Developmental Dysgraphia in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric‐Mental Health Nursing: An Integrative Review.
Background: Developmental dysgraphia affects 5% to 20% of school‐age children and reaches 59% among children with ADHD or autism. The condition produces task avoidance, eroded self‐esteem, and behavioral presentations that frequently result in psychiatric referral for anxiety, depression, school ref...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 1 - 13 |
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| Formato: | research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Aug2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=196481802&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 196481802 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 10736077 20B jtl: Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing issn: 10736077 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Aug2026 vid: 39 iid: 3 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 196481802 196481802 196481802 10.1111/jcap.70065 196481802 ppf: 1 ppct: 12 formats: tig: atl: Developmental Dysgraphia in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric‐Mental Health Nursing: An Integrative Review. aug: au: Colin Blenis, R. affil: College of Nursing, Chamberlain University, Atlanta Georgia, , USA sug: subj: Agraphia Psychosocial Factors Agraphia Psychosocial Factors Psychiatric Nursing Child Psychiatry Adolescent Psychiatry Agraphia Diagnosis Agraphia Nursing Multidisciplinary Care Team Human Task Performance and Analysis Avoidance (Psychology) Self Concept Databases, Health Stress, Psychological Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder School Health Handwriting Health Screening Systematic Review Checklists DSM Executive Function Functional Assessment Grammar Language Spelling Assistive Technology Utilization Agraphia Epidemiology Agraphia Epidemiology Motor Skills Memory, Short Term Comorbidity Agraphia Physiopathology Neurobiology Neuroradiography Neuronal Plasticity Patient Assessment Diagnosis, Differential Child, Preschool Child Adolescence Young Adult Descriptive Statistics Social Participation Quality of Life Self Regulation Occupational Therapy Agraphia Therapy Social Skills Training Neuropsychological Tests Child, Preschool: 2-5 years Child: 6-12 years Adolescent: 13-18 years ab: Background: Developmental dysgraphia affects 5% to 20% of school‐age children and reaches 59% among children with ADHD or autism. The condition produces task avoidance, eroded self‐esteem, and behavioral presentations that frequently result in psychiatric referral for anxiety, depression, school refusal, and behavioral disturbance. More than 37% of children with learning disabilities reach clinical thresholds for affective and ADHD problems. Despite this clinical footprint, dysgraphia remains nosologically contested and rarely identified within psychiatric evaluation. Objectives: This integrative review synthesizes the multidisciplinary evidence on developmental dysgraphia and examines its implications for child and adolescent psychiatric‐mental health nursing. Data Sources: Eight databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, ERIC, Cochrane, OTseeker, Web of Science) yielded 8290 records published between January 2000 and March 2026. After deduplication, 6308 records were screened, 1476 were assessed for eligibility, and 56 contributed to synthesis. Synthesis followed Whittemore and Knafl (2005) under PRISMA 2020 reporting conventions. Conclusions: Findings document definitional disagreement, fragmented assessment, underpowered intervention evidence, and substantial psychosocial burden. Three nursing publications addressed dysgraphia, and none reported original research on the condition. Implications for Practice: Dysgraphia screening may be integrated into psychiatric evaluations of children referred for ADHD, anxiety, depression, school refusal, or behavioral disturbance. Handwriting may be monitored as a stimulant medication outcome. On inpatient units, writing‐based therapeutic activities require adaptation when dysgraphia is suspected. Pediatric primary care and school health represent upstream identification opportunities. Summary: What Is Known on the Subject?Developmental dysgraphia affects 5% to 20% of school‐age children and reaches 59% among children with ADHD or autism.The condition is associated with task avoidance, eroded self‐esteem, and psychiatric presentations including anxiety, depression, school refusal, and behavioral disturbance.No consensus definition exists across the disciplines that study dysgraphia; the DSM‐5‐TR omits the term, whereas the ICD‐11 recognizes it. What the Paper Adds to Existing Knowledge?Of 1476 records assessed at full text across eight databases, only three addressed nursing, and none reported original research on dysgraphia, despite nursing's routine clinical contact with affected children.The review identifies specific clinical blind spots at three nursing access points: child and adolescent psychiatric‐mental health practice, school health, and pediatric primary care.Children referred for psychiatric symptoms that mask unidentified dysgraphia constitute the population most likely to encounter mental health nurses. What Are the Implications for Practice?Among children referred for ADHD, anxiety, depression, school refusal, or behavioral disturbance, screen for handwriting difficulty before attributing avoidance to the psychiatric diagnosis.Monitor handwriting as a stimulant medication outcome: legibility improves, but fluency reduces, and more than half of children continue to struggle after medication is optimized.On inpatient units, watch for resistance, shutdown, or disruption during writing‐based therapeutic activities. These behaviors may signal unidentified dysgraphia rather than noncompliance. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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