Dysorthography

Dysorthography is a disorder of spelling that accompanies dyslexia, arising as a direct consequence of the phonological disorder. In the American Psychiatric Association classification and in the World Health Organization classification it is treated as a subtype of specific learning disorder with impairment in written expression. It affects some individuals more than others. The most typical signs are difficulty spelling and frequent spelling mistakes, confusing spoken and written words, running words together, mixing up letters, misusing or omitting apostrophes, and mistakes or confusion with articles. Treatment depends on first finding the cause, which may be a pronunciation problem, a visual or auditory impairment or an unfavorable study environment. A speech therapist or child psychologist may then recommend a course that focuses on learning and applying correct spelling and on resolving related issues.