Children who suffer from auditory sequencing deficit will have a difficult time with writing because they cannot easily process small details such as proper grammar usage, sentence structure and the best use of vocabulary. This disorder disrupts the part of the brain that deals with spelling and creating a sentence with a logical sequence. The child becomes frustrated, unaware of the mistakes that he is making and may end up resenting the writing process, thus slowing his progress even more.
Fine motor skills depend on the strength of the fine muscles that control the grip and control of the pencil. In some cases, a child may not have a dominant hand or he may be left-handed as opposed to right-handed, which, in a right-handed world, can complicate the writing process. A kinesthetic deficiency may affect the ability to use the fingers efficiently, not only in holding a writing implement, but also in keyboarding.
A child unable to coordinate his visual and motor functions will have difficulty writing in a straight line. He may neglect to leave spaces between words and pay little attention to margins. Run-on sentences and lack of punctuation are common signs of such a difficulty, as are backward letters, inverted spelling and mirror images.
A child who truly suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder will likely have difficulty writing simply because it takes too much time. Writing can be time consuming and labor intensive, with many minute details and grammar rules. This child may be extremely knowledgeable in a subject, competent orally, yet completely incapable of expressing his thoughts on paper. An ADHD child often has high energy, with the urge to move and do things rather than sit and write about them. This can delay writing considerably.