PSYCHOLINGUISTICS Assignment

Aristya Pradhani Diana Chen Vania Delicia Praisya Jovani

1. What are the differences between dysgraphia and agraphia? Dysgraphia is a condition marked by a writing disability that causes the individual's writing to become distorted or show incorrect letters. Writing letters of the wrong size, or repeated misspellings can be symptoms of dysgraphia. The most common treatments for dysgraphia is motor therapy, although some doctors stress other neurological areas that may be related to this condition. Using a computer can help an individual avoid dealing with dysgraphia in many situations. Agraphia is the loss of the ability to write, and it is most often brought on by a stroke or other severe brain trauma or disease. Individuals with agraphia are sometimes able to regain the ability to write.Treatment for individuals with agraphia usually comes in the form of traditional medications and therapy for patients who have had strokes. "Dysgraphia" comes from two Greek words. "Dys" means "difficulty with" or "poor," while "graph" is Greek for "writing," according to the Swindon Dyslexia Centre, a United Kingdom-based organization dedicated to helping people with dyslexia and other specific learning problems. The name really got its start from "agraphia," a term coined in the 1940s by Austrian doctor Josef Gerstmann. H. Joseph Horacek, in his book "Brainstorms," describes that the condition Gerstmann named refers to a complete inability to write. He linked this inability to brain trauma, resulting from an accident or injury. Unlike agraphia, dysgraphia sufferers can write; they just can't do it well. Its sufferers also span the old and the young, according to the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, which is a collection of mental disorders observed in children and adults, hasn't yet recognized the term dsygraphia. Horacek says DSM lists a disorder that comes close, though, to the characteristics seen in those with dysgraphia, DSM calls it "a disorder of written expression." 2. What is the example of lexical dysgraphia? This is more common in languages such as French and English which are not always phonetically accurate, for instances in English is mispelling of irregular words, plural s can varies once it is attached to the words such as watches, sons, berries. They will spell the such words only with s, without the changing occured. 3. What is Fonts 4 Teachers?

From A to Z, Fonts4Teachers is the collection of fonts for teachers and parents to teach writing skills to kids. The complete set includes : 6 Print Writing Fonts, 6 Cursive Writing Fonts, 2 Phonics Fonts, 2 American Sign Language Fonts, 3 Math Fonts and 6 Decorative Fonts. The users can create their own custom handwriting lessons (manuscript, D'Nealian-style and cursive) with Fonts4Teachers and professional-looking activity sheets for handwriting, math, phonics, reading, social studies, science, and language arts practice also can scale to all sizes and use with almost any application includes special tracing, lined, and arrowed fonts plus phonics, math, and decorative fonts for hundreds of classroom applications. 4. How can teachers help students with dysgraphia? a. Multisensory Techniques (other communication methods) Multisensory techniques are helpful when teaching a student with dysgraphia to form letters more accurately. Students can write letters on a cookie sheet filled with sand, form letters out of clay, use their arms to "draw" letters in the air and use their bodies to make the shapes of the letters. This helps to build students'

memory of the form that letters take. Using rhyme to help students remember letters can also be helpful. An example of a rhyme for dysgraphia is, "The letter V is pointing at me." Age should be taken into account when using multisensory techniques for dysgraphia , as older students are likely to be resistant to many of these techniques, especially when peers are present. Individual tutoring where these techniques can be used in private is much more effective with students after age seven. b. Accomodations It is appropriate to make accommodations to help the student with dysgraphia. Having a pencil grip on the pencil is one small accommodation that can help students with dysgraphia control the movement of their pencil better and produce better formed letters. If the dysgraphia is severe, have the student produce written work using a keyboard. Allowing a child with dysgraphia to write on the computer rather than by hand can take away much of the stress that writing may hold for him. Although the child should be encouraged to write by hand at times, when the content is the most important part of the writing task, consider allowing him to use a word processing program instead. Even if a student is not a fast typist, chances are, he'll be able to produce written work faster than using a pen or pencil. Even better, the work will be legible, which benefits everyone. c. Practice Students' handwriting is possible to improve by giving the student frequent opportunities to practice handwriting. Set up practice that doesn't have a grade attached to it, and give the student plenty of time to work on it. Practicing is not effective if the student feels rushed. d. Stages of Writing Using the stages of writing to plan a writing assignment can be very helpful. Brainstorming can be incredibly freeing for these students, since they do not need to worry about grammar, syntax, or legibility during the brainstorming session. Moreover, organizing the brainstormed information into an outline or a graphic organizer can help them visualize how their papers will read. These interventions can help students with dysgraphia to take notes in class as well, since outlines or graphic organizers are powerful ways to record and organize information. e. Encouraging students with dysgraphia to talk as they write. This can give them essential auditory feedback about the words they are transcribing. Let the child choose the paper and writing implement that she will use, since the texture, shape, or other features of these materials can affect how easy it is for her to write coherently. Avoid assigning busywork that includes copying over writing word for word, which can be especially difficult for children with dyslexia. f. A patient and positive approach works well with dysgraphic students. g. Giving reward and praise to every the little accomplishment h. The teachers must keep in mind that it will take time and practice the children to progress.

References:
http://www.ehow.com/facts_6402615_difference-between-agraphia-dysgraphia.html#ixzz1w8kEtxKA http://www.ehow.com/about_5554744_history-dysgraphia.html#ixzz1w8l1FspK http://www.ehow.com/way_5626145_can-student-dysgraphia_.html http://www.ehow.com/how_5603199_treat-dysgraphia.html#ixzz1w8PUIKbP http://www.brighthub.com/education/special/topics/teaching-tips.aspx http://scholarmind.com/cms/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=55&category_id=14&ma nufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1 http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED070070&ERI CExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED070070 http://www.mychildhealth.net/handwriting-problems-in-children.html