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neurological impairment should be a matter of course for any child or adult that receives a head injury or suffers from a disease that may affect brain function. Children with congenital dysgraphia have historically been considered "slow"; it has only recently been recognized as the health issue it is, with tests to determine and procedures to help overcome it. Even so, it is still relatively unknown to the general public in comparison to dyslexia.

Not only should children displaying below average writing ability be tested for dysgraphia, but children who excel in cognitive (reasoning) ability but have disparate writing ability as well. An extremely bright child might manage to achieve average writing grades even though they suffer from dysgraphia, although this is less likely than for a child suffering from dyslexia. Those suffering from dysgraphia tend towards illegible writing, misspelling particularly through mis-ordering the letters of a word, and misusing upper and lower case letters. Early detection is important so that help may be provided to assist the child in overcoming this learning disability.

Various tests such as the Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT) and the Illinois Snapshot of Early Learning (ISEL) may detect dysgraphia in children. Please see the Helium articles under the title "An Overview of Learning Disability Tests for Infants and Children" for further details.

The primary purpose of such tests is to determine a child's (or adult's) needs, not to categorize them. By determining the problems a child may have, the appropriate assistance and guidance can be provided enabling them to achieve the writing ability that will allow them to get the most out of life.

Learn more about this author, Perry McCarney.
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