DYSGRAPHIA - Usman Rasheed's MA ELT Thesis

1
IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEMS FACED BY DYSLEXIC

STUDENTS IN ORTHOGRAPHICAL EXPRESSION
(DYSGRAPHIA) AT PRIMARY LEVEL
By
USMAN RASHEED
(12133)
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGES, LITERATURE

& APPLIED LINGUISTICS
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES,
LAHORE CAMPUS
2011-2013
IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEMS FACED BY DYSLEXIC

STUDENTS IN ORTHOGRAPHICAL EXPRESSION
(DYSGRAPHIA) AT PRIMARY LEVEL
INTERNAL SUPERVISOR:
ZAHEER HUSSAIN
BY:
USMAN RASHEED
A Thesis presented to the
Faculty of English Language, Literature &

Applied Linguistics
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN
LANGUAGES
ISLAMBAD, PAKIATAN
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
IN
ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE
JANUARY, 2013
CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM

I, USMAN RASHEED
Son of ABDUL RASHEED
Candidate of Mater in English Language Teaching at the National
University of Modern Languages do hereby declare that the dissertation
identification of the problems faced by dyslexic students in
orthographical expression (dysgraphia) at primary levels. Submitted by
me in partial fulfillment of Master Degree, is my original work, and has
not been submitted or published earlier. I also solemnly declare that it
shall not, in future, be submitted by me for obtaining any other degree
from this or any other university or institution.
/... /2013
Signature of Candidate
Usman Rasheed
Name of Candidate
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am very much thankful to almighty Allah, without whose help this task
would never have been completed. This research is an original effort of
mine, but at the same time, it would not have been possible without the
expert supervision and guidance of Sir Zaheer Hussain, my supervisor.
I would also like to pay my respects to all of my teachers for their valuable
guidance; and special thanks to my all classmates for their warm
friendship and assistance during my years of study at NUML Lahore.
Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to find out the problems that are
being faced dyslexic students in writing, called dysgraphia. And
researcher has achieved this goal by involving parents of such students
and also their instructors. The judgments of field experts have also been
taken.
With regards to methodology and approach, the researcher considered it
best to collect data from parents and instructors with a close ended
questionnaire and this approach remained successful. Data was collected
from two special education institutions based in Lahore, namely, Amin
Maktab, Gulberg and Rising sun, Defense, Lahore.
The researcher has added up semi-structure interviews of field experts, for
better understanding within the Pakistani context. During the course of
investigation, the researcher found that experts mostly confirmed agreed
with the highlighted issues. All the collected data was analyzed and
presented in description and statistically analyzed and presented using
charts. The findings are clearly mentioned using percentages.
Some recommendations were also given by researcher and conclusion is
given below.
The core part of thesis is based on literature review and all data is
rephrased in the own words of the researcher.
It is strongly felt that this research is helpful for spreading awareness in

community with regards of dyslexia and dysgraphia; both of which are
curable and these students can also lead healthy, happy and normal lives.
Last but not least I would like to say that different institutes and schools
are well equipped to help children who are either dysgraphic or dyslexic.
It is hoped that this study will further facilitate and help them in better
understanding and handling of such issues.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ............................................................. 1-3

Background in Pakistan ....................................................... 4-5
Statement of Problem .............................................................. 6
Research Questions ................................................................. 6
Hypothesis ................................................................................. 7
Delimitation of Study ................................................................ 7
Research Methodology .............................................................. 8
Objectives of Present Study ....................................................... 9
Significance of the study.................................................................10
LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................. 11

Introduction ..................................................................................11
Literature Review.........................................................................12
Developmental Dyslexia ..............................................................13
Brief History ................................................................................13
Dyslexia: A Disability or Difficulty? ...........................................14
Diverse Theories ..........................................................................15-16
The Phonological Shortfall Theory..............................................16-17
Temporal Processing Theory .......................................................17
The Magnocellular Theory ..........................................................18
The Double Shortfall Hypothesis.................................................19
Dysgraphia ...................................................................................20
Experts Opinions ........................................................................21-23
Dysgraphia vs. Dyslexia ........................................................... 23-26
What Causes Dysgraphia? ...........................................................27-28
Types of Dysgraphia ..................................................................... 29
Dyslexic Dysgraphia ....................................................................29
Motor Dysgraphia ........................................................................30
Spatial Dysgraphia .......................................................................30
Phonological Dysgraphia .............................................................. 31
Lexical Dysgraphia ......................................................................31
Stress and Dysgraphia ..................................................................31

Characteristics & Indications of Dyslexia ......................................32
Deep Dyslexia ..............................................................................33
Pre-school ..................................................................................... 33
Kindergarten through Third Grade .................................................34
Fourth Grade through High School..............................................34
Dyslexia and Related Disorders ...................................................35
Characteristics & Indications of Dysgraphia
36-37
Third Methodology .............................................................. 38

Introduction ................................................................................... 38
Brief overview of research objectives
39-40
Research design ..............................................................................41

Population .......................................................................................42
Instruments ......................................................................................42
Unit of data analysis........................................................................43
Four Data Analysis ............................................ 44

Research Tools ................................................................................44
Questionnaire ................................................................................ 45
Interview ....................................................................................... 45
Questionnaire for parents ......................................................... 46-52
Parents responses ...................................................................... 53
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Data Interpretation .......................................................................53-56

Questionnaire for instructors........................................................57-67
Instructors responses.................................................................... 67
Instructors Data Interpretation .................................................. 68-71
First interview ..................................................................72-74
Second interview ..........................................................................75-77
Third interview.............................................................................79-80
Fourth interview ......................................................................... 81-83
Interpretations of interviews ........................................................84-86
Five Findings and Recommendations.......................87-88

Findings of the study...................................................................89-90
Conclusion ......................................................................................91
Recommendations .................................................................... 92-96
Work cited ............................................................................. 97-104
APPENDIX A (Questionnaire for Parents) ..................... 105-107
APPENDIX B (Questionnaire for Instructors) ................. 108-111
APPENDIX C (Semi-Structured Interviews) .................... 112-114
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CHAPTER NO: 1
INTRODUCTION
Language is a unique human tool and problems regarding language skills
are also unique. Language learning is consists of four basic-skills and they
are all equally important for grasping the language to its culmination
point. During teaching we encounter different situations which are
sometimes quite remote from our own experiences. Language learners are
always important for us and if we understand them, we can teach them in a
better way. Its obvious that all the language-learners differ from one
another regarding capabilities but sometimes we come across exceptions
in our learners that may be in different language areas. Therefore
researcher conducted survey, interviews and collected data to identify the
nature of problems faced by dyslexic students in written (Dysgraphia) in
Pakistan.
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In the beginning dyslexia was a general term that was used for disabilities
but later on it was divided into many entities. Now every dimension that is
related with dyslexia has its own identification and many researchers have
conducted their researches on these dimensions .More or less there are
thirteen terms that are derived from dyslexia. Commonly found
Dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysphasia, aphasia etc.
Dyslexia has been found quite a broad term which defines a learning
disability that affects peoples fluency and understanding with accuracy in
being able to read and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with
phonological awareness, phonological decoding, processing speed,
orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, language skills/verbal
comprehension, and or rapid naming.
A dyslexic child finds it complicated to obtain the normal literacy skills
and therefore can have a traumatic experience within the educational
environment. What can further make the experience more traumatic, if the
peers in the immediate environment abuse him or make fun of him.
Therefore it is vital that appropriate steps should take to ensure comfort
for such children.
The main purpose of this research is to explore the disabilities regarding

orthographical expressions. Its a comprehensive subject and made own
13
place and identification among other language disabilities. Dysgraphic

students are unable to organize the structures of long pieces of texts. They
face problems regarding expression, grammar, sentence structure, spelling,
punctuation, and sequence. In addition, their short-term working memory
shortfalls and makes slow information processing speeds and it increases
the complexity of dealing with words. Their verbal abilities do not match
with their writing abilities in class work.
When tackling with written assignments, one of the most difficult things
for a dysgraphic student is to get his initial thoughts down on paper. While
he has all the ideas in his mind and knows exactly what he wants to say,
the struggles he has with expressing his ideas can be seen in assignments.
Background of dyslexia problem in Pakistan

