Timing is everything: Part 2

In my previous article, I focused on developmental coordination disability (DCD). In this article, the focus will be on dysgraphia, a form of writing disability that falls under the DCD category. DCD may affect all aspects of movement or it can affect only fine motor skills, specifically skills needed to write well. Dysgraphia specifically impacts spelling and writing because the basic prerequisite skills, motor movement and letter formation, are inefficient. A child with dysgraphia is required to use more brainpower to simply make a letter, which causes an energy drain that interferes with the overall writing process.

Writing is a complex task. There is no one area in the brain that is responsible for writing, but rather it requires the cooperation from several areas of the brain. Most often children with dysgraphia will demonstrate difficulties such as:

• Illegible handwriting

• Poor letter formation

• Poor pencil grip

• Irregular spacing

• Misspelling of words

• Poor idea organization or sequencing

• Incorrect grammar or word usage

• Limited expression of ideas

• Very slow rate of writing

Writing is an important activity needed to complete assignments and tests in a timely manner, as well as for activities outside school, such as filing out forms, taking messages or writing a letter.

Motor skills rely on efficient proprioceptive and kinesthetic functioning. Information from the muscles and joints travels to the cerebral cortex, where the movements are learned and stored. Formation of a letter is dependent on a correctly learned motor plan or sequence. Children with dysgraphia have an impaired motor plan that was erroneously learned and firmly established. To "reprogram" a child's incorrectly stored motor movements, the correct movements need to be carried out over and over again in the correct fashion allowing the correct motor plan to become automatic. This type of "over-learning," where through repetition new motor plans are developed and stored, is possible through a researched based intervention called Interactive Metronome (IM).

IM is an intervention tool that helps children and adults, relearn correct motor movements. Using a metronome beat, a child learns correct motor sequencing. The metronome beat compels improvement in brain timing that includes observing, controlling and differentiating the rhythm of specific motor actions. Timing is an important factor in the learning and development of motor skills. Thus, IM improves brain timing needed to correct motor movements for writing and spelling. Research also supports the effectiveness of multisensory stimulation to increase visual, tactile and kinesthetic input to and feedback from the brain. At Wired2Learn, multisensory stimulation is added to IM intervention to increase performance motor planning.

For more information on dysgraphia, DCD or other learning disabilities and what can be done to help a child succeed, call Wired2Learn at 699-6232.