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Many people have difficulty spelling. Most people will struggle with spelling at some point in their academic careers. Some of these people have a specific learning disability called dysgraphia that makes writing and spelling extremely difficult. Fortunately, there are ways for people to cope with reading and spelling problems.

Even people with extreme dysgraphia can improve their written work. Learn, Dream, Achieve (LDA) of Minnesota (2005) suggests focusing on pencil grip and formation of letters for those who struggle at this level.

Try thinking of words and ideas you want to use before you begin writing. Look up the correct spelling of these words and keep them in sight when you sit down to write, so you do not stumble over the spelling and disrupt your thoughts.

Organize these words and ideas before you begin, to help you write fluidly. Try to get all your thoughts down on paper first, before proofreading for spelling and clarity.

Bourne and Whiting (2004) found that spelling and reading go hand in hand, and that more is learned when learning letters and sounds together.

Words with similar spellings may be pronounced very differently, while words that sound similar may have very different spellings. It helps to work on pronouncing and visualizing the words you want to use.

It is important to focus on the parts of words, and learn the various prefixes and suffixes and roots that make up words. When you can recognize some of the parts of an unfamiliar word, you can understand part of the meaning and pronunciation.

It can be very helpful to break multisyllabic words down into individual syllables. Some of these syllables will be familiar. As you learn to recognize different syllables, you will become better at guessing the spellings of words you have not used before.

To help you fix reading and spelling problems, it is useful to read out loud. You can also silently recall the way words and parts of words are pronounced. It is very useful to relate the sound of the letters to the spelling.

LDA of Minnesota has several online resources for people of any age who have difficulty with reading and spelling. There are online assessment tests, as well as workbooks and materials to help individuals with specific and nonspecific learning disabilities.

No matter what reading and writing level you or your loved one is at, there are resources available to help you improve your spelling skills.

REFERENCES

Bourne, RJ, Whiting PR, 2004, A Quantitative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Contiguous, Graphemic and Phonological Interventions on Measures of Reading and Spelling Acquisition, Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, vol 4, pp 41-58.

Learn, Dream, Achieve of Minnesota, 2005, Dysgraphia Defined, NetNews, vol 5, num 3.