Composing Written Materials
What exactly is composing written material? Well, to compose means to create, so composing written material must mean creating a piece of writing. As it does mean to create writing, there are many steps involved in the process. The composition of written language is a complex process that requires thinking, planning, and decision making. As summarized by Dell, Newton, and Petroff (2012) Writing is an iterative process that can be broken into various steps: prewriting, drafting, reviewing, editing, and sharing or publishing. Students with disabilities often have difficulty with all of the processes involved in writing, so it is not uncommon for them to try to avoid writing assignments.
How can we help?
Luckily, although students with a learning disability might find the writing process extremely difficult, there are many assistive technology tools to assist them. Depending on where their difficulty is will help to determine what type of assistive technology will best assist a specific child. Assistive technology for composing written material can vary from low-tech to high tech devices. Below you will find an assortment of tools that can hopefully help you decide which one is just right for your child or student.
3 Low-Tech Tools:1) Word Walls/Word Banks- Words walls are excellent tools for students who have trouble with acquiring vocabulary. They are also useful for students who need help with spelling.
2)Story starters- and other sentence builders can help students by allowing them to fill in words or phrases to make complete sentences. Various templates can be created for the main idea, supporting characters, developing plots, etc. Templates can be created of varying complexity depending upon the needs of the student. (wati.org) Check out the story starter website on the bottom of the page !! 3)Picture supports to write from or about-"Some students have difficulty determining a topic or image about which to write. Students on the autism spectrum may not be able to readily form a visual picture of what they are to be writing about. Utilizing a picture from a magazine, a digital photograph, or a textbook picture may help to provide the visual support necessary for the student to be able to complete a written activity."(wati.org) |
3 Mid-Tech Tools:1) Franklin SA-309 Spelling Ace® & Thesaurus- this is a portable electronic dictionary and thesarus in one. Includes phonetic spell correction, 500,000 synonyms and antonyms, and word games. Perfect size, you can pretty much take it anywhere. The best part is that it costs under $20 ! http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/657504/Franklin-SA-309-Spelling-Ace-Thesaurus/;jsessionid=0000_a0Y8BOzvTx1BbCOpid4_Ju:13ddq0u44?cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Googlepla-_-Technology%20Office_Machines-_-657504#firstTab
2) Neo2 Alphasmart- This is a mid-tech took that is a notetaker. It is portable, lightweight and proven to work. Cost is under $ 200. http://www.neo-direct.com/default.aspx 3) |
High-Tech Tools:1) Co-Writer- is a word prediction software. This tool would be beneficial to students who have spelling difficulties. The program gives a list of suggested words after typing in one to two letters. "Word Prediction software also include features such as spell checking as you type, multiple word prediction, text to speech, grammatical rules, phonetic spelling and hotkeys for frequently used words. Text-to-speech can provide auditory feedback to students to assist them in word choices and selection to monitor the structure and meaning of their work." (wati.org)http://www.donjohnston.com/products/cowriter/index.html
2) Kidspiration or Inspiration- are both software programs that have many functions. It's easy to create a graphic organizer with this software. Graphic organizers are proven to be beneficial to student's who have trouble organizing and outlining http://www.inspiration.com/Inspiration 3) Dragon Naturally Speaking- is a voice recognition software. This type of assistive technology is great for someone who has no use of theirs hands. Also highly beneficial for students with underdeveloped fine motor skills. According to Nuance, "Nuance is a leading provider of tailored solutions for users with blindness/low vision, dyslexia, dyspraxia, mobility or dexterity impediments and people with a variety of physical disabilities." http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking |
|