Along with the rest of the world, Pakistan also faces the problem of
learning disability in children. Generally due to insufficient awareness of
the issue, people do not pay much attention to this problem. Recently,
however, there have been efforts made both publicly and privately to
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create awareness amongst people. Governments help, although not

sufficient to combat this on a country wide scale, however plays a vital
role. Zar Nageen reported on 6 July 2007 at Karachi that the number of
dyslexic children in the city has increased by 25% over the past decade. It
should be kept in mind that Dysgraphia may be by birth disorder, which
can be due to abnormal pattern of brain tissues. It is required that children
with this disorder should be enrolled in special schools. In different areas
of world, dyslexic children are sent to normal schools after attending
special schools for specific time. Such institutions are few in number in
Pakistan, dyslexic children are being ignored on large scale. Several
competent dyslexic children are, as a result overlooked, and do not get any
attention for their talent.
It was reported By Asad farooq on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at Karachi

that REA Dyslexics is an institute that deals with dyslexia affected
students. The institute is a first one of its kind in Pakistan that helps
children to cope up with learning and comprehension difficulty known as
dyslexia.
REA Dyslexics not only facilitates dyslexia students but also organizes
workshops and seminars to spread awareness about dyslexia and education
related issues. On the occasion, four success stories of Zoya Kareem,
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Naseeruddin, Turab and Shuja were presented. All four persons have been
enrolled in Dyslexic Remedial Program of the institute and were enjoying
a satisfied life. They shared their experiences and shed light on the
difficulties faced by dyslexic students speaking at the session.
Karachi has two private educational consultancies one of them is R.E.A
and CARE - which are struggling to attend to children with learning
disabilities, turn out enough teachers to support the learning system and
generate enough funds to expand it further. There is one institution in
Lahore that is Lahore Centre for Children that again does not have
enough resources to train staff and manage the influx of struggling
children.
Dyslexia Awareness Week 6th November 2011 onwards it was again

organized by REA. Dyslexics organization in Pakistan, Overcoming the
problem in Pakistan and agenda of the seminar. Parental initiative is
critical in bringing dyslexia in the lime light of learning difficulties
arena. The role of positive parenting is essential and the process of
teaching children the tactics of overcoming the difficulties linked with
dyslexia can make a massive difference to a dyslexic children or adult.
Statement of Problem
16
The research is being conducted for the identification of the problems

faced by dyslexic students in orthographical expression (Dysgraphia) at
primary levels.
Research Questions
What are the problems faced by dyslexic students in orthographical
expression (Dysgraphia) at primary levels?
Hypothesis
Dyslexic Students are unable to read and write with fluency. After
doing a lot of struggle their reading and writing skills never match
with spoken abilities.
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Dyslexic
Students
get
confused
with
reverse
alphabets
( b,d w,m n,u,p,q ).That slow down their reading and writing
process and take extra time in the recognition of the words
Students are Poor in grammar, sentence structure and in

sequencing of ideas.
Students commit erratic and irregular spelling errors frequently,

Omit or add the consonants and vowels to words. Sometimes spell
out entire word in reverse order.
Students face problem in discrimination of upper case and lower

case alphabets. While writing a word they mix up upper and lower
case letters in a word. Mostly students show failure in the use of
capitalization.
Delimitation in present study

The researcher has focused on dyslexia and Dysgraphia, other areas
like dyspraxia; dyscalculia and aphasia are not part of this research.
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Objectives of Present Study
To identify the nature of problems faced by dysgraphic students.
To highlight the language affected areas due to Dysgraphia.
To explain how and to what extent Dysgraphia hinders in

reading and writing.
To give opportunity to understand this problem and its remedies

through activities.
To find out role of dyslexia in dysgraphic disability.
Significance of the study

We can have complete understanding after reading background of dyslexia
and Dysgraphia in Pakistan. This domain remain neglected from the
very first day or little attention has been paid .In these circumstances, this
effort is an extension of study in this field that will be very beneficial in
19
Pakistani context for increasing awareness with regard to this disability.

We all agree with these facts that dyslexia is a condition that affects
people throughout their lives and stays with them till their old age.
However, it must be kept in mind that with proper training the condition
can be improved upon greatly. There are several evidences which show
what types of instruction, struggling readers need in order to be successful
(e.g., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000;
Snow et al., 1998; Torgesen, 2000).
It is obvious that both dyslexic and dysgraphic children have to encounter
far more issues than normal pupils.
Research tells us that positive and encouraging behavior of parents as well
as teachers plays a significant role in solving such childrens problems and
helps both dyslexic and dysgraphic patients to cope with their troubles.
Since such children use more time and effort to fulfill a task as compared
to non-dyslexic children, it has been observed that in fact Dyslexic
individuals require five times more effort as compared to a normal,
healthy individual.
Teachers point out that a dyslexic child is troubled by his writing, solving
mathematical problems, has issues like letter reversal, forgets spellings
learnt recently and has difficulty in copying material from the teachers
board.
20
This study investigates the problems associated with a dysgraphic child of

primary education level. Effort has been made to spread awareness about
the problems of dyslexic and dysgraphic children.
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CHAPTER NO: 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter aims to provide a synopsis of the existing research related to
Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. As compared to Dyslexia, not a great
amount of research has been conducted on the topic of Dysgraphia, yet
the subject touches upon many different areas of language, psychology
and neurobiology, and hence is important.
The intention of the researcher is to consolidate and represent research on
the topic. In order to do so, the researcher provides contemporary study
and data by other (contemporary and old) researchers; provided basic (yet
22
=902necessary) definitions and then move on towards progressive and

other theories related to Dyslexia and Dysgraphia.
The first half of the Literature review (below) discusses Dyslexia, whereas
the second half discussed Dysgraphia, separately. The researcher also
quote indications of Dyslexia and Dysgraphia from number of different
resources and provide references.
Developmental Dyslexia:
Developmental Dyslexia which is generally, known as Dyslexia is a
term that has been used primarily for reading disability. It leads to
difficulties in the attainment of reading and spelling Skills.
The researcher has found that the first detailed definition on Dyslexia was
drafted by the World Federation of Neurology in 1968: Dyslexia is a
disorder manifested by a problem in learning to read in spite of
conventional teaching, adequate intellect and socio-cultural opportunity.
With the passage of time, a number of organizations have come up with
different definitions of Dyslexia. For instance, The Dutch Dyslexia
association Stitching Dyslexia Nederland came up with the subsequent
normally accepted and used definition: Dyslexia is an impairment
characterized by a steady problem in the acquisition and the accurate
and/or fluent application of reading and/or spelling skills at word level.
The reading level is noticeably below the expectations on the base of age
23
and situation. The difficulties are didactically resistant (Stitching Dyslexia

Nederland, 2003).
The above work on Dyslexia began in 1968 and developed in several ways
till 2003.
Two medical categorization systems were used as an initial point in
defining Dyslexia: the International Classification of Impairments,
Disabilities and Handicaps (ICIDH) of the World Health Organization
(WHO, 1980) and the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for reading disorder
(APA, 1994).
Brief History
Vellutino (1979) was the first person who recognized Dyslexia as a
language disorder. He also highlighted that the previous consequences
seen as evidence for a perceptual shortfall in Dyslexia were completely
dependable with the view that dyslexic readers have verbal decoding
disability. This hypothesis was supported by pointing to studies that show
delays in speech and language progress. But, later on this argument was
considered to be very general (Snowling, 2000).
There are more probabilities that children with at least one dyslexic parent
have a significantly higher possibility; they have between 32 and 68%
probability of developing Dyslexia (Elbro et al., 1998; Pennington &
Lefly, 2001; Scarborough, 1990).
24
Most studies have been found unfair towards males; as per (Miles et al.,
1998; Rutter & Yule, 1975; Sauver et al., 2001; Flannery et al., 2000;
Shaywitz et al., 1990). Females are affected two times more as compared
to males. Nonetheless, it is still not established whether male children are
biologically responsible for developing Dyslexia (Flannery et al., 2000).
Debates have led to diverse new definitions and theories concerning the
underlying root of Dyslexia. All of these controversies exist because of
heterogeneity in the behavioral outline of Dyslexia: It is also true that
indications of Dyslexia differ with the age (Snowling, 2000), occurrence
of disabilities take to a change and it can be seen in the manifestations
(Snowling, 2000), and the behavioral representations of Dyslexia varies
from situation to situation (Snowling, 2000; Vellutino, 2004).
Dyslexia: A Disability or Difficulty?

The researcher believes that Dyslexia is a lasting disability and the
[IDEA] Persons with Disabilities Education Act in the US, supports this
opinion. The debate on Dyslexia is on global level and a disagreement on
what constitutes Dyslexia, whether it is defined as a learning problem or
learning disability. According to Westwood, the stance about disability
and problem is quite indistinct. This definitional argument falls within a
political field and is influenced by government-based, policy of,
infrastructure that links educational support.
25
In the USA Dyslexia comes underneath the area of a particular learning

disability and is publicly defined within the Persons with Disabilities
Education Act [IDEA] 1990-1997. In 2004 this act was altered into the
Persons with Disabilities Education Improvement [IDEI]. It recognized
Dyslexia as a specific learning disability.
In the UK, the term Dyslexia is used as a key term and is identified as a
learning disability (Cunningham and Firth, 2005). Nonetheless, Westwood
(2008) claims that in the UK they have clouded the issue of definition
even more by adopting the terms learning problem and learning disability
to refer to those children who have intellectual disability.
The dispute on Dyslexia as a problem or disability is still not concluded in
the Australia. Confirmation of Dyslexia as a separate learning disability or
learning style, vary according to the different researchers opinion,
although it is not clearly established or identified in educational rule.
According to Australian Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act,
ACDA 1992 categorize disability as a disorder or failure that
consequences in the person learning differently from a person without the
disorder or malfunction, can be problem of community education state or
territory based (Elkins 2000) and Dyslexia as a particular learning
disability is not clearly defined.
26
Diverse Theories:
It has been agreed by most that Dyslexia is the main problem in the verbal
sphere (Lyytinen et al., 2004). However, this opinion does not apply to all
dyslexics. There are several different theories on the subject, some of
which are discussed below:
The Phonological Shortfall Theory:

