Disorder of Written Expression

The essential feature of Disorder of Written Expression is writing skills (as measured by an individually administered standardized test or functional assessment of writing skills) that fall substantially below those expected given the individual's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

This diagnosis is generally not given if there are only spelling errors or poor handwriting in the absence of other impairment in written expression. Compared with other Learning Disorders, relatively less is known about Disorders of Written Expression and their remediation, particularly when they occur in the absence of Reading Disorder.

Symptoms

• Writing skills, as measured by individually administered standardized tests (or functional assessments of writing skills), are substantially below those expected given the person's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.

• The disturbance in the above category significantly interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living that require the composition of written texts (e.g., writing grammatically correct sentences and organized paragraphs).

• If a sensory deficit is present, the difficulties in writing skills are in excess of those usually associated with it.

Diagnostic criteria summarized from:

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.