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Phonological dysorthographia is the form that affects the link between the sounds of the language and the letters that represent them. The child struggles to transcribe faithfully what they hear, even for simple words. Here is how to recognise it, where it comes from and how it is remediated, so you can better support your child day to day. You will also find ideas for simple games to play at home.
To write a word, you must first break down what you hear into sounds, then match each sound with the right letter or group of letters. This is known as the phonological route. In phonological dysorthographia, this step is fragile, which makes writing even regular words difficult. When this route works poorly, every new word becomes a puzzle, and writing requires considerable effort.
The child may have a good visual memory and recognise familiar words, but as soon as a word is new or a little long, they cannot transcribe it correctly. They do not always know which letters to choose, or in what order to place them. They may also get a word right one day and get it wrong the next, depending on their tiredness and concentration.
This form is often linked to a broader difficulty in perceiving and manipulating the sounds of the language. It frequently goes hand in hand with phonological dyslexia, as reading and writing use the same correspondences between sounds and letters. This link explains why the two disorders are often managed together by the speech and language therapist.
Confusions between similar sounds are the most common: “p” and “b”, “t” and “d”, “f” and “v”, “ch” and “j”. The child may write “bain” for “pain” or “tent” for “dent”. These sounds differ only by a vibration of the vocal cords, which makes them hard for the child to tell apart. When speaking, however, the child often pronounces these sounds correctly, which surprises parents.
Omissions, additions or reversals of letters are also observed: “cocholat” for “chocolat”, “tabe” for “table”, “parapluit” for “parapluie”. Complex words, with consonant clusters such as “str” or “bl”, are particularly tricky. Long words with several syllables further increase the risk of error.
These errors sometimes make words hard to recognise on rereading. This is what distinguishes this form from lexical dysorthographia, where the child writes words that are readable but misspelt. This difference helps the speech and language therapist guide remediation.
Phonological dysorthographia is linked to a weakness in phonological awareness, that is, the ability to perceive, break down and manipulate the sounds of words. It is not a hearing problem: the child hears perfectly well, but their brain processes the sounds of speech less finely. They simply find it hard to identify and order precisely the sounds that make up words.
Working memory also plays a role. To write a word, you must hold the sequence of sounds in mind long enough to transcribe them. If this memory quickly becomes overloaded, the child loses sounds along the way or mixes them up. The longer the word, the greater the risk of forgetting or reversing sounds.
As with other dys disorders, a genetic component is likely: other people affected are often found within the family. A family history is useful information to give the doctor. To learn more, read dysorthographia and phonological awareness.
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The first signs often appear in CP (Year 1), when the child is learning to link sounds and letters. Confusions are normal at the beginning, but they should decrease over the year. If they persist in CE1 (Year 2), this is a signal to take seriously. Keep a few examples of their work to show the professional.
Watch your child when they write words they do not know from dictation. If they hesitate a lot, break sounds down poorly or produce unrecognisable words, the phonological route is probably involved. Also compare with their dictations of known words, which are often better done.
A child who had difficulties with spoken language in nursery school, such as mispronounced sounds or a speech delay, is at higher risk. Mention this to the doctor, who can prescribe a speech and language assessment. The earlier the identification, the more effective the remediation.
Only a speech and language assessment can confirm phonological dysorthographia. The speech and language therapist asks the child to write regular words, irregular words and invented words, which do not exist and force the child to rely on sounds. These invented words are an excellent way to test the phonological route, as memory of words cannot come to the rescue.
If the child does better with irregular words they know by heart than with invented words, this is a sign that the phonological route is affected. Analysing the errors makes it possible to specify which sounds are causing problems. The therapist can thus identify the most fragile sounds to work on first.
The assessment also tests phonological awareness and working memory. The report outlines the child’s profile and the priorities for remediation. This assessment also serves as a starting point for measuring progress. See the speech and language assessment.
Remediation often starts with spoken language before moving on to writing. The speech and language therapist has the child play with sounds: spotting a sound in a word, counting syllables, removing or adding a sound, finding rhymes. These activities are offered as games, to keep the child motivated.
For similar sounds, they use concrete cues: feeling the throat vibrate with the hand for “b” but not for “p”, linking each sound to a gesture or an image. These multisensory cues help the child tell the difference. These techniques are particularly effective with young children.
Work then moves on to writing, with increasingly complex words. The aim is for the transcription of sounds to become automatic, freeing up energy for spelling and grammar. Progress on sounds often carries over to reading as well.
Sound games are simple to play as a family: looking for words that start with the same sound, playing “I went on a trip” with rhymes, breaking words into parts by clapping. A few minutes is enough. These playful moments strengthen awareness of sounds without your child feeling they are working.
When your child writes, encourage them to say the word slowly, under their breath, articulating each sound. This simple strategy greatly reduces omissions and reversals. This habit of articulating under one’s breath can also serve them well for life.
Avoid correcting every error: focus on one or two sounds being worked on with the speech and language therapist. Celebrate every bit of progress, however small, to keep their motivation up. More ideas in how to help a child with dysorthographia.
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The phonological form affects the passage from sounds to letters: the written words are often unrecognisable. The lexical form affects memory of words: the child writes as they hear, in a way that is readable but incorrect. The two forms can coexist. The speech and language assessment makes it possible to determine the dominant form.
Not necessarily. Confusing “b” and “d” in writing is often a visual confusion, common at the beginning of CP (Year 1). Phonological dysorthographia is considered when the child confuses sounds that are close to the ear, such as “p” and “b”, and this persists. Only an assessment can tell the difference between a temporary confusion and a disorder.
Yes, it is often the form that responds best to remediation, especially if it starts early. Work on sounds produces visible progress, although some confusions may reappear when the child is tired. The key is to start early and be consistent.
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