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Eight Constructs

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia EvaluationIntelligence Measures

Constructional Dyspraxia*Working Memory*

*Executive Functions*Writing and Spelling Skills

Phonological Awareness SkillsRetrieval Fluency Skills

Family History

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Levels of Interpretation: WISC IV

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia EvaluationWriting SubskillGeneral lexicon of wordsVerbal flexibilityVerbal syntaxWorking memoryWorking memoryVisual/verbal flexibilityMotor speed output

SubtestVocabularySimilaritiesComprehensionDigit SpanLetter-number seqPicture concepts*Coding

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Constructional Dyspraxia

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia EvaluationSpacing between words and lettersBunching words to one side of page

Sentences which trail up or downMicrographia vs. Macrographia

Print qualityGrip pressure

Fatigue

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Working Memory

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation• Skills performed in isolation vs. context often

dictate role of executive component in allocating attention.

• Phonological information tends to be stored in a sequential manner.

• Students who misjudge margins, have difficulty previewing how large to write to fit the parameters, and have unusual spacing may have limited visual sketchpad.

• Role of anxiety and emotional factors.• Frequent erasures.

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Executive Functioning

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation(Semantic/Syntactic Dysgraphia)

InitiatingSustainingInhibitingShifting

OrganizingPlanning

Self-Monitoring

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Writing and Spelling Skills

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation• Examine from both a quantitative as

well as qualitative perspective.• Concentrate on pace, fatigue, effort,

and motivation to yield more specific IEP goals.

• Error analysis of spelling and motoric output can be helpful.

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Phonological Awareness Skills

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation(Phonological Dysgraphia)

• Single best predictor of reading and writing skills in kindergarten and 1st grade. (Lyon,1996)

• Deficits often result in dysphonetic spelling.

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Developmental Progression of Phonological Awareness Skills

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia EvaluationSkill MasteryRecite nursery rhymesDetect rhyming wordsCount phonemes in wordsSound-symbol associationsManipulation of phonemesSpell non-wordsRapid recognition of sound patterns.

Age3456789-12

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Retrieval Fluency

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation• Naming speed and fluency better

predictor of literacy deficits than phonological awareness. (Wolf, 1999)

• Tied in to verbal flexibility.• Role of anxiety and hippocampal

functioning.

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Family History

The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation• Limited data in the literature.• Child with learning disabled parent has

eightfold increase in risk of being LD. (Pennington, 1995)

• Colorado twin study revealed 70% concordance rate among identical twins and 48% among fraternal twins.

• Research centered around chromosome 6 and 15.

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Phonological Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia Interventions• Alphabetic Phonics• Making Words• Writing to Read

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Surface Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia Interventions• Cover-Write Method• Fernald Method• Visual Spelling

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Mixed Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia Interventions• Musical Spelling• Language Experience Approach• CAST - Universal Design for Learning• Software Strategies

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Semantic/Syntactic Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia Interventions• Writing Skills for the Adolescent• Sentence Combining• CAST - Universal Design for Learning• Step Up to Writing - (Sopris West)• Software Strategies

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Executive Functioning Deficits

Dysgraphia Interventions• COPS• SCAN• SCOPE• C-SPACE• POWER

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Working Memory Deficits

Dysgraphia Interventions• Graphic Organizers• Story Maps• Writing Wheels

17Occipital LobeInferior Parietal Lobe

Temporal Lobe

Frontal Lobe Parietal Lobe

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