According to researchers and scholars like Gallagher and Velluntino, in
addition to reading and writing, another common difficulty faced by
dyslexics is related to phonological shortfall i.e. dyslexics do not have
normal capacity to display and produce words sounds. They attribute this
incapacity to a shortage associated with the brain to codify the
phonological properties appropriately which results in the unclear sound
production. This has been researched and verified by professional
anatomical and functional brain imaging studies; in fact one of the leading
proponents, Ramus (2003) has researched and is of the opinion that the
left perisylvian dysfunction of the brain and associated nerves is the
basis for phonological shortfall.
However, this theory is not without its fair share of shortcomings; one of
which is that it does not clarify that what is meant by unclear or vague
sound production. Another criticism is that it is commonly observed that
several dyslexic children do not exhibit speech impairment issues of any
27
kind at all. It can be safely concluded that Dyslexia cant be explained by

phonological processing deficit alone since then we would unable to
understand why sensory and motor disorders take place in a prominent
number of dyslexic patients.
Temporal Processing Theory:

Tallaal suggests that phonological deficit is the result of a low-level
auditory perception loss in the processing of concise or rapid sounds.
Different experiments related to the performance of dyslexically impaired
children are what led to this. It was observed in these experiments that
children demonstrated problems in processing concise sounds at a rapid
pace. It has been observed that not all dyslexics have difficulty with
auditory processing,, neither are these limited solely to concise or speedy
stimuli (Snowling 2004).
The Magno-cellular Theory:

As compared to other theories The magno-cellular theory gives a
holistic view taking into account all sensory, cognitive, and motor display
of Dyslexia. This theory postulates that tactile, visual, auditory, motor and
phonological deficits in dyslexics are driven due to basic problems arising
28
from temporal working, free from acoustic, visual or motor modalities.

Needless to say, these problems are connected to the magno-cellular
structure of human brain and one of the apparent reasons seems to be cell
failure along magno-cellular pathway.
Although there are sufficient proofs to back the magno-cellular theory, yet
it fails to explain why in certain divisions of dyslexics there is complete
absence of these physiological and psychological findings on which the
theory is based. This theory also falls short of establishing and explaining
the deficiency of motor and sensory disorders in other sub-domains of
dyslexics (Olson & Datta, 2002).
Rosen (2003) carried out a study in which he tried to establish which of

these theories was sounder. Adult patients of dyslexia were tried and
tested for phonological, auditory and cerebellar tests. The results were as
follows:
a) Phonological tasks: Everyone experienced deficit but almost 30%
seemed to have a entirely phonological deficit. Others suffered
either from additional auditory, visual, or motor disorders.
29
b) Cerebellar tests: 25% of the dyslexics displayed underperformance

on the cerebellar tests and 12.5% in the sample seemed to have
visual difficulties of a magno-cellular nature.
c) Auditory trouble: More than half of the sample faced auditory
trouble, but these could not be described as a swift auditory
processing failure, contrary to predictions of the temporal
processing theory or the magno-cellular theory.
Taking the results of the above reports into account which support the
phonological shortfall theory, Rosen (2003) concluded that phonological
shortfalls can arise independently of any sensory or motor impairment.
The Double Shortfall Hypothesis:

Bowers and Wolf (1993) are responsible for formulating and refining The
double shortfall hypothesis of progressal Dyslexia. The theory
indicates that phonological skills cannot explain the entire variance within
the span of reading measures (Carlisle 1998). It has been observed that
ones speed at reading and converting a visual symbol into a verbal tag is
independent of ones phonological capability and add unique variation to
reading.
30
This hypothesis postulates two reasons for Dyslexia, which is:

a) shortfalls in phonology and;
b) Naming speed.
These two reasons or factors can be both independent of each other or can
also occur together in a double shortfall.
Dysgraphia:
Dysgraphia is a particular impairment that is related to writing i.e. it
manifests itself in the form of spelling and writing difficulties. It is also
known as Agraphia. It is an authentic learning disorder that affects ones
orthographical abilities in a negative way. This is because writing requires
a multifaceted combination of motor skills.
Experts Opinions:
Below are a few definitions from various experts and researchers about
Dysgraphia:
It is a learning disability that affects peoples writing abilities. It becomes
apparent in the form of people having difficulties with spelling,
handwriting and expressing thoughts on paper. (National Center for
Learning Disabled, 2009).
31
Dysgraphia is the delayed progress in, or acquired loss of the skill of

writing which may affect an individual at the age of twenty. Dysgraphia
has links with DCD/Dyspraxia but has different roots. DCD/Dyspraxia is
a disorder of motor planning but where the individual have idea what he
wants to write down, has the imagination to formulate the semantics, can
cope orally with the spelling and syntax but they are totally unable to
grasp the actions of the hand necessary to produce this on paper, in a
readable form commensurate with his age. Dysgraphic type difficulties are
usually related to poor chronological in construction processing and poor
motor/kinesthetic skills. This affects speed and quality of handwriting and
also spelling. Dysgraphic behavior is a true disorder and may continue
into adult life. It is common to find evidence of Dysgraphia in other
members of the family, especially among males.
32
Children with Dysgraphia usually can write down on some level and
often be deficient in other fine motor skills judgment activities such as
tying shoelaces difficult. It does not influence all fine motor skills. They
can be lack in basic spelling task (common example having difficulty with
b and d, p and q) and often will jot down the wrong word when
attempting to devise feelings (on paper). Children with such disability
might have some other sort of learning disorders but they typically have
no social or other educational difficulties.
Dysgraphia is a particular learning disability that affects writing
abilities. It can manifest itself as difficulties with spelling, handwriting and
expressing thoughts on paper (National Center for Learning Disabled,
2009).
The
International
Dyslexia
Association
(2009)
defined
Dysgraphia as a particular learning disability that affects how easily

children acquire written language and how well they use written language
to express their thoughts (p. 1).
Dysgraphia is a word that has been taken from Greek language. The
basic word graph denoted both to the hands function in orthographical
and to the letters formed by the hand. The prefix dys is used to show any
sort of impairment at any level. Graph refers to the production of
orthographical expressions by hand. The suffix ia indicate to having a
presence. Thus, Dysgraphia is the state of impaired letter writing by
33
hand, that is, disabled handwriting, and sometimes spelling (The

International Dyslexia Association, 2008, p. 1).
The Disability Discrimination Act defined Dysgraphia as a medical

disorder applied to those who experience trouble associated with their fine
motor skills and thus manifests in the form of poor handwriting and weak
expression of thoughts in ones writing.
It has been described as writing skills (that.) are substantially below

those expected given the persons..age, measured intelligence and age
appropriate education (DSMIV, American Psychiatric Association 1994)
Dysgraphia vs Dyslexia:
Dysgraphia, as compared to Dyslexia, is a somewhat recent discovery.
Records show that spelling disorders began to be noticed a long while ago,
however, no one was interested in spelling at that time (Grashey, 1885;
Lichtheim, 1885;).
It is common knowledge that people speak much before they learn writing.
In fact even the most versatile and talented writers follow this order. On a
further note, the reading and writing abilities are tightly connected to ones
34
educational background. Not so long ago, advance spelling ability was

achieved by hardly but a few amongst masses. These too, were barely
noticed. Therefore, the discovery that an occasional development or rare
skill could be harmed as a result of brain damage did not garner special
attention. Thus research on Dysgraphia did not in fact focus on these
features of the disorder as compared to the matter of the relations between
the disorders of cognitive and linguistic functions with issues related to
spelling.
During the eighties, for the first time, models based solely on the ideals of
construction processing methodology e.g. Mortons model of 1969 etc.,
began to affect and dictate psycho-linguistic research on linguistics. This
showed that such investigations could provide constructive means for the
improvement, of theories, of standard cognition. Also, this helped better
understand the mindbrain relationship, as well as the finding and cure of
such people.
Primarily, with the help of the new approach, researchers on Dyslexia
profited the most. Afterwards cases of surface dyslexia and phonological
dyslexia were diagnosed and filed accordingly. (e.g., Patterson, Marshall,
& Coltheart, 1985)
Such trends were associated to the selective impairment of mechanisms
35
important for reading aloud familiar words and also to the selective
impairment of sub lexical graphemephoneme conversion methods that
are necessary to read aloud unfamiliar phrases or sentences.
Throughout the eighties, empirical support for an analogous distinction in
spelling was provided by analyses of Dysgraphia. Subjects with
phonological Agraphia i.e. disproportionate problem in spelling new and
unique words as compared to routine everyday words (Baxter &
Warrington, 1986). Also, on the other hand, subjects with surface
Dysgraphia i.e. the reverse pattern, consisting of more accurate
performance on novel words than on familiar words (Hatfield & Patterson,
1982) were described. Such trends were associated to an unequal
destruction of sub-lexical procedures and mechanisms.
The independence of such lexical semantic methods from sub lexical
conversion processes, that accumulate orthographic strings by conversion
of a phonological input, also easily accounted for most of the vital features
of errors traditionally found in surface Dysgraphia.
As the research progressed on Dysgraphia, the first obvious question

addressed by modern studies was whether it was possible or not to
substantiate an operational system parallel to that suggested for reading by
36
cognitive analysis of Dyslexia. The answer was Yes. Motivated by the

contrasting patterns of performance described in subjects with
phonological and surface
Dyslexia, the lexical-semantic methods and procedures were both selfgoverning and independent.
By the end of the eighties, a holistic framework of the spelling

arrangement had been mostly finalized. To spell a common word, the
subsequent stored structure is recovered in from semantic input.
According to studies of Dysgraphia, when a new or a fake word has to
be spelled, a mechanism is activated which is entirely independent and
intakes the phonological input in the form of a string strictly based on
context of constraints and available mapping options.
Once again it should be appreciated that until the late eighties,
investigation on spellings concentrated on the ability to display only and
none of the techniques were involved as such in spelling. Later, however,
when confirmation from other sources suggested that lexical semantic and
sub lexical processes are interrelated, the previous views changed. Ever
since then, study in this area has answered progressively more meticulous
questions and continues to do so.
37
What Causes Dysgraphia?

