Step one: Compare your student’s handwriting with other students’ handwriting of the same age

Step two: Identify what is making his or her handwriting appear to be of poor quality:

Does his or her handwriting contain oversized letters and punctuation?
Are there inconsistencies in the size of consecutive letter?
Are letters and words written at an inconsistent angle?
Is his or her handwriting spaced inconsistently?
Are letters and words written in the wrong order?
Does his or her handwriting contain more spelling mistakes than you would expect?
Does he or she often cross out his or her work and rewrite it?

Step three: Identify why the handwriting is of poor quality – What causes dysgraphia? A student with dysgraphia will often have problems with his or her language processing, fine motor skills, memory recall, pen/pencil grip, handwriting posture and/or visual spacing.

Dysgraphia Help offer an online dysgraphia test for pupils over 8 years old for £32 which can act as a preliminary diagnosis. The test consists of 50 questions and after completion of the test and submitting a handwriting sample you will receive a report within 72 hours.

You can find more information about Dysgraphia Help’s Online Dysgraphia Test at www.dysgraphiahelp.co.uk/testing-for-dysgraphia/.