Writing is one of my favorite things in the world, but it is not always something that is easy to do with dysgraphia. I describe my experiences with dysgraphia as a disconnect between what my brain wants me to write and what my hands actually write instead; no matter how much I practice, my writing often appears messy, filled with several minor spelling errors and letter reversals, crooked, or challenging for me (or others) to read. Now that I am a PhD student, I joke that I have always had “doctor’s handwriting” that is stereotypically hard to read!
I have used dysgraphia accommodations and assistive technology for dysgraphia since starting kindergarten; while this didn’t mean that I was exempt from practicing my handwriting, I did have accommodations for dysgraphia in elementary school, and continued to have dysgraphia accommodations throughout middle school and high school. Even my college disability accommodations include dysgraphia accommodations, which are especially helpful for exams.
The way I use dysgraphia modifications and dysgraphia accommodations in the classroom has evolved over the years, and I still use some of the same strategies that I first learned about in kindergarten. Here is a list of dysgraphia accommodations to consider that were particularly impactful for me as a student with both dysgraphia and low vision. Think of this post as a menu or list of options to explore, not a to-do list or something to copy verbatim.
What is dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is defined by the National Institute of Health as “a neurological disorder characterized by writing disabilities. Specifically, the disorder causes a person’s writing to be distorted or incorrect.” Dysgraphia is no longer considered an official diagnosis according to the DSM-5, but rather the product of development coordination disorder (which covers the motor aspects of the condition) and/or specific learning disorder (which covers the cognitive aspects and written expression). However, the term dysgraphia is still used to describe impairments in written expression, and accommodations for dysgraphia can be included in an IEP, 504 Plan, Student Assistance Plan, and/or college Disability Services file.
I was diagnosed with dysgraphia at age five, which is the year I started kindergarten. My handwriting has improved over time with the help of occupational therapy and other interventions, but dysgraphia itself cannot be cured. At the time of my dysgraphia diagnosis, I also had an existing diagnosis of low vision (vision loss not corrected by glasses), and years later was also diagnosed with Chiari 1 Malformation, a congenital neurological condition that also contributes to visual impairment.
Related links
- Eight Things You Need To Know About Your Disability Accommodations
- Dear Elementary School Teacher With A Visually Impaired Student
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For Chiari Malformation
- How To Create A Disability Services File
Tools for handwriting with dysgraphia: Pencil grips, slant boards, and more
Assistive technology is more than high-tech devices or expensive applications; assistive technology also includes low-tech or no-tech items that can help make it easier to write with dysgraphia. Some examples of adaptive tools and dysgraphia aids that have helped me include:
- Pencil grips for modeling appropriate grasp
- Slant board, which provides a slanted/angled surface for writing
- Line guides or line trackers to encourage writing in a straight line
- Dry-erase board; some students may find it easier to write on a vertical/slanted surface and erase mistakes easily
- Pencil weights or pen weights
- Mechanical pencils (though I stopped being able to read pencil as I got older due to low contrast gray lead)
As an adult, I often write quick notes on a personal dry-erase board that sits at an angle on my desk. I find it easier to grasp dry-erase markers compared to pencils or pens, and my handwriting is mostly legible when I write at an angle.
Related links
- Assistive Technology For Dysgraphia
- No-Tech Solutions For Drawing Graphs With Low Vision And Dysgraphia
- How I Use Dry-Erase Boards With Low Vision
Use pens or markers for color-coding or writing
Starting in middle school, I noticed that it was much easier for me to write neatly with pens or markers compared to pencils, because I could see what I was writing and there were more options for colored ink. Since I have trouble circling multiple-choice answers and it can be challenging to tell the difference between a B and a D with my handwriting, I would often use color-coding to mark answers on quizzes, tests, and other in class assignments, writing each letter in a different color. I also had approved accommodations for standardized tests (like the Virginia Standards of Learning/SOL exams) to write directly inside the test booklet with pens or markers.
Related links
- Writing Aids For Low Vision: My Personal Superlatives
- Virginia SOL Test Accommodations For Low Vision
- How I Receive Accessible Quizzes and Tests in the Classroom
- Paper Colors For Low Vision Accessibility
- Exploring Accessible Color Palettes For Low Vision
Scribe for bubble sheets and standardized tests
Scribe accommodations can take several different forms when it comes to dysgraphia. Some scribe accommodations are written so students can dictate answers or essays to someone who writes them verbatim, while other scribe accommodations transcribe a student’s handwritten answers into a more legible form.
In my case, I had a scribe accommodation for filling in bubble sheets (Scantrons) and copying answers from test booklets onto bubble sheets for standardized tests. Dysgraphia can make it very challenging to fill in bubble sheets correctly as it is, and low vision can make this task extremely difficult or completely impossible. Sometimes I would read the answers out loud to the scribe as they filled in the bubble sheet, and someone else would double-check my responses. Other times, I would give the finished assignment to the scribe and they would fill in the bubble sheet on their own; this was usually the case when I took exams in the college testing center.
