Written Expression Disorder: 10 Signs Your Child May Struggle with Writing
Some students have strong ideas and can express themselves clearly when speaking, but struggle to put those same thoughts into writing. They may have difficulty forming complete sentences, organizing their ideas into a paragraph, spelling words accurately, or even knowing how to begin a writing assignment. For some children, these challenges can make writing so frustrating that they start to avoid it altogether.
While occasional difficulty with writing is common, persistent struggles may indicate that a child needs additional support. In some cases, these challenges may be associated with a written expression disorder or a learning disability that affects written expression.
Understanding the signs of written expression difficulties can help you recognize when your child may need extra support or benefit from specialized writing instruction.
What Is a Written Expression Disorder?
A written expression disorder is characterized by significant difficulty expressing ideas clearly and effectively through writing. These difficulties may be diagnosed as a Specific Learning Disorder with impairment in written expression.
Writing is a very complex process. To create even a short paragraph, a student needs to come up with ideas, construct well-written sentences, spell words accurately, use correct punctuation, organize information, and use proper grammar rules – all at the same time.
For students with written expression difficulties, managing all these writing demands can be challenging and overwhelming.
Your child may be bright, creative, and articulate, but putting their ideas into writing can still be incredibly challenging.
10 Signs of Written Expression Disorder in Children
Writing difficulties can appear differently from one student to another. Some children just struggle with spelling and sentence writing, while others have difficulty organizing their thoughts and expanding their ideas.
Learn more about how writing tutoring can help your child at Why Smart Kids Struggle with Writing and How Writing Tutoring Helps.
Here are some challenges you may notice:
1. Your Child Can Explain an Idea but Struggles to Write It Down
One of the most noticeable signs of a writing difficulty is when a child has great ideas and can express them orally but struggles to write them on paper.
Your child might give you elaborate details about what happened in a story or describe exactly what they want to say in an essay. However, as soon as they sit down to begin writing, they can only come up with a few short sentences.
The difference between their verbal abilities and written work can be significant.
2. Writing Assignments Take an Extremely Long Time
A writing assignment that takes most students a short time to complete may take a student with writing difficulties several hours. The additional time and effort required can make writing assignments particularly frustrating and overwhelming.
Your child may stare at a blank page, repeatedly erase what they have written, lose focus, or need frequent encouragement and reminders to keep working.
This struggle can make completing homework particularly stressful, especially when it involves writing.
3. Your Child Has Trouble Getting Started
Many students have great ideas but don’t know how to begin.
They may make comments like:
- “I don’t know how to start.”
- “I don’t know what to say.”
- “I can’t think of anything to write.”
The challenge often isn’t a lack of ideas; your child may have trouble organizing those ideas and figuring out where to start in the writing process.
4. Sentences Are Very Short or Incomplete
Students who struggle with writing often produce short, simple sentences.
For example, instead of writing:
“Ella ate lunch with her friends and enjoyed eating a toasted grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread.”
A student might write:
“Ella ate lunch. She liked it.”
Direct instruction can help students who struggle with writing learn how to write longer, more detailed sentences, and communicate complex ideas.
Read about 10 signs your child may need a writing tutor at 10 Signs Your Child Needs Writing Tutoring – EBL Coaching.
5. Paragraphs Are Poorly Organized
Your child may understand how a basic paragraph is structured but struggle to create one on their own.
Their paragraphs might be missing a clear topic sentence, include information unrelated to the topic, jump between ideas, or end without an appropriate concluding sentence.
Older students may have similar difficulties when writing longer paragraphs or multi-paragraph essays.
6. Your Child Has Trouble Developing and Expanding Ideas
When writing is challenging, students may limit their responses to the bare minimum rather than fully developing their ideas.
If they are asked to write a paragraph, they might produce one or two sentences. When writing an essay, they may struggle to come up with enough information to support their main idea. They may need explicit instruction on how to add details, write deeper explanations, give specific examples, and add supporting information.
