ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY AND STUDENTS WITH DYSGRAPHIA

Jerrod L. Bain and Caroline L. Burdett

WHAT IS DYSGRAPHIA?

Specific difficulties producing written language (Szklut, & Breath, 2001). -- Forming letters and using a pen and paper

Energies are diverted toward the physical process of writing itself (Richards, 1999).

Can interfere with students’ abilities to learn since teachers often depend on written work to measure learning (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2001).

“Writing skills are substantially below those expected given the person’s chronological age, measured intelligence, and age appropriate education,” which “significantly interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living that require composition of written texts” (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).

Verbal organization and production of information far exceeds the ability to do the same via written expression (Kronenberger, 2003).

WHAT DOES DYSGRAPHIA LOOK LIKE? Students are often be misjudged as lazy or

unmotivated given their poor handwriting or sloppy work on written assignments.

Teacher interview: low self-esteem, high anxiety levels, lack of

motivation to write, and poor quality in writing assignments Also, poor handwriting, difficulty organizing ideas, poor spelling, and weak sentence structure

struggle to elaborate on ideas, and they spend more time on written assignments than their peers

WRITING SAMPLES

http://www.donjohnston.com/media/flash/cowriter_student_samples/index.html

MORE WRITING SAMPLES

http://www.donjohnston.com/media/flash/cowriter_student_samples/index.html

TOOL 1: INSPIRATION / KIDSPIRATION

TOOL 1: INSPIRATION / KIDSPIRATION

Concept mapping software Brainstorm and organize graphically Various view options Presentation manager Differentiate instruction Individualized needs addressed

TOOL 2: CO:WRITER 6

TOOL 2: CO:WRITER 6

Word prediction software Works with any program that accepts

text Multisensory Word suggestions and prompts Speech feature for words and

sentences Topic dictionaries

TOOL 3: NEO 2 KEYBOARD

TOOL 3: NEO 2 KEYBOARD

Wireless keyboard Assists in writing, revising, and editing Link and upload files for collaboration Individualize and differentiate practice Monitor student progress Works with other AT software

ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES

Teacher Interview: Allow extra time whenever possible

When allowed by the school

Do not over-penalize students for spelling errors

Be patient and positive!