Session: EDU-18 Assistive Technology for Handwriting Parts 1 and 2

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Session EDU-18 Assistive Technology for
Handwriting Parts 1 and 2

• Low Tech Supports and Software Supports

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• Janice Swanger Reese OTR/L, ATP
• Little Tennessee Valley Educational
  Cooperative, Knoxville, TN
• Peggy J. Paulson OTR/L, ATP
• Assistive Technology 4 Kids
• mail_at_at4kids.com

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Common Causes of Poor Writing Skills

• Poorly developed fine motor skills
• Physical disability
• Visual or Perceptual-motor problems
• Dysgraphia or Impaired cognitive functioning

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Impaired Fine Motor Skills

• Mobility over stability
• Poor trunk control affects hand functioning
• Gross motor skills and stability are required to
  develop fine motor skills and prehension
• More children are entering school without the
  basic skills needed to successfully learn to
  write
• Fine motor skills plateau about age 12

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When There Is A Physical Disability

• First.assess positioning
• Is the child seated correctly in the chair?
• At an appropriate desk?
• Are the feet firmly on floor or footrest of
  wheelchair?
• Is the upper body fully supported?
• Is the head stable?
• Does the student need a lap tray or angled
  surface?
• Is the writing surface accessible and secure?

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Then.assess hand skills

• Does the childs age match his fine motor
  abilities?
• Can it be corrected through teaching strategies?
• Will simple writing tool adaptations allow
  effective pencil control?
• Is it likely that fine motor skills will improve
  to allow progress with printed writing?
• Will valuable learning time be expended by
  forcing the student to continue his efforts to
  write?

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Impaired cognitive functioning

• No definitive studies
• Learning involves multiple skills impairment in
  any
• area can adversely affect the ability to
  recognize and/or create written symbols
• Visual memory
• Visual-perception
• Visual-motor
• Praxis skills

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DYSGRAPHIA

• Impairment of the ability to write correctly,
  despite how proficient one can read. People with
  this disorder can write, but have trouble doing
  so with good coordination.
• AGRAPHIA
• The absence or total loss of the power of
  expressing ideas by written signs. It is one form
  of aphasia.
• Degrees of severity and writing skills may vary
  greatly
• These are cognitive processing disorders
• www.k12academics.com/dysgraphia.htm

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COMMON INDICATORS OF DYSGRAPHIA OR AGRAPHIA

• Inability to hold or use a pencil correctly
  (severe)
• Pencil grasp is ineffective floppy or tightly
  clenched
• Obvious difficulty with sequence of movements for
  letter formation
• Often confuses up/down, left/right, capital/lower
  case
• Difficulty replicating shapes reverses letters
  and numbers
• Clumsy, uncoordinated gross and fine motor skills

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Students With Processing Disorders

• are usually of average intelligence
• may read at grade level
• miss out on information because they are focusing
  on the mechanics of writing
• cannot translate information into writing
• expend twice the energy to complete half the work
• often exhibit avoidance behaviors
• perform best when answers are provided as visual
  choices
• multiple choice or cloze formats

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AT for Handwriting

• Where to start
• When to move to computer technology

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No TechLow TechHigh Tech

• Use a team approach to selecting interventions
• Confer with occupational therapist before
  implementing
• changes
• Progress from simple to most complex
  interventions
• Initiate use of tools and strategies for a trial
  period

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Pencil grips Can help correct or teach proper
grasp
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Stabilizers Helpful for the paper chasers or
those with only one functional hand
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Simple writing adaptations might include

• Melting crayons into large blocks, cones, or
  discs to improve grasp
• Inserting pencils into soft foam blocks
• Angling the work surface
• Using writing guides, graph paper, or raised
  lines
• Alphabet or number stamping onto worksheets
• Writing activities with wooden letters or word
  cards
• Using a simplified keyboard with writing tasks
• such as practicing spelling words

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Neurokinesthetic Handwriting Programs

• LOOPS AND OTHER GROUPS
• HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS
• Movement-based approaches for learning to write
• Often effective for students with processing
  disorders and/or visual motor impairments
• Letter introduction is not sequential
• Letters are grouped together by the similarity of
  movements required to form each
• Facilitate integration of motor patterns for
  writing
• Fun activities progress from gross motor into
  fine motor

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Handwriting issueswhen to stop!

