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Writing Difficulties | PBS

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Stories from the Documentary:

Nathan V. Lauren Sarah Lee Adam Nathan S.

WRITING: Basics | Difficulties | Responses

UP CLOSE:
Difficulties with Writing Output

What Can Inhibit Writing Development?

Like all learning problems, difficulties in writing can be

devastating to a child's education and self-esteem. As Dr. Mel Levine explains how
children progress through school, they are increasingly Nathan Suggs' ideas outpace his
expected to express what they know about many ability to get them on paper.
different subjects through writing. If a child fails to
Nathan's output problem focuses a
develop certain basic skills, he will be unable to write
lot on writing, which is the most
with the speed and fluency required to excel as these
common and demanding --
demands increase. Indeed, for a child struggling with a particularly at his age -- example of
writing problem, the writing process itself interferes with output. And for Nathan, he runs out
about the project learning. Students faced with such difficult odds have of steam when he writes, he has
order videos trouble staying motivated. motor difficulty with writing. He's a
your comments good linguist, so it's not the language
Writing problems rarely occur in isolation, and part of writing that's impeding him.
credits
improvements in writing go hand in hand with the In fact, his verbal output so far
site map development of other non-writing-specific skills. Thus, a exceeds what his fingers can do that
problem with the development in one of these areas is his engine gets flooded when he tries
likely to interfere with a child's progress as a writer. to write.

produced by He also has difficulty mobilizing the

In his book Developmental Variation and Learning
mental effort needed for writing, and
Disorders, Dr. Mel Levine identifies the following he has tremendous difficulty
neurodevelopmental problems and their potential impacts organizing an output -- conducting
© 2002 WGBH on writing. the orchestra.
Educational
Foundation You know, almost any project you
All rights reserved
Attention Problem undertake, whether it's a writing
activity or something else, is the
pulling together of multiple
Children who struggle with attention may be inattentive components: How am I going to pull
and impulsive. An attention problem may manifest itself together spelling, punctuation,
as: capitalization, my prior knowledge,
my new ideas, letter formation? How
difficulty getting started on writing assignments am I going to remember the
easy distractibility during writing tasks directions that the teacher gave
mental fatigue or tiredness while writing while I'm doing that? How am I going
inconsistent legibility in writing to organize all this so that it has a
uneven writing tempo beginning, a middle, and an end?
many careless errors That's a big orchestra to conduct, if
poorly planned papers and reports you think of it. And some kids sit
down, bright kids like Nathan, and
say, "Oh my God, forget it. I'm going
to go watch TV." It's just more than
they can handle. And Nathan's that
Spatial Ordering Problem way.

Children who struggle with spatial ordering have

decreased awareness regarding the spatial arrangement
of letters, words, or sentences on a page. A spatial
ordering problem may manifest itself in a child's writing
as:

poor use of lines on the paper

organizational problems
uneven spacing between letters
many misspelled words

Sequential Ordering Problem

Children who struggle with sequential ordering have

difficulty putting or maintaining letters, processes, or
ideas in order. A sequential ordering problem may
manifest itself in a child's writing as:

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poor letter formation
transposed letters and spelling omissions
poor narrative sequencing
lack of transitions

Memory Problem

Because so many writing processes need to be

automatic, active working memory is critical. Children
may have difficulty recalling spelling, grammar, and
punctuation rules, accessing prior knowledge while
writing, or organizing ideas. A memory problem may
manifest itself in a child's writing as:

poor vocabulary
many misspelled words
frequent capitalization, punctuation, and grammar
errors

Language Problem
Good writing relies on a child's language abilities
improving steadily over time. A language problem may
manifest itself in a child's writing as:

poor vocabulary
awkward phrasing and unconventional grammar
inappropriate use of colloquial language
difficulty with sentence structure and word order
trouble reading back what is written
difficulty with word sounds, spelling, and
meanings

Higher-Order Cognition Problem

Children who have difficulty with higher-order cognition

are often unable to use writing to present a sound
argument or convey sophisticated or abstract ideas. A
higher-order cognition problem might manifest itself in a
child's:

trouble generating ideas or elaborating on them

difficulty developing and organizing ideas
lack of opinion or sense of audience
difficulty with writing tasks that require creativity
and/or critical thinking

Try it yourself. Experience an essay assignment.

Graphomotor Problem

Children with graphomotor problems struggle to

coordinate the small muscles of the fingers in order to
maneuver a pen or pencil, especially as assignment
length increases. A child with a graphomotor problem
might:

write only very short passages

write exceptionally slowly and with great effort
use an awkward pencil grip
lack fluidity in cursive writing
find it hard to form letters

Try it yourself. Experience a graphomotor

difficulty.

It's important to remember that many children and

adolescents make mistakes or experience problems as
part of the process of becoming better writers. They may

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reverse words, spell poorly, or have difficulty producing
their thoughts in writing, or exhibit other of the signs
above. As in any academic area, teachers and parents
must watch carefully and try to understand an individual
child's strengths and weaknesses to ensure progress.
One way to monitor progress is through collecting a
portfolio of a child's work over time. This may help in
identifying a problem early on and developing effective
strategies.

WRITING: Basics | Difficulties | Responses

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