Remediation of Written Language

Written communication involves the linking of ideas and words to their appropriate spellings, and then moving the hand to actually write the desired words. Acquired impairments of writing are referred to as agraphia and can result from damage to various stages of the writing process. These impairments may reflect degraded knowledge about spelling and the correspondences between sounds and letters or difficulty with the selection and formation of letters. Characteristic features of agraphia syndromes are reviewed in this article, along with example approaches to remediation. The treatments variously serve to strengthen weakened abilities, take advantage of residual skills, and develop compensatory strategies.