TestGraphia, a software system for the early diagnosis of dysgraphia

Dysgraphia, which is known as a writing disorder, is a specific disorder of writing regarding the reproduction of alphabetical and numerical signs. Dysgraphia may be related to dyspraxia, which is secondary to incomplete lateralization and characterized by a difficulty to reproduce alphabetical and numerical signs. Since the causes of dysgraphia are unknown, the rapid detection of symptoms is very important. In academic and clinical uses, the most common tool for detecting dysgraphia is an evaluation of the quality of writing on paper sheets. A writing analysis is based on rules for scoring the writing quality. In this paper, we discuss TestGraphia, which is a software system that can support doctors in making diagnoses and monitoring patients with dysgraphia in an objective manner. The system is based on known document analysis algorithms and modified or specially designed algorithms. Based on this software, a forms analysis requires considerably less time than that needed by traditional methods, enabling large screening activities and reducing time and cost. Potential dynamic changes in dysgraphia screening can be assessed by monitoring the quality of writing in a non-invasive way with reduced costs, both in the laboratory and the patient’s home, and the appropriate frequency. In the system that we will describe, the mean time to execute a diagnosis is nearly ten times faster with trustworthy results.