Eight Constructs: The 90 Minute Evaluation

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Eight Constructsby: Jane Iannacconi
The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation
Intelligence Measures
Constructional Dyspraxia
*Working Memory*
*Executive Functions*
Writing and Spelling Skills
Phonological Awareness Skills
Retrieval Fluency Skills
Family History

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Levels of Interpretation: WISC IV
The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation
Writing Subskill
General lexicon of words
Verbal flexibility
Verbal syntax
Working memory
Working memory
Visual/verbal flexibility
Motor speed output
Subtest
Vocabulary
Similarities
Comprehension
Digit Span
Letter-number seq
Picture concepts
*Coding

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Written Dysgraphia
The 90 Minute Dysgraphia Evaluation
Spacing between words and letters
Bunching words to one side of page
Sentences which trail up or down
Micrographia vs. Macrographia
Print quality
Grip 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)
Initiating
Sustaining
Inhibiting
Shifting
Organizing
Planning
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 Evaluation
Skill Mastery
Recite nursery rhymes
Detect rhyming words
Count phonemes in words
Sound-symbol associations
Manipulation of phonemes
Spell non-words
Rapid recognition of sound
patterns.
Age
3
4
5
6
7
8
9-12

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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

15. Executive Function
of the Brain
15
Executive function is a set of mental
skills that help you get things done.
These skills are controlled by an area
of the brain called the Frontal lobe.
Executive function helps you:
Manage time & Pay attention.

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Executive Functioning Deficits
Dysgraphia Interventions
Executive functioning issues aren't considered
disability on their own. They're weaknesses
in a key set of mental skills. And they often
appear in kids with learning and attention
issues... Executive functions consist of
several mental skills that help the brain
organize and act on information.

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Working Memory Deficits
Dysgraphia Interventions
• Graphic Organizers
• Story Maps
• Writing Wheels

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Occipital LobeInferior Parietal Lobe
Temporal Lobe
Frontal Lobe Parietal Lobe
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