EDUCATION REPORT - Learning Disabilities, Part 3: Dysgraphia

EDUCATION REPORT - Learning¹ Disabilities, Part 3: Dysgraphia
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, February 19, 2004

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.

People who have unusual difficulty with skills like reading, writing, listening or working with numbers may have a learning disability. We talked last week about dyslexia, a reading disorder². Today we discuss a condition with writing, called dysgraphia.

Writing is not an easy skill. It is both mental and physical. A person must be able to move the muscles in the hands and fingers to form letters and numbers. Some people are not able to move these muscles easily.

Experts say teachers and parents should suspect dysgraphia if they see handwriting that is unusually difficult to understand. Letters may be formed or spaced incorrectly. Capital letters may be in the wrong places.

Children with dysgraphia often hold their writing tools in an unusual position. They may also place the paper in an odd³ position for writing. The disorder generally appears when they first learn to write. Children continue to write wrong or misspelled words even after their teacher tries to show them the correct way.

 
National Institutes of Health
Experts at the National Institutes of Health say the cause of the disorder is not known. Some people with dysgraphia are able to improve their writing ability. But others are not. As with other disorders⁴, the most important part of treatment is for someone to first identify the problem.

There are some simple interventions⁵ that can help students with dysgraphia. For example, schools can give them more time to complete writing activities and provide help taking notes. Students might be permitted to type their work instead of having to write by hand. Teachers can also permit students to take examinations⁶ by speaking the answers instead of writing them.

Dysgraphia often appears with other learning disabilities. Some students may not be able to organize their thoughts and think about how to write at the same time. So a teacher might advise them to type their ideas first, without thinking about writing skills.

Experts say people with dysgraphia may be able to write well if they work slowly and develop their skills. Technology can help. One way to avoid the problems of handwriting is to use a computer. Students can use the computer spell checker to help make sure every word is correct.

We continue our series about learning disabilities next week. Our programs are on the Internet at www.unsv.com.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Steve Ember.

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 odd   

adj.奇特的；临时的；奇数的；n.[pl.]机会

参考例句：

• She looks a bit odd.I wonder what has happened to her.她的神色有些异样，不知出了什么事。
• He's an odd character and no mistake!他的确是个怪人！

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

6 examinations   

n.检查( examination的名词复数 )；考试；考查；试题

参考例句：

• He had been forced to incriminate himself in cross-examinations. 他在盘问中被迫受到牵连。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Examinations are hanging over her head—that's why she can't sleep at nights. 她大脑里想的都是考试，所以晚上无法入睡。 来自《简明英汉词典》