Resources
This content is provided so that those with writing difficulties and their loved ones find products that may help them. Please note: Dysgraphia Life belongs to Affiliate Programs at Amazon, TTRS, and Grammarly and earns from qualifying purchases. However, we only suggest products we believe can help our community.
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Handwriting Resources
One of our favorite resources for students with dysgraphia is spacing paper:
RediSpace paper is very close to regular notebook paper but has small marks for letter placement to help keep letters, punctuation, and spaces even and organized. (One parent reports sending some of this paper to her child's teacher and the teacher photocopying it for use all year because it helped the child's writing so much!)
Abilations HiWrite paper has a highlighted lower line to help with proper letter positioning. This paper is available for different levels of learners, including Beginner 1 (grade 1), Beginner 2 (grades 1-2), Intermediate 1 (grade 2), and Intermediate 2 (grades 2-3).
Channie's Quick and Neat Writing Pad is another popular option with grid boxes to help guide letter formation and spacing lines for legibility.
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Graph paper (here with a larger squares - only 2 per inch) can also be an excellent tool. One example is math problems where the boxes can help keep all the numbers lined up when regrouping.
You can also draw your own lines on worksheets and other papers with Legiliner stamps. These come in different sizes and line types (regular or dotted line in the middle) and can easily give a structured way for a student to add text to busy worksheets.
For some kids with handwriting issues, it can help to build up hand strength.
Therapy putty can be an excellent resource for building hand and fine motor strength. (Have kids squeeze and create, or hide little toys in it and have them dig the toys out.) Theraputty is one brand recommended by OTs and Crazy's Aaron's Thinking Putty is always popular with kids due to it's many colors, themes, and even scents.
Depending on the age of your child, games that build hand strength and fine motor skills can also be appropriate - such as those that involve picking things up with tweezers. It's geared towards preschoolers, but one favorite is Sneaky, Snacky, Squirrel! For older kids, mazes are a great activity for fine motor skills.
For some kids, pencil grips or slant boards can make writing easier.
There are countless types of pencil grips. These can help improve the mechanics of writing and make writing more comfortable. People's preferences definitely vary on which kind they like and why. A few of the most popular ones are pictured (and linked) here.
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A slant board could help your child with the positioning of his or her wrist while writing and the angle may also help with visual tracking on the paper.
Learning how to properly form letters is important for writing success.
There are curricula designed to teach handwriting using recommended multi-sensory approaches. One excellent one is the Learning Without Tears (also known as Handwriting Without Tears) program, which has different books for different grade levels and resources for both print and cursive. With a little effort, your child will learn how to form their "magic C" letters properly and that can set them on a good path forward.
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Also see our blog about the importance of learning cursive for kids with writing difficulties!
Multi-Sensory Resources
Multi-sensory approaches incorporating touch and movement are highly recommended for teaching writing and reading to kids with dysgraphia.
Try putting regular paper on top of sandpaper while writing with crayons or colored pencils for a more tactile feel. For younger kids, you can also buy sandpaper letters to help teach proper letter formation with a sensory element.
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You can also have kids write letters or words with their fingers in course sand. It's easy to make your own multi-sensory sandbox for writing. Our very favorite two-color sand comes from the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education but you can also easily purchase regular or colored sand other places.
Kids can also practice composing and constructing sentences without having to write at all! Engage them with a low-stress multi-sensory sentence building puzzle game or dominoes.
For older students, consider different versions of refrigerator poetry tiles (which can also be used on a magnetic white board). Some help with parts of speech and others have a diversity of words to really boost vocabulary.
Technology Resources
Kids with dysgraphia often benefit from early technology interventions. Typing can ease the difficulties of handwriting. Spelling, grammar, and talk-to-text programs can help with word-formation and composition. Consider getting a technology assessment as part of school-based accomodations.
Teach typing skills early using one of many free typing programs found online. A large lettered, easy-to-read color coded keyboard can help make learning to type a little easier.
TTRS is a learn to type program that also teaches Orton-Gillingham based reading and spelling skills at the same time. It is recommended for kids with dysgraphia and dyslexia. Dysgraphia Life is an affiliate so you will automatically receive 10% off by using one of our links or the coupon code DGLIFE. This offer includes monthly, not just yearly, subscriptions.
Grammarly is another great program to help. Grammarly is FREE to install on your browser and many students only use the free version -- although you can get even more features from a paid subscription. Many students find it invaluable for pointing out spelling and editing errors in their work. It also shows them how to correct errors to enhance future writing.
Many older kids benefit from talk-to-text assistance. Google Docs has a Voice Typing feature for free. You can buy kid-friendly headsets for laptops, iPads, or Android tablets that can help with talk-to-text.
