Dysorthography: what is it, how to treat it?

George Alvarez 18-10-2023
George Alvarez

School and its activities can prove to be a great challenge for a considerable number of students. However, some of them have more difficulties because they do not naturally assimilate everything they are taught. Understand better what it is dysorthography and how to treat it, if that is what you need.

Dysorthography: what is it?

Dysorthography is an internal deficiency that affects a person's writing skills When reading the material produced, one can see that the person who wrote the text is structuring the text in a very precarious way for the school level in which he or she is.

One of the most evident signs of this is a very short and poor vocabulary, as if the ideas cannot improve. In the midst of this, the amount of spelling mistakes is surprising, this being another indication of the problem in the school stage. Although this may seem age or inexperience, it is a sensitive alert to the development of this individual.

According to the 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5, the frequency is 5% to 15%.

Causes

The causes of dysorthography are so far shown to be suspected to be influenced by the external environment. It is indicated, for example, the incorrect learning of reading and writing in the early stages When done incorrectly, it can leave a blank space that ends up opening a crack in the education of this young person.

As a result, this makes the child insecure about expressing him/herself through the writing process, and this is exacerbated in regions with little educational assistance. Since the person does not receive adequate support, it is common for this problem to persist for some time in his/her life.

Furthermore, poor learning of grammatical rules leads to spelling mistakes in children. Since there is a gap in the grammatical understanding of the language, it becomes difficult to insert this knowledge later.

Signs of Dysorthography

For the unaware, be aware that being alert to the signs of dysorthography is important for the student's development. The sooner this is seen by parents and teachers, the sooner it can be worked on Among the most common signs are:

Difficulty in organizing paragraphs

The visual construction of his texts is quite disorganized and even unpleasant to look at. There is a great chaos where the student shows a block when assembling the paragraphs of the text. Remembering that this is not on his purpose, but, yes, interference from the way he learned before.

Lack of clarity in writing ideas

Another sign is that the written assembly of your ideas can be very complex to understand. There is no clarity so defined that it helps to connect the existing dots of your text. Take for example the sentences, which can be disconnected, or words that are out of place, or even words that are inexplicably short and meaningless.

Frequent grammar mistakes

Grammar errors are one of the biggest alarms regarding this complication in the learning process. Words can be misspelled, with missing or added letters. Punctuation also suffers interference, since it is not as well used and placed even for a child.

Poor text planning

In addition to paragraphs, the very look of the text itself can suffer sudden interference. If you write an essay, even a short one, it will appear disorganized and even structurally messy. Examples of this are words outside the lines, above the lines, larger letters in excess, spacing, among other things.

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Dysgraphia and dysorthography

It is quite common to associate dysgraphia with dysorthography, although they are different in essence. Dysgraphia shows itself as difficulty in the quality of handwriting, making it irregular and uncomfortable. Aesthetically, the words do not fit together at any level and are quite disordered.

This becomes quite evident when we look at the signs that indicate the problem, such as:

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Improper way to hold the pencil

There is a lot of visual discomfort perceived in the student not holding the pencil properly. Of course, there is no such thing as perfect posture, but one must be aware of the implications caused by this.Basically, he makes a greater effort since he does not have so much handling with the pencil .

Letter disconnection

The letters he produces are disconnected, overlapping or even illegible, even to experienced professionals. There is chaos in his handwriting and it is a challenge to try to understand what is written in his notebook.

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Irregular stroke

Either the student writes too thickly or too softly on the sheet. While one is uncomfortable to see, the other is a challenge to be seen.

Irregular space

There is no linearity between the letters produced, because they are always together or too far apart.

School self-esteem

Even if you don't understand about the dysorthography, the child is sensitive enough to feel the interference from it. Imagine someone without the emotional resilience to deal with their difficulties at school. One of the first consequences is a growing lack of interest in learning and, especially, expressing oneself in writing .

Without any positive intervention, the student grows up with a bad impression of education, feeling inadequate for it. His mind feeds the idea of inaptitude and he ends up doubting his own potential within education. Not only does this mess with his self-esteem, but it ends up taking him away from the natural movement of school learning.

In part, it is because of this that schools show unfortunate data regarding grammar activities. Going further, of the underwhelming results in young people's essays. Being an important piece of social construction, it is the duty of the more experienced to rehabilitate his perception and help him with his difficulties.

Diagnosis

Dysorthography needs to be evaluated by a specialist in learning disabilities. A psychologist, psychopedagogue, or neuropsychologist can perform such an evaluation together with parents and teachers .

For this, the diagnosis can only be made after 2 years of stimulation in his writing and reading. Not to mention that his performance in writing is excessively low for his school age group. It is worth mentioning that it is not impossible to arise from some mistakes or absences, and this is the minimum evaluation time.

How to treat dysorthography?

Dysorthography treatment works on the re-education of each phonological competence of the student's learning difficulty. In addition, it improves the child's visual-spatial perception, focusing also on phonological processing. In each therapy session, the student will receive multisensory stimuli in order to unblock his or her inhibitions about writing.

The therapist will have more chances of success when difficulties are detected as early as possible This does not make it impossible to reverse the picture when the child is older. However, dealing with this barrier becomes easier when parents and teachers get involved.

Final thoughts on dysorthography

Dysorthography can develop more easily when older people ignore these needs We must keep in mind that the inadequate construction of a young person's attitude at school impacts negatively on his or her development, so expressing oneself through writing becomes a displeasure and a thorn to be dealt with.

Fortunately, it is possible to reverse this situation and polish the student's attitude at school again. As seen above, the work of reconditioning will put everything that was missing in place. In the end, this learner will be able to achieve the purpose of the teaching track and give his best to his studies.

To help with this reconstruction, enroll in our 100% online Clinical Psychoanalysis course. With its help you can support yourself and anyone else with any existential block. This includes dysorthography or any barrier that prevents someone from unlocking their potential .

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George Alvarez

George Alvarez is a renowned psychoanalyst who has been practicing for over 20 years and is highly regarded in the field. He is a sought-after speaker and has conducted numerous workshops and training programs on psychoanalysis for professionals in the mental health industry. George is also an accomplished writer and has authored several books on psychoanalysis that have received critical acclaim. George Alvarez is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and expertise with others and has created a popular blog on Online Training Course in Psychoanalysis that is widely followed by mental health professionals and students around the world. His blog provides a comprehensive training course that covers all aspects of psychoanalysis, from theory to practical applications. George is passionate about helping others and is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of his clients and students.