7. Spelling and Grammar Errors Interfere with Writing
While many students make occasional spelling and grammar mistakes, frequent errors may become an issue when they interfere with a student’s ability to communicate effectively in writing.
Your child may struggle with capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling, or self-checking their work.
8. Your Child Has Difficulty Organizing and Sequencing Ideas
Many students have plenty of ideas but have difficulty sequencing these ideas appropriately.
A story they create might jump from the beginning to the end and then back to the middle. An essay they write may include information that is relevant to the topic but lacks a logical structure.
Students who struggle with sequencing their ideas often benefit from brainstorm webs, outlines, graphic organizers, and explicit instruction on how to organize their thoughts before they start writing.
9. Your Child Avoids Writing
Many children avoid tasks that they find to be challenging.
Your child may complain when they receive writing homework; they might procrastinate starting their writing work; or they may rush through assignments to get them “over with.” They might also tell you that they hate writing.
For some children, continued struggles with writing can affect not only their performance at school, but also their self-confidence.
10. Your Child’s Writing Does Not Reflect Their Abilities
Some parents may say their child makes comments like:
“My son knows so much more than he expresses on paper.”
This discrepancy between oral ideas and written output can be an important indicator.
Your child may have strong comprehension, creativity, and verbal reasoning skills, yet their written work may not reflect their overall abilities.
Why Do Some Students Struggle with Writing?
There can be many reasons why students struggle with writing.
Writing difficulties may occur alongside other challenges, like dyslexia, ADHD, executive functioning difficulties, language-based learning disabilities, or other learning differences.
For example, a student with dyslexia may exert so much energy when spelling words that it becomes harder for them to focus on developing their ideas when writing.
A student with ADHD or executive functioning challenges may have great ideas but struggle to organize their ideas, start a writing task, sustain attention, or self-check their work. Other students might just need more explicit writing instruction to improve their writing skills.
Effective writing intervention can help target your child’s specific areas of need.
How Can Specialized Writing Instruction Help?
Students who struggle with writing often benefit from direct, systematic instruction rather than simply being given more opportunities to write. Written expression tutoring can provide students with explicit strategies for brainstorming, organizing ideas, developing sentences and paragraphs, and revising their work.
Instead of telling your child to “just get started,” or “elaborate on their ideas,” an effective writing tutor can teach them exactly how to do so.
While it may vary based on your child’s needs, writing instruction might focus on:
- Creating well-written sentences
- Brainstorming ideas
- Organizing thoughts before writing
- Constructing well-structured paragraphs
- Integrating topic and concluding sentences
- Adding salient details and supporting information
- Writing multi-paragraph essays
- Improving spelling, grammar, and punctuation
- Self-checking
- Breaking down longer assignments into manageable steps
As students learn concrete tools they can apply to their writing, the task of writing can begin to feel much more manageable for them.
When Should Parents Consider Getting Help?
You may want to seek additional support for your child if their writing challenges are consistent, interfere with their performance at school, cause a lot of frustration, or appear much different from what you would expect based on their age and abilities.
You might also want to consider speaking to your child’s teacher to learn how their writing compares to classroom expectations and whether their teacher is noticing similar challenges at school.
For some students, a formal evaluation may help to better understand their learning profile and determine whether they have a specific learning disability that could be contributing to their difficulties.
Writing Tutoring for Learning Disabilities in NYC and NJ
At EBL Coaching, we specialize in providing individualized, one-on-one writing tutoring in NYC and New Jersey to students with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, executive functioning difficulties, and other learning disabilities. We provide writing tutoring in NJ at our Englewood learning center, writing tutoring in NYC at our Manhattan learning center, as well as in students’ homes and virtually.
Our written expression tutoring focuses on sentence development, paragraph writing, essay organization, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other foundational writing skills. We use structured, multi-sensory techniques that are tailored to each student’s individual needs.
EBL Coaching offers tutoring at our learning centers on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and in Englewood, New Jersey, as well as in the home and virtually.
