Often confused with dyslexia, dysgraphia is a learning disorder as well as a neurological condition. Read on to find out how to test free for it.
A neurological condition that prevents people from writing down their thoughts, dysgraphia is a learning difference and an issue for all so many. Even with proper instructions and a well-set education plan, those with dysgraphia will still have issues. And since dysgraphia manifests through different symptoms, it’s harder to diagnose.
To know for sure whether you or someone you care for has dysgraphia, it’s key to take a series of tests. The best way to do so is to make an appointment with a specialist, which means spending money. Luckily, there are many online tests, including those free of charge, which you can use to indicate whether to visit a doctor in the first place.
Understanding dysgraphia and its impact on learning disabilities
In essence, writing means performing complex processes that include various skills and brain functions. Some of these are fine motor skills, the ability to perceive surrounding space, holding and manipulating information, orthographic coding, language processing, and conceptualization. Unfortunately, any of these can be problematic for disgraphics.
As such, dysgraphia is more of an umbrella term for issues with any of the above-mentioned functions and skills. It usually appears in children with autism in lower grade levels, so it’s often referred to as developmental. However, it’s also possible to develop it further down the line, due to some type of head trauma, making it an acquired condition.
Free dysgraphia tests available now
Just like dyslexia tests, it’s possible to make sure you have dysgraphia through an online questionnaire or a quiz. There are currently hundreds of test options available, which is great. However, it’s key to mention that they aren’t completely accurate. By this, we mean that only a specialist in person can determine whether someone has this condition.
Still, it’s a great option to have an online option as it’s convenient in many ways. From allowing you to sit at home and check yourself to some of these tests being free, there’s a lot to gain from taking one if you suspect you have dysgraphia. And if the test turns out positive, you can take your results to a specialist to confirm and inform yourself of further steps.
Exceptional Individuals’ dysgraphia test
Besides offering basic information about what dysgraphia is, the Exceptional Individuals site is a place where you can take a quick dysgraphia test. And when we say quick, well, it only takes 4 minutes, which is awesome.
Of course, it’s stated that this is just an indicator, and you’ll have to confirm with your doctor to make sure you have this condition. Additionally, Exceptional Individuals offer to chat with you about dysgraphia, how you feel about it, and many other health topics.
Lexercise’s dysgraphia test
Another popular site where you can screen for dysgraphia is Lexercise. Just like the previous option, you can first read a couple of sentences about the basics of this condition and then start the questionnaire.
The questionnaire itself is just a series of 15 questions about your writing skills, writing tasks, and other instances where you can have a hard time. After you answer all of them, you’ll be able to submit your info and the results will immediately pop up.
ADDitude magazine’s dysgraphia test
Although not an online clinic, ADDitude magazine has a really simple yet effective dysgraphia test that’s free. All you have to do is check the boxes of answers that appear correct for you, and it will show the results in a matter of minutes. You can also read a series of articles about dysgraphia to inform yourself about this condition.
Nebula’s dysgraphia test
Another option you might want to consider is Nebula’s printable dysgraphia test. It comes in the form of a PDF file that you can easily download and print. Since it’s like this, you can give it to your child and watch them answer the questions, which will point out whether they do or don’t have any issues with writing.
Learning Success’ dysgraphia test
Lastly, we should mention the Learning Success blog’s dysgraphia test. It comes in the form of 29 simple questions that you can answer for your child. Moreover, there’s also an educational video that you can watch and inform yourself better on this topic. It’s simple, effective, and it doesn’t take up more than a few minutes of your time.
Differences between dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and ADHD
One of the most common illusions people have about dysgraphia is that they think it’s a type of dyslexia. However, they are two separate neurological conditions that have some similar symptoms. When it comes to dyslexia, it’s a phonological processing disorder that manifests in the inability to read, whereas dysgraphia prevents people from writing.
Then again, there’s dyscalculia too. Again, this isn’t the same as dysgraphia, as this is an issue where people have a problem understanding numbers and using them.
Also, it’s common for some to confuse dysgraphia with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). But these impairments aren’t the same. People with ADHD have trouble paying attention, controlling their impulses, and can be overly active.
Yet, one thing that’s in common for all of these is that they can affect your child’s self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as their quality of life. To better understand the issue at hand here, let’s check the symptoms of dysgraphia now.
Symptoms and learning difficulties of dysgraphia
As mentioned, there are different symptoms of dysgraphia. Still, some of them are more persistent than others. These include the following.
Trouble forming letters and shapes
Besides messy handwriting, especially when writing cursive letters, people with dysgraphia often have a hard, painful grip on pencils, and they also sometimes write letters backward.
Trouble forming sentences
Another common symptom of dysgraphia is that people who have it can’t quite form sentences on paper. However, they can easily do so while speaking.
Difference between spoken and written content
A third common symptom is that people with dysgraphia show obvious signs of misunderstanding written content while being perfectly fine while listening and retaining information.
Speechify — a dysgraphia learning aid
Speechify is a piece of text-to-speech assistive technology that can provide important aid to people with dysgraphia. Due to its advanced TTS features, it’s possible to snap photos of your written notes and have the app read them aloud.
This can be helpful to people with dysgraphia as it will point out spelling errors and allow them to focus on their writing and reading skills. On the other hand, Speechify can help with other daily tasks with its natural-sounding voices and other features.