Related links
- Using The Disability Services Testing Center With Low Vision
- SAT Accommodations for Low Vision
- How I Take Math Tests With Double Vision
- Math Test Accommodations For Low Vision
No cursive writing for non-cursive assignments
Even though I have dysgraphia, I still had to learn to write in cursive alongside the rest of my class, which included creating a signature and learning every letter of the alphabet in cursive. However, it was impossible for me to read my own cursive, and my teachers also found it very difficult to read whatever I wrote. When one of my teachers introduced a requirement to write all assignments for their class in cursive (even if the assignment had nothing to do with practicing cursive), one of my dysgraphia accommodations/dysgraphia modifications was that I was allowed to write in print or type assignments that were not related to practicing cursive.
It’s worth noting that the assignments were not otherwise modified; I still had to complete the assignments as written, and I often ended up writing even more than my classmates because I did not have to focus intensely on writing in cursive or making cursive as legible as possible (which was often a futile effort).
Related links
Typing assignments instead of writing by hand
If I have to write more than a few sentences, chances are that I am going to type whatever I am writing instead of trying to read messy handwriting later. I started typing the majority of my assignments in high school when I started using a laptop in class, and now have external keyboards for my iPad, Android tablet, computer, and even my phone.
I love to type, and find it much easier to express my thoughts than writing by hand since I often have to actively think about my handwriting legibility when writing. That said, my dysgraphia does not completely disappear when I am typing; while typing this paragraph, I made several letter reversals and added letters to words, which got fixed with autocorrect and careful proofreading.
While tools like autocorrect, text expanders, and spell check are useful and very much appreciated, I am not always allowed to use them for classes. For essay prompts on tests, spelling quizzes, or standardized tests, spell check and similar aids are not allowed and must be turned off. In these instances, I often have to proofread my writing letter-by-letter to catch errors.
Related links
- How I Manage Dysgraphia In Online Classes
- How I Use Espanso Text Expander With Dysgraphia
- Digital Rulers For Dysgraphia and Low Vision
- Building A College Technology Toolbox For Low Vision
- Texting and Low Vision
- Typo Protection and Typosquatting: Online Safety Tips For Low Vision
Dictation and/or alternative input devices
Dictation, speech-to-text, speech recognition, voice typing, and voice input are all used to describe the process of transcribing words, numbers, punctuation, symbols, and formatting details into written or digital form, instead of using a keyboard or other input option. This can be a helpful dysgraphia accommodation for students who struggle with writing, but it must be used intentionally:
- Dictation can be prone to spelling errors. It’s important to proofread text before editing or submitting to make sure that everything is correct.
- When using dictation in the classroom, consider noise levels. Make sure that the user has a microphone and appropriate workspace for dictating information, and that background noise levels do not impact transcription accuracy.
- Students using dictation will need to learn how to add punctuation, formatting, symbols, or other details to avoid creating a giant wall of text that can be challenging to read.
- Dictation should not replace spelling, grammar, or typing instruction.
- Although dictation can be very useful as an alternative input method, make sure that students have another way of writing or communicating if dictation is not available. This can include (but is not limited to) keyboard, adapted keyboard (e.g., braille keyboard, color-coded keyboard) and tools for writing by hand
Dictation can be especially useful for students who have trouble typing on touch screen keyboards, or for drafting assignments or long essays.
Other alternative input devices for dysgraphia
Alternative input devices can be useful for writing with dysgraphia, especially when a standard keyboard is challenging or fatiguing to use. Other options I have used that aren’t dictation or a standard keyboard include:
- Stylus for writing on a tablet; some handwriting calculators and handwriting-to-text conversion tools like Scribble for Apple Pencil actually recognize my handwriting!
- One-handed keyboard for typing, such as wearable keyboards
- OCR scanners for copying printed text
- Visual assistance apps such as Seeing AI for converting images of handwritten text to typed text that can be copy/pasted into another application
I often use touchscreens as a digital whiteboard instead of using scratch paper, which helps a lot with brainstorming and working out ideas. Even if my handwriting isn’t very neat, I sometimes prefer to work out ideas by hand instead of typing constantly.
Related links
- How To Use Dictation As Assistive Technology With Mainstream Devices
- Dictation and Audio-Based Assistive Technology For Writing
- How I Use The Apple Pencil With Low Vision
- OCR Scanner Apps For Low Vision Students
- Digital Notetaking and PDF Annotation Apps For Low Vision
- How I Use Visual Assistance Apps For Online Classes
Copies of class notes
Since my handwritten notes were often challenging for me to read due to how quickly I would have to take notes during lectures, my instructors provide a copy of class notes or a teacher copy of notes that I can use for myself. In middle and high school, my teachers implemented this accommodation by having me show them whatever notes I had taken during class, whether it was by hand or while typing, and they would then give me their notes so I could make corrections or supplement them with what I had.