Different experts have different opinions about the causes and effects of
Dysgraphia. Various researchers who had taken varying approaches
to gain an understanding of Dysgraphia have offered different
theories on the subject. Some of these have been shared below:
Generally speaking, many researchers assert that Dysgraphia is a
handwriting trouble which cannot be elucidated by intellectual
deficiencies.
It has been claimed by Ajuriaguerra & Auzias (1975) that tensional or
affective difficulties or ignorance of a language can be provoked by
unlikable circumstances and eventually leads to Dysgraphia.
The opposite of Ajuriaguerra & Auzias is claimed by Maeland (1991).
He claims that Dysgraphia reflects a maturational delay of a
neurological or perceptual nature, thus preventing early specialization of
language functioning. As a result this leads to language difficulties with
regards.
38
Sovik, another leading researcher, has said that the primary fundamentals
of a child's writing includes in addition to other abilities, the child's
previously acquired skill set in the linguistic field counts a lot. He claims
Dysgraphia to be a psychomotor disorder.
Malloy-Miller (1995), similarly to Sovik, describe Dysgraphia as bad
handwriting that is mainly unreadable due to mild motor problems.
Nevertheless, contrary to Sovik, they do not allocate the disorder to
defect/s in cognition.
Students diagnosed with Dysgraphia quite often suffer from difficulties

with arrangement, order and logical sequencing. There is also a tendency
to mix letters and numbers in formulas, also writing mix-ups in terms of
spelling, punctuation, etc. What seems to be a surface problem (poor
handwriting, writing words backwards, reversing letters and numbers,
writing letters out of order) actually is related to construction processing.
39
Types of Dysgraphia:
There are three principle types in all and some people may even have a
combination of two or all three:
Dyslexic Dysgraphia:
Dyslexic Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder in which the person suffers
both the symptoms of Dyslexia & Dysgraphia. Due to lack of appropriate
neurological coordination between head, arm, hand and eye movements
etc., people have trouble in both writing and reading.
Children mostly learn to deal with such problems in a number of ways e.g.
by adjusting their position in a chair and aiding the arm to write properly.
Although Dyslexia and Dysgraphia apparently seem to be unrelated
but are often found to be together. In case of Dyslexic Dysgraphia, the
finger tapping speed, a way of recognizing motor difficulties is normal.
Childrens copied work may appear to be comparatively reasonable but on
the other hand the spellings are bad very often.
Writing may be muddled at times for e.g. in s typical case the same letter
may be written over and over again. Another instance is the addition of
strokes to a letter that arent required.
40
Motor Dysgraphia:
This type of Dysgraphia is caused by a deficiency in ones motor skills.
There are many symptoms of Motor dysgraphia including weak muscles,
poor handiness etc. Simple Letter construction requires severe effort and a
lot of time to accomplish such simple tasks. A key indication is that the
finger tapping speed of such individuals is also below normal.
Spatial Dysgraphia:
A general definition of spatial Dysgraphia is that it is a deficiency in the
understanding of space. The copied or written work of people who suffer
from spatial Dysgraphia is unreadable however not fine motor based.
People suffering from this form of Dysgraphia may write down illegibly
because of a abrasion or wound on the right side of the brain. This case is
evident also in the form of abnormal spacing between letters during
cursive hand writing. Also, it has been observed that persons suffering
from this type of dysgraphia may write down words at a slanting angle.
41
Phonological Dysgraphia:
In this type of Dysgraphia people are unable to remember phonemes and
mix them appropriately to produce the desired result. Normally this results
in writing and spelling irregularities.
Lexical Dysgraphia:
Lexical Dysgraphia is more common in languages such as English and
French. This type of Dysgraphia is uncommon in children. The
characteristic of these languages that make them more vulnerable to
Lexical Dysgraphia is that they are less phonetic than a language like
Spanish. In this type of Dysgraphia a person can spell but for that
purpose relies on standard sound-to-letter patterns.
Stress and Dysgraphia:

Stress is one of the factors that is most common and quite often associated
with Dysgraphia. Quite often people diagnosed with Dysgraphia
easily become frustrated with their writing. This aggravation can cause
them a lot of stress and can further be the cause of related illnesses.
42
Characteristics & Indications of Dyslexia:
Feeling pain in hands and arms during writing
Unwanted use of erasers
Students frequently mix up upper case letters with lower case letters
Inconsistency in letters formation or incomplete letters
Serious misusage of margins and lines
incompetent speed of copying material from board
Consistently required oral cues during writing
The more emphasis on visual activities as compared to writing
Orthographical skills may also create problem with spelling while

writing lengthy passages
Having great interpretation difficulty during writing
May often complaint about pain in hands and arms during writing
43
Deep Dyslexia:
Cannot read out fresh vocabulary words with their sounds
May also commit errors due to inactive blindness and misuse the
semantic, revolve becomes revolt
Mostly commit derivational and inflectional mistake lovely might be

lively
Change the function of words example all and also
May also suffer from problems when they have to read words in
isolation
Get confused or failed in the decoding of complex words
Slow and inaccurate in reading
Fear in the learning of new words and spelling
Pre-school
May talk slowly and with shyness
Often suffer from great difficulty when encounter rhymes
These students may have difficulty in the pronunciation of words like

burger and bugler
May also be found slow in the learning of new vocabulary words
Commonly found as unable in the learning of right words.
44
Often face problem in the memorization of digits and names of week

days
May not be able to remember the color, shapes and directions
Kindergarten
Students also suffer from great anguish while learning words with their
corresponding sounds
Students really find it hard to remember the sounds of individual

words in isolation
Face problems in the learning of spelling with sounds
Focus on text for recognizing the words.
High School and fourth grade
These students have records of reading and writing mistakes
Show extreme hesitation in reading loudly
Mostly read slowly and laboriously
Always avoid extensive reading or reading for pleasure
Children have great difficulty in spelling, cant use easier words

successfully in writing due to spelling difficulty
45
Dyslexia and Related Disorders
Read the content more than once for comprehension and need to read
again and again for complete understanding
Reading speed is abnormal and slow than standard and may also find
difficulty in recalling whatever they have read.
Difficulty in fluent reading, may add or omit words during reading
Cant focus on one task, often derailed and start again
Difficulty in focusing on the page, required a lot of effort in doing so

and its really tiring
Get confused in reading with similar words
Characteristics & Indications of Dysgraphia:
Handwriting is sometimes almost impossible to read
Writing something with hand always required a lot of effort
Letter construction is most of the time bizarre
Steadily striving hard to make the pen, do what you want
Abnormal hand and body posture
Unnecessary use of erasers
Severe irregularity in the formation of letters
46
Irregular letter sizes and shapes
Unfinished cursive letters
Misuse of line and margin
Poor organization on the page
Insufficient pace in copying from board
Slow speed of writing
Extremely speedy way of writing
Serious dependence on visualization to observe how the hands move

while writing.
Firm, strange penmanship along with bizarre posture
Unreadable orthographical expression
Show hesitation while writing and drawing
Incomplete words in sentences and paragraphs
Trouble in the organization of ideas while writing
Tight & awkward pencil grip
47
pressing harder to compensate for loss of control
illegible handwriting
Unfinished work
Avoiding writing activities
Saying words too loud while writing
Difficulties with grammar
48
CHAPTER NO: 3
METHODOLOGY
This chapter defines the research method and the procedure of records
gathering, that is required to investigate researchers own created
hypothesis and theoretical structure that has been jotted down previously.
This study identifies the nature of problems faced by dyslexic students in
orthographical expression (dysgraphia) at primary level in Pakistani
background. For the confirmation of accurate results, it is really important
49
to select a precise line of action for the research. Next section of study is
offering us gist of the study objectives.
As far as objectives of this study are concern these are very clear in the
researchers mind and researcher wants to make them vivid for viewers.
First of all as the main topic has described that researchers study
objectives to pinpoint the problems faced by dyslexic students in
orthographical expression (dysgraphia) at primary level. Second important
objective is how language is affected due to dyslexia and dysgraphia and
what are the language areas that are manifesting the problems.
Another objective is to find out how dysgraphia and to what extent it
creates hindrances in the individuals writing. It explains how reading and
writing are interrelated. One key objective of this study is to make people
aware of such educational problems and motivate them that all such
educational problems can be resolvable and curable .Special students can
recover from such impairment with activities. That will help them in their
educational career. The core intention of this research is to discover, what
are the common features of dyslexia and dysgraphia .We can also say
what comes first and what comes later ,which term reinforce the other.
The methodology of this research is based on two approaches qualitative
and quantitative approach. Through quantitative approach data is collected
from instructors and parents by using a questionnaire. The numbers of
50
participants from instructors are four and same on the other hand,
(parents). All the questions are concise, well defined and related to the
different aspects of the topic. The number of questions varies in each
questionnaire and they have been set according to the objectives of the
study. Both have same answerable options, called lickert scale.
Date has been collected by questionnaires which are quantifiable and

