and irregular cursive joins.
- Avoidance of writing – child may resist homework that involves writing, or produce minimal writing, due to the effort required.
- Difficulty with written composition – organizing thoughts on paper is much harder than telling a story out loud. Written work may be very short or disorganized relative to the child’s spoken ability.
teenagers and young adults
- Trouble with written organization of ideas – essays and papers lack clear structure; thoughts don’t flow logically in writing.
- Grammar and syntax issues in writing – sentences may be simplistic or riddled with grammatical errors that the student wouldn’t make when speaking. (For example, a teen might speak articulately, but their written sentences are fragmented or poorly constructed.)
- Ongoing poor handwriting for some – though others learn to write more legibly, it might remain slower than average and require effort.
- Fatigue and frustration – older students often report hand cramps during long writing tasks and may avoid note-taking. They might prefer typing or voice-to-text to compensate.
- Emotional impact – low confidence in written work, anxiety when assignments involve a lot of writing, or feelings of being “stupid” because writing is so challenging.
- Teens may recall years of being called “sloppy” due to handwriting.
Special note
Important: Not every person with dysgraphia has all these symptoms. For instance, one child might have atrocious handwriting but can spell and construct sentences fine; another might write neatly but struggle immensely to organize an essay. However, if a child consistently shows several of these signs over 6 months or more, despite practice and help, an evaluation for dysgraphia is warranted. Early identification is key, as it allows targeted interventions to begin sooner.
Next up: But what causes dysgraphia?
Exploring where it begins
The reasons behind dysgraphia are complex. From brain development to motor control, find out what researchers say could be contributing to your child’s writing difficulties.