Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects
handwriting
and its layout. This results in slow or illegible handwriting, requiring a great deal of effort on the part of the child. Assessment and diagnosis are based on a tool developed by neuropsychiatrist Julian de Ajuriaguerra: the E scale, which is based on 30 child-like graphic characteristics linked to the child’s stage of graphomotor development. Introducing the reference tool for today’s graphic therapists.
Neuropsychiatrist Ajuriaguerra’s 5 dysgraphias
Born in Bilbao on January 7, 1911, Julian de Ajuriaguerra studied medicine in Paris – and more specifically, psychiatry. After meeting psychoanalyst René Diatkine, he focused on psychomotricity and language disorders.
His growing interest in child development led him to classify dysgraphia into 5 distinct groups:
- The “soft” child, with his small, rounded line, not very precise, irregular, on undulating lines of writing, sloppy pages ;
- The “impulsive” child, with uncontrolled movement and rapid, jerky handwriting;
- The “clumsy” child, with his ill-proportioned letters, his poor-quality line, his numerous retouching and soldering operations;
- The “stiff” child, with his regular but angular line, his strong supports that tear the paper, his writing tension ;
- The “slow precise” child, with his slow writing rhythm and his beautiful line.
The E. scale, the reference tool for assessment and diagnosis
In 1964, Julian de Ajuriaguerra and Hélène de Gobineau developed a child scale (E. scale) to help specialists diagnose dysgraphia in children aged 6 to 12. This tool brings together thirty criteria, shape and motor characteristics based on the child’s stage of graphomotor development.
For example, the E scale shape items include :
- Lack of movement: cursive writing is not fluid;
- Large letters – when at least half of the letters exceed 3.5 mm in the median zone;
- The school T-bar, placed in the upper third of the letter ;
- Soldering points: a difficulty in linking two letters.
The E scale items for motor characteristics include :
- Tremors;
- Broken lines, involving a sudden change of direction;
- Fluctuating, undulating lines;
- Letters that have been altered, but not for spelling reasons;
- All dirty.
For each item, the graphotherapist assigns a score between 0 and 1, according to the frequency with which it appears in the child’s handwriting. The score obtained, weighted by a coefficient defined by Julian Ajuriguerra, is sufficient to diagnose whether or not the child has dysgraphia.
If your child is suspected of having this disorder, contact a
graphotherapist
from the Ora Visio platform, to make a diagnosis as quickly as possible. If dysgraphia cannot be cured, a professional can help your child find compensatory strategies to learn to live with this dysfunction.
