Jerrod L. Bain and Caroline L. Burdett
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 ). The American Psychiatric Association (1994) characterizes students with dysgraphia as having substantially lower writing skills than those expected for their age, intelligence, and education. Their difficulties significantly affect their academic achievement and other activities that require the use of written text (1994). Verbal organization and production of information far exceeds the ability to do the same via written expression (Kronenberger, 2003).
Students are often 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 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
Concept mapping software Brainstorm and organize graphically Various view options Presentation manager Differentiate instruction Individualized needs addressed
Word prediction software Works with any program that accepts text Multisensory Word suggestions and prompts Speech feature for words and sentences Topic dictionaries
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
Teacher Interview: Allow extra time whenever possible as allowed by the school Do not over-penalize students for spelling errors Be patient and positive!