results are mentioned in statistical form. The qualitative approach has been
used in semi structure interviews, which has been conducted with four
field experts out of ten. They have given best of their opinion on the given
questions. The numbers of questions are approximately ten in interviews
and all of them are open ended. . All data, quantitative and qualitative both
has been analyzed separately and results have been) formulated for final
conclusions.
Research design:
The priority of this research design is to give a support in a well organized
way so that the researcher can accomplish the targeted goals with
reliability and accuracy. The type of this study is descriptive that explore
the problems faced by dyslexic students in orthographical expression
(dysgraphia) at primary level in the Pakistani context. This sort of
investigation requires the support in shape of statistical facts in relation to
51
the sample that has been observed. It can explain with " how, where,
when, what and who " of a state of affairs, not what reason is behind it.
Consequently, most of the time descriptive approach of research is applied
when aim is to offer the details of objectives in a well organized way.
Population:
Researcher has targeted population of three groups and each group has ten
members. All of them are equally important in this study and are directly
or indirectly related with this educational problem. First group is related to
field experts of dyslexia and dysgraphia mostly head of special education
department across the city. Data has been collected from them by semi
structured interviews. Almost ten questions in each form and further
probing in questions was need based .Experts cited their opinion in detail
and this data has been later on used for the final results after comparing
with other data .Second group of instructors who teach dyslexic and
dysgraphic students. Questionnaires were used for data collection, more or
less fifteen questions were in that and data is collected through it. All
questions were close ended and with lickert scale options. Last group is
based on parents of dyslexic and dysgraphic students. Parents
questionnaire is following the same instructors pattern.
52
Sample:
As above mentioned that researcher has three targeted groups and more or
less in each group there are ten members. As a sample researcher selected
four people randomly from field experts and same sample size from
instructors group. Last group is related with parents of dyslexic and
dysgraphic students and again only four members were chosen from
parents group.
Instruments:
For this study, researcher has selected two approaches qualitative and
quantitative. Through quantitative approach researcher has selected two
close ended questionnaires in which, there are more or less fifteen
questions in each. First questionnaire is for parents and second one is for
instructors. Data has been collected in statistical forms this was the core
purpose of this instruments. It gives accurate and valid information and on
the other hand it is easy to represent the data via this approach after
analysis.
Second instrument that researcher has chosen is from qualitative approach.

The semi structured interviews have been conducted with field experts of
53
dyslexia and dysgraphia. Ten basic questions were asked and further
probing was done on the base of need. Answers of the questions were
recorded on pages, information given by field experts. All these responses
were in descriptions that are used as a result of the questions and this data
is analyzed.
Unit of data analysis:

Data analysis is important part of any research and should always be
decided in the earlier stages of it. It will make you confident and your
actions prompt. In this research data is collected from three different
groups, analyzed and represented separately. First group is based on field
experts and data is represented in the descriptive form. Ten questions are
presented in this questionnaire. Answers that are in shape of description
are used as results. On the other hand we have four instructors group; data
is collected from them in statistical form because questions are close
ended. Data is analyzed and results are presented with the help of bar
charts. Same process has been adopted in the case of third group. Parents
answered in the same way as instructors did. Data is presented with the
help of bar charts and line charts.
54
CHAPTER NO:4
Data Analysis
After collection of data, the researcher prepared the
statistics for analysis; organized it for maximum
information; and analyzed the data both qualitatively and
quantitatively.
55
Research Tools
Two types of tools for data collection were used to
make the process reliable and accurate, by the
researcher.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Two different sets of questionnaires were
prepared i.e. one for parents and the other for instructors.
The questionnaire designed for both, consisted of close
ended questions.
The questionnaire designed for the instructors
consisted of fourteen questions and also options were
provided in the form of Likerts scale. The parents
questionnaire is almost of the same design however, the
number of questions here is twelve questions along with
Likerts scale option.
1
strongly
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly
agree
disagree
56
Interviews
The interviews were conducted in semi-structured form.
Four field experts were asked to provide their responses
to the researchers questions; and the responses were
documented in written form.
Parents Questionnaire
1. Your child has poor penmanship.
strongly
strongly
agree neutral disagree
agree
disagree
Numbers of
1
25%
0%
25%
25%
25%
Response
Percentage
In response 25% strongly agreed, 25% remained neutral, 25% strongly disagreed
and 25% disagreed. This statement shows that poor penmanship varies from
child to child.
57
2.
Your child ever complains that it hurts to write.
strongly
strongly
disagree
agree
agree neutral
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
100%
0%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
All parents showed 100% consensus that their child complains that it hurts
him while writing so its a genuine issue of dysgraphic children.
3.
Your child has great difficulty to convey message in writing.
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
1
25%
25%
25%
0%
25%
Response
Percentage
58
In response 25% strongly agreed, 25% agreed and 25 % remained neutral

and 25% even disagreed with the statement.
strongly
strongly
disagree
agree
agree neutral
disagree
Numbers of
1
25%
75%
0%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
4. Your child fails to use capitals and punctuation correctly.
In response of this statement 75% parents agreed while 25% showed

strong agreement.
59
5. Your childs anxiety level rises up before writing the assignments.
strongly
strongly
disagree
agree
agree neutral
disagree
Numbers of
1
25%
25%
0%
25%
25%
Response
Percentage
50% agreed in which 25% responded strongly and 25%only agreed. On

the other hand the situation is entirely opposite i.e. 25% strongly disagreed
whereas the other 25% disagreed. So answers were 50% in yes and 50% in
no.
60
6. Your child feels difficulty to grip the pencil.
strongly
strongly
disagree
agree
agree neutral
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
100%
0%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
100% parents agreed that so it is an obvious and known problem.
7. Your child uses the keyboard easily as compared to written work.
strongly
strongly
disagree
agree
agree neutral
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
50%
50%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
50% parents agreed and the other 50% gave neutral answer.
61
8. Your child averts to write the extended things like coloring and artwork
strongly
strongly
disagree
agree
agree neutral
disagree
Numbers of
1
25%
0%
25%
50%
0%
Response
Percentage
50% of the parents disagreed, 25% agreed and the last 25% were neutral.
9.
Your child feels tired quickly when writing.
strongly
strongly
Disagree
agree
Agree Neutral
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
50%
25%
25%
0%
Response
Percentage
50% of the parents gave their answers in agreement, 25% were

neutral and the remaining 25% disagreed.
62
10. Your childs sitting posture is abnormal.
strongly
strongly
Disagree
agree
Agree Neutral
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
25%
25%
50%
0%
Response
Percentage
50% parents disagreed, 25% agreed and the remaining 25% were neutral.
11. Your child is unable to use line and margin accurately.
strongly
strongly
disagree
agree
Agree Neutral
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
50%
0%
50%
0%
Response
Percentage
50% parents agreed with this statement and the other 50% disagreed.
63
12. Your childs orthographical expression is illegible.
strongly
strongly
disagree
agree
Agree
Neutral
disagree
0%
0%
0%
75%
25%
Numbers of
Response
Percentage
All 100% respondents disagreed out which 25% strongly disagreed.
64
Parents Responses
180
166.6
160
140
120
100
100
80
60
58.3
41.6
33.3
40
20
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
Netural
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
65
Data Interpretation
Parents Questionnaire
The Parents questionnaires were analyzed to evaluate and interpret the

parents responses. The findings were as follows:
In the answer of first question that child has poor penmanship 25%
strongly agreed on the statement and 25% remained neutral,25% strongly
disagreed with the statement and 25% only disagreed. The results thus
establish that poor penmanship vary from child to child.
On the other hand responding to this statement, all parents showed 100%
consensus that their child complains that it hurts him while writing so its
a genuine issue of dysgraphic children.
The third statement had diverse responses. 25% of the parents agreed
strongly and another 25% agreed that their child has great difficulty to
convey message in writing. However 25 % were neutral and another 25%
even disagreed with the statement.
66
In response of this statement that your child fails to use capitals and
punctuation correctly 75% parents agreed and other than that another
25% said they strongly agreed. This shows that this particular problem is
100% reported by parents.
In the analysis of the next question, the researcher found great variation. In
response to the statement that childs anxiety level rises up before writing
the assignments 25% responded by strongly agreeing and another 25%
agreed only. One the other hand situation is entirely opposite since 25%
strongly disagreed and the last 25% disagreed. So the responses were 50%
in yes and 50% in no.
The statement whether the child feels difficulty in gripping the pencil was
responded by parents in an over whelming 100%agreement. Therefore it is
an obvious and known problem by parents.
In response to the next statement Your child uses the keyboard easily as
compared to written work 50% parents agreed and the same amount i.e.
50% gave neutral answer.
In another statement i.e. Your child averts to writes the extended things
67
like coloring and artwork, 50% of the parents disagreed, 25% agreed and
the remaining 25% were neutral.
In response to the statement Your child tired quickly when writing, 50%
of the parents gave their answers in agreement, 25% remained neutral and
the remaining 25% disagreed.
In response to the statement question Your childs sitting posture is

