Dysorthography and punctuation

Never-ending sentences without a single full stop, commas placed at random, forgotten capital letters: punctuation is often neglected by children with dysorthographia. Yet it is essential for a text to be understandable. Here is why it causes problems, and how to help your child punctuate their writing better. Simple tips for clearer texts.

Why punctuation is neglected

For a child with dysorthographia, writing already demands considerable effort. All their attention goes into spelling words and formulating ideas. Punctuation then takes a back seat, or disappears altogether. This is not carelessness.

Punctuation also requires stepping back from the sentence: knowing where it begins, where it ends, where a pause is needed. This analysis is difficult when writing word by word, slowly. Writing word by word makes this analysis difficult.

As a result, texts often look like a long stream of words, hard to read and understand, even when the ideas are good. This is a shame, as the ideas are often there.

The most common difficulties

The most common difficulty is the absence of full stops. The child strings ideas together with “and” or “then”, without ever stopping. An entire piece of writing may consist of a single sentence. These run-on sentences make the text confusing.

Capital letters are also often forgotten, both at the start of sentences and for proper nouns. The two are often linked. See dysorthography and capital letters.

Commas, when present, are sometimes placed at random. Question marks and exclamation marks, as well as speech marks for dialogue, are often missing. These marks come later.

Understanding what punctuation is for

Before working on punctuation, help your child understand its purpose. Read aloud to them a text without punctuation, in one breath, without pausing. They will quickly understand that it is unreadable. This small exercise is often very telling.

Explain to them that punctuation is the breathing of a text. The full stop marks the end of an idea, the comma a small pause, the question mark a question. This image speaks well to children.

Also compare sentences whose meaning changes depending on the punctuation. These examples make the role of the marks concrete. They show that punctuation changes meaning.

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Starting with the full stop

Do not work on all the marks at once. Start with the most important: the full stop and the capital letter that follows it. This is the foundation of a readable text. This mark is the most important.

Teach your child to spot when an idea is finished. A tip: read their sentence aloud and stop when they need to catch their breath or when they change idea. Reading aloud is an excellent guide.

Offer simple exercises: putting full stops back into a text that has none, splitting a long sentence into several short ones. These exercises are simple and effective. See learning spelling differently.

Writing short sentences

Encourage your child to write short sentences, with one idea per sentence. It is easier to punctuate, and also easier to spell. These sentences are also easier to reread.

Short sentences reduce mental load: fewer words to keep in mind, fewer agreements to check. They are often clearer for the reader. They are easier to master.

A long sentence can almost always be split into two or three simple sentences. This is a good proofreading exercise. Breaking up sentences quickly becomes a reflex.

Proofreading for punctuation

As with agreements, targeted proofreading is effective. Ask your child to reread their text once, solely for punctuation, reading it aloud. This method is simple and effective.

Each time they pause or change idea, they check that there is indeed a punctuation mark. At each full stop, they check the capital letter that follows. This double check avoids many omissions.

Reading aloud is very effective, as the ear naturally picks up pauses. The ear is a precious ally. See dysorthography and writing.

At school

Punctuation is part of written expression and is assessed, particularly in composition. If your child has dysorthographia, the teacher can adapt marking, by valuing progress. Progress deserves to be recognised.

A proofreading checklist including punctuation can be offered and permitted in class as part of a PAP. This checklist helps them not to forget anything.

Using a computer can also help: the text is easier to reread and correct, and some spell-checkers flag sentences that are too long. The screen makes proofreading much easier. See PAP and dysorthography.

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Questions that keep coming up

Why my child never uses full stops ?

Because all their attention is taken up by spelling words and ideas. Punctuation takes a back seat. Learning to reread aloud helps them spot where full stops belong. This habit develops with practice.

Which punctuation mark to start with ?

With the full stop and the capital letter, the foundation of a readable text. Commas, question marks and speech marks come next. Everything in its time.