Dysgraphia in Adults: What Studies Found and Where to Turn

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-05

What "dysgraphia" means for adults

DCD stands for developmental coordination disorder. In the UK and Australia, dyspraxia is an everyday name for DCD (NHS, 2023; healthdirect, 2025).

One UK testing guide covers DCD and dyspraxia (SASC, 2020). Its advice is about testing people 16 and older. It says writing trouble does not always come from poor motor skills. It says writing also takes thinking and spelling skills. It also says dysgraphia "is much less well researched than DCD".

What studies of adults found

One study surveyed young adults in Israel (Tal-Saban and colleagues, 2012). Those whose answers pointed to coordination trouble reported more trouble with their studies than others did. That included their handwriting. Each person answered questions about themselves. We could read only its summary.

Another study compared 30 adults with DCD and 30 without (Rosenblum, 2013). The groups differed on a handwriting questionnaire. They also differed in the timing and spacing of copied writing. These adults had DCD, not handwriting trouble alone. We could read only its summary.

One study timed the handwriting of ordinary university students (Connelly and colleagues, 2005). In exams, slow handwriting held back their essays. These were ordinary students, not adults with handwriting trouble. We could read only its summary.

One study gave three weeks of lessons to university students (Spigarelli and colleagues, 2025). The students had reading and spelling disorders. In that study, "dysgraphia" means trouble with spelling, not handwriting. Its summary names no comparison group. So its gains do not show that the lessons work. The students spoke French. We could read only its summary.

One study compared college students with and without learning disabilities (Berger and Lewandowski, 2013). Both groups wrote longer essays on a word processor. Students with learning disabilities did not gain more than the others.

What we hold no study of

Apart from DCD studies, we hold no study of adults picked for handwriting trouble.

We hold no list of signs of dysgraphia in adults. We do not give a checklist for dysgraphia in adults.

We hold no study showing that a program helps adults with handwriting.

We hold no study of adults and forms, cards or signatures.

Where an adult can turn

The NHS has a page on dyspraxia in adults (NHS, 2026). It lists writing among daily tasks that dyspraxia can make hard. That page is about dyspraxia, not handwriting trouble alone.

It says a family doctor may refer an adult to an occupational therapist. It says the therapist can help find practical ways to manage tasks. Among changes at work, it names "allowing extra time to read documents or to complete work".

The NHS is the UK's health service. That page is written for the UK.

In our view, if writing is hard for you, ask your own doctor.

Need support at college or at work? Ask if the college or employer has a disability services office.

If your child finds writing hard

No study we hold follows children with dysgraphia into adult life.

A diagnosis describes where your child is today. It does not predict where they will be after a year of the right kind of practice.

Handwriting improves when it is taught and practiced.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Writing well below your child's other schoolwork.
• A teacher who raises a concern about writing.
• Extreme upset about writing.
• Complete avoidance of writing.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.