This month’s guest blog post is from an amazing consultant that I met through LaVonna Roth’s Prime to S.H.I.N.E. consultant group named Cheri Dotterer. Cheri is a Dysgraphia expert, author and speaker. I think you’ll really enjoy her post and her free webinar!

Why Did John Need to Change Schools
by Cheri Dotterer

Beth broke down in tears at John’s IEP meeting. He was expelled from another school due to violent behaviors. He refused to complete homework and wouldn’t get on the bus! John’s IEP spoke of autism, but Beth was skeptical.

As Beth spoke, Kathy listened. Kathy had just completed my course and pinpointed hand pain, spelling problems, and difficulty writing sentences about why John struggled. That day, John’s IEP--and his life--changed forever. Research states that 33% of the population are struggling like John. Unfortunately, the longer writing is a challenge, the longer it will take to remediate it. That statistic means one in three people across the lifespan.

Dysgraphia is a developmental delay with written expression. This pandemic has gone on long enough! It is time teachers had the tools to support these students before it becomes a learning issue in the classroom.

Writing difficulties challenge our social interactions and sense of belonging. Students with dysgraphia lose motivation. Frustration and anxiety prevent them from writing. It is time to strengthen the social-emotional well-being of all our students.

According to Steven Kotler (2021) of the FLOW Collective, motivation has three parts: Drive – Grit – Goals.

• Drive is curiosity, passion, and purpose.

• Grit is persistence, determination, and fortitude.

• Goals are where you want to go.

Angela Duckworth reinforces Grit by describing it,

“Without effort, your talent is nothing more than unmet potential.
Without effort, your skill is nothing more than what you could have done but didn’t” (Grit, 2016).

Let’s bring back motivation – Drive, Grit, and Goals - back into each student. Universal Design for Learning states that purpose and motivation improve engagement, that learners learn and present knowledge in different ways, and that differentiated instruction can support all students (CAST, 2022). Differentiated instruction includes tapping into their motivation or drive, Grit, and goals.

What is Dysgraphia?

The tools in your toolbox to support students with dysgraphia start with understanding what it is and is not. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) states that a disability in written expression includes grammar, punctuation, capitalization, sentence and paragraph structure and organization, spelling, and clarity. It also states that activity demands can exceed the student’s capacity and interfere with daily living activities. It further describes what this disability does not include. Intellectual disability, visual and auditory disability, mental health and neurological disability, and psychological adversity are not included. It also states that a lack of proficiency in language skills and inadequate instruction are not part of the criterion for diagnosis (APA, 2013).

The definition is a mouthful and requires time to examine what it means in the everyday classroom. After years of searching for clarity on this topic and how it applies in the classroom, I have developed a course to help teachers break down the barriers to dysgraphia. My course includes a 15-day protocol that can be repeated all year long. What is truly amazing is that this protocol takes two minutes per day. Students transform their writing ability by strengthening their social-emotional well-being, and teachers have time to teach without using a pencil. Fewer distractions make classrooms filled with positive learners.

Learn more about dysgraphia at the Dotterer Dysgraphia Webinar. It is hosted Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays. Look here for dates and times inside the link. Oh yeah, learn the rest of John’s story.

Sources & Resources:

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi-org.ezproxy.frederick.edu/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

• Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), inc. (2022). About Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved from https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl

• Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Schribner: New York, NY.

• Kotler, S. (2021). The Art of Impossible. Harper Wave: New York, NY