ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6593-8566

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Education (Ph.D)

Department

Education Specialties

First Advisor

Adam Clark

Second Advisor

Ekaterina Midgette

Third Advisor

Bush White

Abstract

Developmental dysgraphia is a disability that impacts the writing of students and has long-term effects on their education. While past research has primarily focused on clinical aspects, there is scarce qualitative research. The purpose of this study was to give a voice to the experiences of secondary students (grades 6-12) with dysgraphia using a phenomenological approach. The study was grounded in Piaget’s cognitive constructivism and uses a Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenological approach to understand the lived experience of students with dysgraphia. The research utilized purposive sampling to find four participants with dysgraphia who were in grades 6-12. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify six themes. The first two themes, Diagnosis Through Adult Advocacy and The Compounding Effects of Comorbidities, explored the diagnostic process and how it shapes their understanding of dysgraphia. The third and fourth theme, The Burden of (Hand)Writing and Easing the Burden, explained the difficulties students with dysgraphia face and how they have learned to manage those difficulties. The last two themes, Managing Other’s Understanding and Navigating Academic Identity: Historians, Not Mathematicians, looked at how participants viewed themselves as members of the classroom community. These results help inform our understanding of what is effective and what is not in supporting students with dysgraphia.

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