In college, my professors typically email a copy of lecture slides or other handouts before class or post them on Canvas, and I review these before and/or after class to supplement my own notes; at this point, I type virtually all of my notes or take notes digitally. I do not have a notetaker accommodation, I just receive copies of lecture slides, handouts, or code snippets/websites that are shown in class so I can view them on my own device.
Related links
- How I Use Microsoft OneNote With Low Vision
- How I Use Canvas With Low Vision
- How I Organize Emails In College With Low Vision
- How To Explain Disability Accommodations To Professors
Use of technology for writing in the classroom
One of my dysgraphia accommodations is that I can use a computer for typing or writing in the classroom. While I do bring my laptop to class, I also take notes on a tablet with an external keyboard or sometimes use one of the lab computers for typing assignments if we are using a program that is hard to see on my smaller laptop screen. Some of my disability accommodations over the years have specified that I could use a computer and/or tablet, while others have been more generic and just mention typing assignments or notes in class.
Before I had a laptop in high school, I used an AlphaSmart digital typewriter for writing in class, which could be uploaded to a Word document on my computer at home. The digital typewriter was listed on my IEP accommodations for visual impairment/dysgraphia, but I switched to a laptop because I needed a larger screen.
Related links
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
- Building A College Technology Toolbox For Low Vision
- Learning To Type With Low Vision
- Pre-Teaching Programming Languages To Visually Impaired Students
- AlphaSmart For Low Vision and Dysgraphia
Grade assignments on content, not handwriting
While I still have to put in effort to write neatly and legibly to the best of my ability, one of my dysgraphia accommodations in the classroom was that I was not graded based on handwriting legibility, or how neat my handwriting looked. I was still expected to show improvements in my handwriting over time, but I would not lose points for having handwriting that was challenging to read.
I encountered an issue when one of my teachers gave me Fs on several assignments; they acknowledged that I had all of the correct answers, but they wanted to draw attention to the fact my handwriting was rushed, messy, and challenging to decipher, and I could write more neatly if I just slowed down. I was embarrassed because I had actually spent a lot of time trying to write neatly and briefly considered showing them what my “unfiltered” handwriting would look like, though I decided against it when I realized I didn’t want to accumulate more Fs and that my teacher was just as frustrated as I was.
My IEP case manager ended up talking to the teacher, who later revised my grades to reflect that I had answered everything correctly, and I realized I would need to write even more slowly. From that point on, I switched to typing almost all of my assignments for that class, writing with a finger/stylus on a touch screen, or intensely focusing on writing as neatly as possible if I absolutely had to write something by hand; the latter option wasn’t ideal, and often led to me writing much less compared to typing. I would turn in typed/digital assignments on a USB flash drive or save them to a shared folder that all of my teachers had access to.
Related links
- Implementing Shared Folders For Accessible Materials
- I Don’t Need An IEP!: Overcoming Internalized Ableism
- Digital Notetaking and PDF Annotation Apps For Low Vision
Extended time for assignments, quizzes, and tests
Extended time is a type of timing accommodation that provides students with additional time to complete timed activities, assignments, exams, and/or assessments. The materials themselves are not modified and students are expected to complete the same tasks or questions, they just have more time to do so. Extended time is different from modifying assignment deadlines, though some students may also receive assignments in advance so they have more time to work on them.
Students don’t have to use extended time if they don’t need it, but it can be a helpful buffer and give students more time to type or write information. The most common extended time accommodations include the following options:
- 150% extended time or time-and-a-half. This extends a 60 minute time limit to 90 minutes.
- 200% extended time or double time. This extends a 60 minute time limit to 120 minutes
- 300% extended time or triple time. This extends a 60 minute time limit to 180 minutes.
For quizzes, tests, or other exams, extended time accommodations are often used in one continuous block. For example, if students are expected to complete a test with a 60 minute time limit, a student approved for extended time accommodations may have 90 minutes to complete the same test and will not be allowed to leave the testing area until finished. Many learning management systems and online education platforms allow teachers to grant extended time accommodations automatically to individual students.
Related links
- Extended Time Accommodations For Low Vision
- Preferential Seating and Low Vision
- ALEKS Accessibility For Visual Impairment
More resources on dysgraphia accommodations in the classroom
- Most people with dysgraphia can read other people’s handwriting, but I find this challenging due to low vision. I share several tips and strategies for reading handwriting in different contexts under Handwriting Archives | Veroniiiica
- Want more resources for dysgraphia and low vision? Browse Dysgraphia Archives | Veroniiiica
- In high school, I often struggled with writing down homework and other reminders because I was in a rush at the end of class. Learn more about how I fixed this in How I Keep Track of Assignments With Low Vision
Published November 13, 2017. Updated August 2026
APA Citation
Lewis, V. (2017, November 13). Dysgraphia Accommodations In The Classroom. Veroniiiica. Retrieved September 1, 2026, from https://veroniiiica.com/dysgraphia-accommodations-in-the-classroom/