Eli, The Boy Who Hated To Write: Understanding Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is often misunderstood by parents, teachers, and students. This book is designed to present a student's view of the struggles and frustrations, while also presenting hope and specific strategies and compensations. Students (particularly elementary and middle school ages) will enjoy reading about Eli's adventures. Parents and professionals will gain insight into some of the issues, particularly feelings, students may have related to having a significant writing problem, dysgraphia. Throughout the story, Eli describes his feelings about the issue of writing and the reactions of his peers and teachers. After a significant adventure, Eli and his friends realize that everyone is different with different combinations of strengths and weaknesses. Several appendices include actual stories written by Eli in elementary school and a list of specific strategies for students with writing problems. An epilogue presents an Allegory written by Eli in college.

Regina G. Richards, M.A., is Director of Richards Educational Therapy Center & Big Springs School, which specialize in multidisciplinary programs for language learning disabilities, especially dyslexia and dysgraphia. As an educational therapist, she has been practicing in Riverside CA since 1975. She began her career in bilingual education, working on curriculum development and test design and has authored a variety of journal articles and books on visual development, reading, dyslexia, and dysgraphia. Her two most recent books are The Source for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia (LinguiSystems) and Dyslexia Testing: A Process, not a Score (RET Center Press). She was president of the Inland Empire Branch of the International Dyslexia Association for seven years and has been editor of the annual IDA California Consortium's Resource Directory since 1992. Since 1970, she has presented workshops and classes at the University of California Extension programs at both the Riverside and San Diego campuses and she speaks at conferences and workshops nationally.

ELI I. RICHARDS is currently a senior at DeVry Institutes. He will graduate with a bachelor of science degree in telecommunications management. He has been interested in computers since elementary school, where he helped the teachers set up and operate their new computers. In Middle School, he worked in the library, setting up the first multimedia computer system. As a junior, he wrote the first web site for his high school. At that time, he also set up the web site for the Inland Empire Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (dyslexia-ca.org) and he continues to update and maintain it for the branch. In 1995 he received the Student Volunteer Award from the Southern California Consortium of the International Dyslexia Association. When receiving the award he stated, "I like helping IDA because it helps teachers and parents understand kids who learn differently. One of the most important things a kid needs for success is to have a teacher and parents who understand and encourage him."