abnormal 50% parents disagreed, 25% agreed and 25% chose neutral .So
parents did not agree with this statement-question.
50% of the parents agreed with the statement Your child is unable to use
line and margin accurately and the other 50% were disagreed.
Last but not the least 75% of the parents disagreed and another 25%
strongly disagreed with this statement Your childs orthographical
expression is illegible. Hence the parents formed a consensus and
unanimously denied this statement.
68
Instructors Questionnaire
1.
These students are not poor speller:
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
25%
25%
50%
0%
Response
Percentage
50% disagreed, 25% remained neutral and the last 25% showed agreement
hence it was concluded that these students are poor spellers.
69
2.
These students write slowly and laboriously:
strongly
agree
strongly
agree neutral Disagree
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
100%
0%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
Instructors showed 100% consensus with this statement and the statistics
show that this is a serious issue of dysgraphic students.
3. These students do not mix up letters order in writing:
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
25
0%
75%
0%
Response
Percentage
70
Almost 75% respondents disagreed with this statement and only 25%
agreed. Therefore it was concluded that these students mix up letters.
4. These students get confused with reverses letters "b" for "d" or "p" for "q",
even whole words:
strongly
agree
strongly
agree
neutral
disagree
disagree
0%
50%
0%
0%
50%
Numbers of
Response
Percentage
50% instructors agreed where as the remaining 50% disagreed strongly.
71
5. These students do not exchange the last letter of a word with the first letter:
strongly
strongly
agree
agree
neutral
disagree
disagree
0%
0%
50%
25%
25%
Numbers of
Response
Percentage
The answer of this statement is divided into three parts: 50% were neutral,
25% strongly disagreed and 25% disagreed in response
6. Students do not spell a word in several different ways.
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
50%
25%
25%
0%
Response
Percentage
72
50 % strongly agreed, 25% were neutral and 25% were in disagreement.
7.
Students can copy notes from the board accurately:
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
0%
0%
100%
0%
Response
Percentage
All respondents i.e. 100% disagreed with this statement.
8.
These Students do not mix up similar words like p, b, d, q, m, n,w :
Strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
0%
0%
25%
0%
50%
25%
Response
Percentage
73
50% showed disagreement, 25% strongly disagreed and only 25% agreed.
Hence the result is clear that 75% disagreed while only 25% agreed with
this statement.
9. Students do not feel difficulty with punctuation in writing:
Strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
2
50%
0%
0%
25%
25%
Response
Percentage
50% disagreed, 25% strongly disagreed and the remaining 25% disagreed.
Therefore, the answer of this statement is still undecided.
74
10. Students have lack of coherence in contents during writing:
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
100%
0%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
Researchers found another statement where all instructors unanimously.

One can understanding easily, these students have serious writing
problems.
75
11. Students often mix up capitals with lower case letters:
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
0
0%
100%
0%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
Once again 100% respondents were in complete agreement.

12. These students have Irregular letter sizes and shapes, unfinished letters in
orthographical expression:
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
2
50%
50%
0%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
In response to this query, 50% of the instructors strongly agreed where as

the remaining 50% strongly disagreed.
76
13. These students answer the questions poorly in writing:
strongly
agree
strongly
disagree
Numbers of
2
50%
50%
0%
0%
0%
Response
Percentage
All of the instructors agreed out of which 50% displayed strong

agreement.
77
14. Students have difficulty with pencil grip:
strongly
agree
strongly
agree
neutral
disagree
disagree
0%
0%
0%
50%
50%
0%
Numbers
of
Response
Percentage
50% of the instructors remained neutral where as the remaining 50%

disagreed with this statement.
78
Instructors responses
Agree, 171.4
180
160
140
Disagree, 114.2
120
100
80
60
40
Strongly agree,
35.7
Strongly disagree,
42.8
Neutral, 42.8
20
0
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
79
Data Interpretation
Instructors Questionnaire
The data from the instructors questionnaire was statistically analyzed and
interpreted with the help of the various copies of the questionnaire. The
first statement that was answered by the instructors was whether these
students are poor spellers. 50% of the instructors replied in disagreement,
25% responses were neutral and the remaining 25% showed agreement.
Therefore it was concluded that these students are in fact poor spellers.
Similarly in response to the second query, instructors showed 100%
consensus with this statement that these students write slowly and
laboriously and thus it is considered to be a serious issue among
dysgraphic students.
Almost 75% respondents disagreed with the statement these students do
not mix up the order of letters in writing and only 25% agreed. Hence the
majority reported that these students do in fact mix up letters.
80
The next statement is quite interesting i.e. students get confused with
reverse letters e.g. "b" for "d" or "p" for "q", even whole words. 50%
instructors agreed with this statement whereas the other 50% strongly
disagreed.
Students do not exchange the last letter of a word with the first letter
was the next statement-question. The answer of this statement is divided
into three parts since 50% responses were neutral, 25% strongly disagreed
and 25% disagreed in the response to this statement.
In response to the next statement Students do not spell a word in several
different ways, 50% agreed, 25% were neutral, 25% were in
disagreement. Therefore the result can be simply concluded that these
students spell the word in different ways.
All of the respondents i.e. 100% disagreed with the statement that
students can copy notes from the board accurately. Therefore it means
that students cant copy properly from board.
The next statement question was these students do not mix up similar
words like p, b, d, q, m, n, w. Instructors responded to this query with
50% strong disagreement, 25% disagreed and only 25% agreed. Therefore
it was inferred by the researcher that such students do have a tendency to
81
mix up letters a lot.
The next statement-question was students do not feel difficulty with

punctuation in writing. In response 50% agreed, 25% strongly disagreed
and 25% were agreed. So the answer of this statement is undecided.
The above was followed up with a question whether these students have
lack of coherence in contents during writing. All responses were 100% in
affirmation. One can therefore understand easily that these students have
serious writing problems.
Similar to the above all instructors were also found in agreement that
Students often mix up capitals with lower case letters another unanimous
verdict.
Dysgraphic students have many orthographical issues; one of them is that
these students have irregular letter sizes and shapes and unfinished letters
in their orthographical expression. Upon asking this question the
instructors showed 100% agreement, 50% of which in fact strongly
agreed.
To sum it all up, it was found that more than one statement generated
unanimous and 100% agreement by the instructors. Another one of these
observations was when enquired whether students answer the questions
poorly in writing. All instructors confirmed this out of which 50% strongly
82
agreed.
Last but not least in this statement we have mixed up responses like 50%
were neutral and 50% disagreed with the statement that students have
difficulty with pencil grip. Obviously, such responses can change due to
number of factors.
Analysis of Interviews
First interview:
Researcher conducted an interview, with the field expert of dyslexia/
83
dysgraphia at AMIN MAKTAB Gulberg, Lahore.

Duration: 15 minutes
1. What is dyslexia?
Ans: Dyslexia is a hereditary problem that hinders in the reading
skills.
2. What is dysgraphia?
Ans: Dysgraphia is a sub-branch of dyslexia but it is particular with
orthographical expression.
3. Are these both terms interrelated?
Ans: Yes both are inter-related and it was considered as a chicken egg
question in the beginning.
4. Which area of language is being affected by dysgraphia?

Ans: Dysgraphia mostly affects writing related area and we can locate
them in language example punctuation, cohesion and coherence.
5. Are these students poor speller? Why or why not?
84
Ans: No doubt these students are poor spellers and to my knowledge

they have serious problems like memory short fall.
6. Do these students mix up capitals with lower case letters? Why
or why not?
Ans: Majority of dyslexic and dysgraphic students mix-up lower and
upper case and I can quantify them up to 70% but reason behind
this is still unknown to me.
7. Do these children have uneven letter construction, incomplete
words, during writing, why or why not?
Ans: I am refuting with the statement that has been given in question
because I have never encountered with a dysgraphic student who
has above mentioned disabilities.
8. Do these students have very abnormal pen grip, how do you
look this issue?
Ans: It is well known symptom of dysgraphia in which brain does not
convey complete message to hands in shape of signals.
9. Do these Students complain that it really hurt when they try to

write something in length?
Ans: Such reports are often reported by students and their parents and
especially when students try to write other than their usual routine.
85
10. Any other language and behavior related phenomena that you
consider to be highlighted in such students?
Ans: These students frequently require encouragement and lack of
practice makes them unconfident.
Second interview
Researcher conducted an interview, with the field expert of dyslexia/

dysgraphia at AMIN MAKTAB Gulberg, Lahore.
Ans: Dyslexia is a learning disorder that is totally misunderstood, its not
permanent.
Ans: Dysgraphia is same as dyslexia but it is solely related with writing.
86

Ans: Yes, both are interrelated but these can be separated on many levels.

Ans: All activities that are related to writing are affected like drawing and
painting.

Ans: Yes, most students of dysgraphia are poor speller and reason is
simply their disorder.
6. Do these students mix up capitals with lower case letters? Why or

why not?
Ans: Frequently they mix up lower case and upper case letters due to
defect and irregular working of motor cortex.
7. Do these students have Irregular letter sizes and shapes,
unfinished letters, in writing, why or why not?
Ans: Yes students reflect such behavior and commit many mistakes and
they are common as well.
87
8. Do these students have very abnormal pen grip, how do you look
this issue?
Ans: They grasp the pen tightly and without doing this, they are not
capable of writing and it is curable.

Ans: This may happen in particular context or situation but I have never
experienced anything that has been mentioned above.
Ans: These students should be taught in special school at least for
considerable time. They should be given training how to respond.
88
89
Third interview
Researcher conducted an interview, with the field expert of

dyslexia/dysgraphia at RISING SUN, Defense, Lahore.
Ans: Literal definition of dyslexia is simple dys means not or
difficulty,lex refers to lexical and the suffix ia denotes to
something is present. So we can say dyslexia is a learning disorder
that creates problem while learning of words.
2.What is dysgraphia?
Ans: Dysgraphia is also self explanatory word as dyslexia but this
disability is all about writing.
3.Are these both terms interrelated?
Ans: In fact both are interrelated but dyslexia was considered to be mother
of all disorder in the beginning.
90

Ans: Writing activities.
5. Are these students poor spellers? Why or why not?

