Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence > Introduction > Learning Disorders (formerly Academic Skills Disorders) > 315.2 Disorder of Written Expression Topics Discussed: disorder of written expression. Excerpt: "The essential feature of Disorder of Written Expression is writing skills (as measured by an individually administered standardized test or functional assessment of writing skills) that fall substantially below those expected given the individual's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education (Criterion A). The disturbance in written expression significantly interferes with academic achievement or with activities of daily living that require writing skills (Criterion B). If a sensory deficit is present, the difficulties in writing skills are in excess of those usually associated with it (Criterion C). If a neurological or other general medical condition or sensory deficit is present, it should be coded on Axis III. There is generally a combination of difficulties in the individual's ability to compose written texts evidenced by grammatical or punctuation errors within sentences, poor paragraph organization, multiple spelling errors, and excessively poor handwriting. This diagnosis is generally not given if there are only spelling errors or poor handwriting in the absence of other impairment in written expression. Compared with other Learning Disorders, relatively less is known about Disorders of Written Expression and their remediation, particularly when they occur in the absence of Reading Disorder. Except for spelling, standardized tests in this area are less well developed than tests of reading or mathematical ability, and the evaluation of impairment in written skills may require a comparison between extensive samples of the individual's written schoolwork and expected performance for age and IQ. This is especially the case for young children in the early elementary grades. Tasks in which the child is asked to copy, write to dictation, and write spontaneously may all be necessary to establish the presence and extent of this disorder.See the "Associated Features and Disorders" section for Learning Disorders (Associated Features and Disorders). Disorder of Written Expression is commonly found in combination with Reading Disorder or Mathematics Disorder. There is some evidence that language and perceptual-motor deficits may accompany this disorder...." DOI: 10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349.7380 The content above is only an excerpt. For full access subscribe now or log into your account below. You can also purchase 24- or 48-hour access; learn more Username: Password:     Athens Login FORGOT your subscriber username and/or password? Get a reminder via email: The email I registered with is:  Not a subscriber? Subscribe Today PsychiatryOnline is a powerful website that features DSM-IV-TR® and The American Journal of Psychiatry as the cornerstones of an unsurpassed collection of psychiatric references, including books, journals, and self-assessment tools. PsychiatryOnline’s innovative platform makes these resources easy and convenient to use, offering Precise and powerful searching across books and journals. Quick pathways to related material. Mobile access from any computer with a Web connection. Ability to download any book section to PDA. Links from bibliographic references to the full text of journal articles. References to material not located in the PsychiatryOnline collection lead you to PubMed. Learn more about PsychiatryOnline Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing PsychiatryOnline@psych.org or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).