Drawing the Line: The Challenges of Dysgraphia in Introductory Graphics Communication Courses

Abstract

Drawing and sketching require the close interaction and coordination of psychomotor and biomechanical processes with developmental, learning, and maturational processes to perform the complex and fine motor behaviors of these activities. Dysgraphia is a learning disability that directly impacts a student’s ability to perform these tasks proficiently, if at all. Although dysgraphia is literally interpreted as “bad writing,” it also affects a person’s ability to visualize and draw lines and shapes. STEM subject matter and activities often involve drawing and sketching, and this ability to transfer mental imagery to paper and viceversa is one predictor of STEM education and career success. Given this, there may exist a population of students who are being overlooked and would benefit from a better understanding of the condition by educators and potential interventions that can be researched to engage these students within STEM disciplines. This paper will explore this learning disability as is exists in STEM education through a narrative case study involving a student currently enrolled in an engineering program. This case study is designed to understand the condition of dysgraphia and the barriers to STEM education as perceived and experienced by a student successfully mitigating these barriers through assistive technologies, self-advocacy, and teacher awareness. This paper is meant to raise awareness of the condition in our field and serve as a starting point in the literature where this topic currently represents a dearth of the academic discourse surrounding special education in STEM.