If your child has strong ideas but struggles to express them effectively in writing, specialized writing instruction can help them communicate their thoughts more clearly and effectively.
Learn more about finding a private tutor for your child in NYC at How to Find the Best Private Tutor in NYC for Your Child – EBL Coaching.
Helping Your Child Become a More Confident Writer
Writing difficulties can be frustrating for children, especially when they have strong ideas and knowledge but struggle to communicate them on paper. Identifying the specific skills that are getting in the way can help you find the right targeted support for them. With appropriate instruction and practice, children can learn strategies that make writing more manageable and help them communicate their ideas more effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions About Written Expression Difficulties
What is a written expression disorder?
A written expression disorder involves persistent difficulty expressing and communicating ideas effectively through writing. Students may struggle with sentence structure, grammar, spelling, organization, developing ideas, or other important writing skills. In some cases, these difficulties may be diagnosed as a Specific Learning Disorder with impairment in written expression.
What are the signs of a written expression disorder?
Common signs of a written expression disorder include challenges with getting started on writing assignments, incomplete sentences, poorly organized paragraphs and essays, frequent spelling errors, difficulty elaborating on ideas, slow writing, or a significant discrepancy between what a child can articulate verbally and what they can communicate when writing.
Is written expression disorder the same as dysgraphia?
While the terms “written expression disorder” and “dysgraphia” are sometimes used interchangeably, they don’t necessarily refer to the exact same challenges. Dysgraphia can involve handwriting and the physical production of written work, while difficulties with written expression often involve higher-level skills like sentence construction, grammar, and the organization of ideas. A student may experience difficulties in one or more of these areas.
Can a child be a strong reader but a weak writer?
Yes. While reading and writing involve related skills, they are distinct from one another. Some children read and understand text well, but struggle to organize their thoughts on paper, write well-constructed sentences, spell effectively, or create written responses.
Can a child be very smart and still have a writing disability?
Yes. Writing difficulties are not a reflection of intelligence. A student may have strong verbal reasoning, vocabulary, and content knowledge but experience significant difficulty expressing these abilities in writing.
Is difficulty starting writing assignments a sign of a learning disability?
If your child has difficulty getting started on writing assignments, it does not necessarily mean they have a learning disability. Difficulties with task initiation, executive functioning, attention, planning, or language skills can also make it challenging to begin. Understanding your child’s strengths and areas of difficulty can help determine what kind of support may be most beneficial.
Can ADHD affect writing?
Yes. Writing requires planning, organization, sustained focus, working memory, and self-monitoring, which are skills that can be challenging for students with ADHD. A student may understand material but struggle to organize and express their thoughts effectively on paper.
Can writing tutoring help a child with written expression difficulties?
Yes! Specialized writing tutoring can help students learn concrete strategies for brainstorming, sentence construction, paragraph and essay development, organization, self-checking, and other writing skills. Instruction is most effective when it is tailored to the student’s specific areas of need rather than just giving them extra writing practice.
How do I know if my child needs a writing tutor?
You may want to consider specialized support if your child consistently struggles with writing assignments, takes an unusually long time to complete writing tasks, avoids writing, has trouble expanding their ideas, or produces written work that doesn’t reflect their knowledge and abilities.
Where can I find specialized writing tutoring in NYC or New Jersey?
EBL Coaching provides individualized instruction with experienced writing tutors in NYC and New Jersey. They have learning centers on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and in Englewood, NJ, and provide one-on-one instruction at their centers, at the home, and virtually, based on each student’s specific learning needs.
Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, has helped thousands of students improve their writing skills over the past twenty years. She is the author of the Strategies do Study Success student workbook series, the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham student workbook program, and the Flags and Stars Multi-Sensory Math student workbook series. She speaks nationally at educational conferences and frequently appears on podcasts as an educational expert. She has also been featured in publications including Newsweek, Autism Advocate Parenting Magazine, Epoch Times, and Macaroni Kids.