Ans: I agree they are poor spellers but we have not reached to any
conclusion what are the reasons behind it.
why not?
Ans: According to my experiences they mix up because they also have
serious problem ADHD.
7. Do these students have inconsistency in letters formation,
incomplete words, in orthographical expression, why or why not?
Ans: Yes this problem exists and it is due to immature growth of brain.
this issue?
Ans: Nobody will deny from this fact that these students have abnormal
pen grip but it get improve with time.
91

Ans: It can be due to lack of practice. I have no record or evidence for this
sort of problem.
Ans: These students perform well in verbal communication but poorly in
creative writing, so attention should be paid to both skills.
92
Fourth interview
Researcher conducted an interview, with the field expert of

dyslexia/dysgraphia at RISING SUN Defense, Lahore.
Ans: Dyslexia is a word, which is used to define learning disorder and that
affects the comprehension, general understanding along with
accuracy in reading.
Ans: Its a cognitive disorder that reflects the lack of capabilities in
writing.
Ans: Dyslexia is broader term and dysgraphia comes under this but now
dysgraphia itself is a comprehensible subject.
93
Ans: Dysgraphia is all about writing disabilities so writing skills can most
probably be affected.

Ans: Of course these students are poor spellers because of neurobiological
disorder.
why not?
Ans: Due to poor perception students got confused and mix up upper case
letters with lower case while writing.
7. Do these students have inconsistent letter formatting, incomplete
alphabets, in writing, why or why not?
Ans: Yes, these students have irregular size of letters mostly because of
defect in motor cortex.
this issue?
Ans: Large number of students have abnormal pen grip and this is a great
problem in writing.
94
Ans: Some children get hurt because they grip the pen firmly, so they get
tired quickly as well.
Ans: No.
95
Interpretation of interviews
Four field experts were interviewed and a gist of all four interviews is
being provided by the researcher in shape of description.
All experts defined the term dyslexia in their own words but the
common word was disability and disorder. All experts were agreed that
dyslexia is a disorder and disability that causes learning hindrances. While
responding to dysgraphia experts opinion is almost same that its a subbranch of dyslexia and it is a particular disorder of orthographical
expression.
When the researcher tried to find the inter-relation of both terms

dyslexia and dysgraphia, experts responded by stating that they both
are interrelated but in the beginning dyslexia was on front foot and
considered to be a mother of all disorders. Now situation has changed and
dysgraphia itself has become a complete subject.
When enquired that which area is mostly affected by dysgraphia, experts
gave unanimous decision that writing was the related area. Two experts
mentioned some language area like cohesion and coherence along with
punctuation.
96
The researcher analyzed the questions that were related to dysgraphic

symptoms and one of them was this, are these students poor speller and
response was 100% yes and experts cited different reasons like memory
shortfall, neurobiological disorder.
Same as above, in another question, experts responded that mostly

dysgraphic student mix-up lowers case and upper case letters. No
concrete reason is given by experts but one claim that it is due to ADHD.
We have quite mix response about this statement that students have
irregular letter size shapes and unfinished letters in writing. So two experts
favored the statement and two experts refuted. So we can understand that
above phenomena changed with situation and context.
All experts agreed with the statement that these students have a very
abnormal pen grip and they grasp the pen tightly and it makes them tired
and writing is challenging and troublesome for them. The reason is also
given by experts that brain dont give proper signals to hands, that why
students cant judge how much forcefully they need to grip the pen.
While answering the query regarding students complain that it hurts them
97
when they try to write something lengthy, experts have great

disagreement. Experts answered that it can be due to lack of practice or
any other factor. Two experts recognized it as a problem of dysgraphic
students.
When the researcher asked the field experts about their opinion in the
matter of dysgraphic students behavior or any other phenomena that
needs to be highlighted, expert gave a very insightful feedback like these
students often need encouragement and regular practice is necessary for
them as lack of practice makes them confused.
Another researcher highlighted the issue that these students should be

taught in special school for at least three months and these schools make
them learn how to respond towards new thing.
Last but not least another expert shed light on the behavior of these
students that they can perform well in verbal communication but are quite
poor in creative writing, hence equal attention should be paid to both
skills.
98
CHAPTER NO:5
CONCLUSION
This research is set out to investigate what are the problems faced by
dyslexic students in orthographical expression (dysgraphia) at primary
level. The topic of this present study is: the identification of the problems
faced by dyslexic students in orthographical expression (dysgraphia) at
primary levels.
99
Findings
1. Parents showed 100% consensus that their children complain that

it hurts them while writing, so its a genuine issue of dysgraphic
children. To some extent instructors and field experts have the
same opinion that writing is a difficult task for dysgraphic children
and researcher found it curable in the opinion of experts.
2. Students fail to use punctuation correctly and 75% of parents
agreed with it where as only 25% strongly agreed with this fact and
instructors and field experts supported the parents opinion and
declared it as a genuine problem of dysgraphic students.
3. One finding is that such children feel great difficulty in gripping a

pencil and they cant perform well with it; on the other hand they
can work well with the help of keyboard. Parents have supported
this finding.
4. Not all of the findings are 100% accurate. During the course of
research it was found that the responses were divided e.g. in case
of whether children avert to write, drawing and painting. 50%
100
disagreed, 25% remained neutral and 25% agreed, so researcher

couldnt build ultimate conclusion based on such findings.
5. Students write slowly and laboriously and instructors completely

agreed with this and researcher also found it, that dysgraphic
students have serious writing disorders.
6. Dysgraphic students cant copy accurately from board and

instructors totally agreed with this statement. Words seem to
jumble up to these students and that why they cant copy material
from board.
7.
Dyslexia and dysgraphia both are disorder and dyslexia affect

reading and dysgraphia affect writing but both are curable
according to our respondent field experts.
8. Both are interrelated and dyslexia was considered as a mother of

all disorders but later on segregation was done on many bases and
now dyslexia and dysgraphia are treated separately.
101
9. In the response of dysgraphia characteristic, more or less field

experts have same opinion, they consider them poor speller and
often mix up lower and upper case letters.
10. Some children complain that it hurts them when they try to write
something length here some experts refute and consider it as a
coincidence.
11. All experts agreed with this statement dysgraphic students have a
very abnormal pen grip. Experts express different reasons e.g. one
considers it as a neurobiological disorder and rest of the experts
call it a defect of motor cortex.
102
Recommendations
1. An important factor that creates problems for writer beginners is

pencil grip. New writers should be encouraged and taught to use a
regular and proficient pencil grip. The space between the finger
and the pencil tip should be at least 3/4 - 1 inch. Force on the
pencil needs to be moderate, neither too light nor too heavy. The
direction of the pencil should be about 45%. The page should be
slanted towards the writing arm. For adults with long-standing
poor pencil grip, instructors need to decide whether the effort to
change their habit is valuable or not.
2. A word bank of key words or ideas created before writing is
extremely valuable as a beginning pont for struggling writers. This
list of spellings allows them to write with greater fluency. They
will not get stuck on the spellings of words used frequently in their
writing assignment.
3. Sequencing problems related to dysgraphia can cause spelling
difficulties. As mentioned earlier, some learners may also have
dyslexia, which can interfere with language processing and
acquisition of the sound/symbol system. Adults with dyslexia or
dysgraphia need direct, systematic and multi-sensory instruction in
103
the code of English for both reading and spelling. If they can at
least spell phonetically, they can use a spellchecker that recognizes
phonetic approximations and provides suggestions of correct
spellings.
4. After making a detailed study to identify the salient and common

problems faced by dysgraphic students, it is suggested by the
researcher that since some of these problems are due to disorder
and others are related to behavior, such children should be dealt
with care and patience and it should be kept in mind that this
disorder is curable (to some extent).
5. Since parents, instructors and field experts, all confirmed and

identified the language areas that are affected with dysgraphia, it is
suggested that children diagnosed with dysgraphia should be
helped in these areas.
6. Students face a range of problems that hinder their learning.
Teachers should bear in mind that students are unable to grip the
pen properly; they cannot copy accurately from the board and even
get confused with similar shapes and words. Therefore all factors
104
contribute to their difficulty and require compassion and help from

teachers and parents.
7. One key objective of this study was to make people aware with
such impairments that are related with education and above all to
convey this message that these disabilities are curable. You can
teach affected children with activities.
105
There are many remedies for helping the student of dyslexia and
dysgraphia. Below is a list of accommodations, modifications, and
techniques to assist the students.
1. Be tolerant and optimistic when your students are practicing

handwriting.
2. Motivate them for proper grip, position, and paper positioning.
3. Allow the use of a word processor.
4. Use oral exams and allow students to dictate assignments to a
score.
5. Avoid criticisms for sloppiness or illegibility.
6. Give extra time for writing tasks.
7. Use writing paper with raised lines.
8. Let students to use a line width that is most relaxed for them.
106
9. Decrease the quantity of copying, desirable to complete an

assignment.
10. Give confidence to them for using visual organizers to assist in
outlining and brainstorming for complete writing assignments.
11. Encourage the student to use orthographical exercises when he/she
becomes exhausted.
12. Have students complete writing activities in even small steps.
13. Do not mark poor spelling on first drafts, in-class assignments, or
on tests.
However, depending on age, student may be held
responsible for spelling in final drafts completed at home.
14. Remove Neatness as grading criteria, except on computergenerated papers.
107
References
1. "Hudson, R.F., High, L. Al Otaiba, S. Dyslexia and the brain:
What does current research tellus? The Reading Teacher, 60(6),
506-515.." n.d.: n. pag. Print. 23 January 2013.
2. Spies, K. "Dysgraphia Effects One's Hand Writing the Way

Dyslexia Effects Reading." n.p., (Sep 19, 2007). Web. 11
December 2012.
3. M, Chivers. ""Definition of Dysgraphia (Handwriting Difficulty)."