• Consider age, intelligence, and physical
  abilities
• How does the childs intelligence compare to
  their writing ability?
• Is printing the most effective means of writing
  for this student?
• Have you exhausted all efforts to correct or
  improve their physical writing abilities?
• Student learning vs completing the assignment
• Is handwriting so laborious it impedes the
  learning opportunity?
• Consider writing alternatives at earlier grade
  levels

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SETT Framework for AT AssessmentJoy Zabala
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Student Environment Task Tool

• Student
• Age, physical abilities, cognition, areas of
  disability
• Environment
• Where does the child need to perform the
  task? Assess the environment for needed changes.
• Task
• What is the identified task he cannot
  accomplish?
• ToolUse feature matching to determine which
  tool will help the child complete the task.
  Dont overload!

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Simple beginnings.

• Kindergarten and first grade children need the
  keyboard in an alphabetical arrangement, as this
  early typing must align with K-1 instruction.
• Touch typing instruction is not warranted at this
  level.
• Initial goals are to promote letter recognition
  and introduce the keyboard as an alternative to
  pencil use.
• Students should be moved to a QWERTY keyboard in
  the 2nd grade.
• Keyboarding provides visual support and
  prompting.

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No Tech - Low Tech for Younger Students

• Letter and number stamps
• Early introduction to keyboarding with simple
  software activities
• Picture-supported writing programs
• (PixWriter, Writing With Symbols, use of digital
  images or Boardmaker, Clicker 5)
• Cloze (word choice) activities in print or on
  computer
• (Such as Wordbar, ClozePro, Classroom Suite
  activities)

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• Begin keyboard introduction in Kindergarten to
  promote familiarity.
• Begin structured training/use in the 3rd grade.
  This allows sufficient time for most students to
  develop reasonable proficiency before Junior High
  School.
• Students who use a computer to do homework
  develop keyboarding skills faster
• Students in 5th and 6th grades make progress
  faster than younger students in 3rd and 4th
  grades.

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Typing programs for children(only work with
Qwerty Keyboard layouts)

• Game based programs
• Roller Typing
• First Keys 2
• Built in keyboarding programs on portable word
  processors

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Adapted Keyboards and Mice
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Portable Word Processors versus
LaptopsRemember FEATURE MATCHING
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High Tech Options

• Expand computer use with programs for support
  with keyboarding
• Spelling and grammar checkers
• Word prediction programs
• Microsoft Accessibility Wizard features
• Supportive writing programs
• Scanning arrays for the severely challenged child
• Consider laptop use once programs are mastered
  and in use
• Electronic Spellers/Dictionaries and thesaurus
• PDAs (for older students)

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Accommodations for Older or Advanced Students

• Keyboarding and PC use (portable processors
  and/or PCs)
• Software-based supports
• Word prediction programs
• (such as WordQ, CoWriter, WYNN,
  and TextHelp)
• Literacy supports
• (such as those built into Word,
  WYNN, Read Write, Kurzweil)
• Organizational programs
• (such as Draft Builder,
  Inspiration/Kidspiration, or Sparkspace)
• Voice Recognition software
• (such as Dragon Naturally Speaking
  or Vista)

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Clozepro
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Clicker 5
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Wordbar (standalone version no longer available)
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WriteOnline
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WordQ
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CoWriter
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Write OutLoud
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• Software supports for writing
• www.texthelp.com
  ReadWrite GOLD
• www.freedomscientific.com TestTalker, WYNN
• www.nuance.com Dragon
  Naturally Speaking 9
• www.slatersoftware.com Pix Writer
• www.cricksoft.com ClozePro,
  Clicker 5, WriteOnline
• www.intellitools.com Classroom
  Suite 4

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NUMBER ONE RULE

• Use of the TOOL is part of the IEP plan
• It is not the goal!
• Use of the tool to successfully complete the task
  
• is the goal.

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IEP goals for AT and Writing Skills

• Be Task Specific What writing task did you want
  the student to accomplish BEFORE you introduced
  AT?
• Implement Interventions and Use Sequentially
  Break goal down into smaller steps for use of the
  new technology
• Make Progress Measurable How will I determine if
  the device or strategy has been successful?
• Make it Progressive How will this skill build
  toward the next?

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RESOURCES

• www.otideas.com
• Loops writing program, adaptive writing utensils
  and
• papers
• www.firststrokeshandwriting.com
• A multi-sensory handwriting system
• www.techmatrix.com
• Comparison matrix for devices and programs
• www.at4kids.com
• New A.T. resource site under development!

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Thank You!
Thank you for attending this session and for
celebrating our 10th Anniversary at ATIA 2009
Orlando! Watch for us in Chicago this
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