Dyslexia A2Z. Retrieved , (1991. Web. 11 December 2012.
.
4. , D.V.M, Bishop, and M.J., Snowing. "Developmental dyslexia and
specific language impairment: same or different? Psychotically
bulletin 130:6, 858-886.." n.p., (2004). Web. 23 January 2013
5. Di Betta, Anna Maria, and Romani, Cristina. "Lexical learning and
dysgraphia in a group of adults with developmental dyslexia."
Aston University, 2000. Web. 23 January 2013.
108
6. Mortley, Dr Jane, and Enderby, Professor Pam. "Using a computer

to improve functional writing in a patient with severe dysgraphia."
n.p., n.d. Web. 23 January 2013.
7. BINTIYAHYA, NURHIDAYAH. "Web Based Expert System to

Diagnose Dysgraphia Symptoms among ChUdren Using Fuzzy
Logic Algorithm." Universiti Teknologi MARA, 30 May 2007.
Web. 23 January 2013.
8. Borjes, Jewell, Burns, Kayla, Grona, Dana, Hale, Robin, Keller,
Lisa, and Smith, Nancy. "dysgraphia handbook for kerrville I.S.D
2010." n.p., 2010. Web. 23 January 2013
9. Capasso, Rita. "Spelling and dysgraphia." Gabriele Miceli

Universita` Cattolica and Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Rome,
Italy, and Harvard University, Cambridge, USA Rita Capasso
Universita` Cattolica and Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Rome,
Italy , 2006. Web. 23 January 2013.
109
10. Naureen, Shazia, Sultana, Nosheen, and Drees Awan, Abou Bakar
I. "A Case Study of Dyslexia Child at the Primary Education Level
in Pakistan." n.p., 8 August 2011. Web. 23 January 2013.
11. R. Eilitz, MicheIle. "The nature of dysgraphic Handwriting in
Grade 1 children." Faculty of Graduate S tudies The University of
Western Ontario London, Ontario, 23 April 1999. Web. 23 January
2013
12. Hammond, Jill, Hercules, Fabian. "Understanding Dyslexia An

Introduction for Dyslexic Students in Higher Education." Scottish
Higher Education Funding Council, n.d.: n. pag. Print. 23 January
2013.
13. Deelstra, Helma. "Early Language and Motor Development of

Dyslexic Children." Utrecht University, (2006): n. pag. Print. 23
January 2013.
14. Tanner, Kathleen. "The lived experience of adults with dyslexia:
An exploration of the perceptions of their educational
experiences." Murdoch University, 1 February 2010. Web. 23
January 2013
110
15. "THE DYSLEXIA HANDBOOK REVISED 2007, UPDATED

2010." TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY AUSTIN, TEXAS
FEBRUARY 2007, UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2010, n.d.: n. pag.
Print. 23 January 2013.
16. Wyn Jones, Manon. "Investigating which processes influence

reading fluency in dyslexic and non-dyslexic groups." The
University of Edinburgh 2008, (2007): n. pag. Print. 23 January
2013.
17. D. Davis, Ronald with, M. Braun, Eldon. "THE GIFT OF

DYSLEXIA." n.d.: n. pag. Print. 23 January 2013.
18. "Special Font For Dyslexia?." December 2010, University of

Twente, (2010): n. pag. Print. 23 January 2013.
19. MICHAIL, KONSTANTINA. "DYSLEXIA: THE

EXPERIENCES OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WITH
DYSLEXIA." School of Education The University of Birmingham
Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT UK, (2010): n. pag. Print. 23
January 2013.
111
APPENDIX A
Questionnaire for parents
1. Your child has poor penmanship.

Strongly agree Agree
2.
Neutral strongly disagree
Disagree
Your child ever complains that it hurts to write.
Disagree
3. Your child has great difficulty to convey message in writing.
Disagree
112
4. Your child fails to use capitals and punctuation correctly.

Disagree
5. Your childs anxiety level rises up before writing the

assignments.
Disagree
6. Your child feels difficulty to grip the pencil.
Disagree
7. Your child uses the keyboard easily as compare to written

work.
Disagree
8. Your child averts to writes the extended things like coloring

and artwork
Disagree
113
9. Your child tired quickly when writing.

Disagree
10. Your childs sitting posture is abnormal.

Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
11. Your child is unable to use line and margin accurately.
Disagree
12. Your childs orthographical expression is illegible.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
114
APPENDIX B
Questionnaire for instructor
1. These students are not poor speller:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
2. These students write slowly and laboriously:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
3. These students do not mix up letters order in writing:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
4. These students get confused with reverses letters "b" for "d" or
"p" for"q", even whole words:
115
Neutral strongly disagree Disagree
5. These students do not exchange the last letter of a word with

the first letter:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
6. Students do not spell a word in several different ways.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
7. Students can copy notes from the board accurately:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
8. These Students do not mix up similar words like p,b,d,q,m,n,w
Strongly agree
strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree
Neutral
116
9. Students do not feel difficulty with punctuation in writing:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
10. Students have lack of coherence in contents during writing:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
11. Students often mix up capitals with lower case letters:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
12. These students have Irregular letter sizes and shapes,

unfinished letters in orthographical expression:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
13. These students answer the questions poorly in writing:
117
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
14. Students have difficulty with pencil grip:
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
strongly disagree
Disagree
118
APPENDIX C
Question for field experts
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
119

why not?
__________________________________________________________________
7. Do these students have Irregular letter sizes and shapes, unfinished

letters, in writing, why or why not?
__________________________________________________________________
this issue?
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
10. Any other language and behavior related phenomena that you consider
to be highlighted in such students?

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1

IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEMS FACED BY DYSLEXIC

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGES, LITERATURE

IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEMS FACED BY DYSLEXIC

Faculty of English Language, Literature &

CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM

It is strongly felt that this research is helpful for spreading awareness in

INTRODUCTION ............................................................. 1-3

LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................. 11

Stress and Dysgraphia ..................................................................31

Third Methodology .............................................................. 38

Research design ..............................................................................41

Four Data Analysis ............................................ 44

Data Interpretation .......................................................................53-56

Five Findings and Recommendations.......................87-88

The main purpose of this research is to explore the disabilities regarding

place and identification among other language disabilities. Dysgraphic

Background of dyslexia problem in Pakistan

create awareness amongst people. Governments help, although not

It was reported By Asad farooq on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at Karachi

Dyslexia Awareness Week 6th November 2011 onwards it was again

The research is being conducted for the identification of the problems

expression (Dysgraphia) at primary levels?

Students are Poor in grammar, sentence structure and in

Students commit erratic and irregular spelling errors frequently,

Students face problem in discrimination of upper case and lower

Delimitation in present study

Objectives of Present Study

To identify the nature of problems faced by dysgraphic students.

To highlight the language affected areas due to Dysgraphia.

To explain how and to what extent Dysgraphia hinders in

To give opportunity to understand this problem and its remedies

To find out role of dyslexia in dysgraphic disability.

Significance of the study

Pakistani context for increasing awareness with regard to this disability.

This study investigates the problems associated with a dysgraphic child of

=902necessary) definitions and then move on towards progressive and

and situation. The difficulties are didactically resistant (Stitching Dyslexia

Dyslexia: A Disability or Difficulty?

In the USA Dyslexia comes underneath the area of a particular learning

The Phonological Shortfall Theory:

kind at all. It can be safely concluded that Dyslexia cant be explained by

Temporal Processing Theory:

The Magno-cellular Theory:

from temporal working, free from acoustic, visual or motor modalities.

Rosen (2003) carried out a study in which he tried to establish which of

b) Cerebellar tests: 25% of the dyslexics displayed underperformance

The Double Shortfall Hypothesis:

This hypothesis postulates two reasons for Dyslexia, which is:

Dysgraphia is the delayed progress in, or acquired loss of the skill of

Dysgraphia as a particular learning disability that affects how easily

hand, that is, disabled handwriting, and sometimes spelling (The

The Disability Discrimination Act defined Dysgraphia as a medical

It has been described as writing skills (that.) are substantially below

educational background. Not so long ago, advance spelling ability was

As the research progressed on Dysgraphia, the first obvious question

cognitive analysis of Dyslexia. The answer was Yes. Motivated by the

By the end of the eighties, a holistic framework of the spelling

What Causes Dysgraphia?

DYSGRAPHIA - Usman Rasheed's MA ELT Thesis

DYSGRAPHIA - Usman Rasheed's MA ELT Thesis

DYSGRAPHIA - Usman Rasheed's MA ELT Thesis