by Leslie Broun: Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol 42, No. 1, pp. 14 - 21.
What an interesting article! The author begins by discussing difficulties with printing (dysgraphia) and handwriting (dyscriptia) associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). She summarizes the latest research which finds that the same neuroanatomical differences that are linked to ASD are also linked to the motor impairment that makes handwriting difficult. Thinking back, my students who may not have a full diagnosis of autism but who exhibit signs of ASD are often the ones with the "atrocious" handwriting, as Hans Asperger pointed out.
The author gives a compelling argument for getting children who struggle with handwriting onto a keyboard as soon as possible. Like reading disabilities, there are some children with writing disabilities who will always have trouble with this skill, despite the best remedial work in the world. And just as students who have weak reading skills cannot improve their vocabulary along with their peers, so students with weak writing skills actually start to think in fewer and fewer words. They may actually lose vocabulary. As well, all of their focus is on trying to form the letters properly and not on the content they are producing. Not only do they fail to communicate what they know, they resort to poor behaviour and a systems-wide shutdown. How often have I seen this in writing class!
The author points to the really compelling examples of Carly Fleischmann and Amanda Baggs, individuals with autism who had no way of showing the world that they even had independent thoughts, until they were introduced to a keyboard. How many of our students are not producing the creative, knowledgeable products that they may be capable of, simply because the pencil is in the way? And how can they practise their writing skills: being creative, shaping their thoughts in a literary manner, adding details and examples...when it takes all class for them to get a sentence down? I can't count the number of times I have written on a student's report card, "He has wonderful ideas, but he can't get them down on paper." Well, now I really need to look at how AT can help with that.
This article discusses the simple use of keyboarding as a starting point to address these difficulties, something that we can all easily employ in our classrooms.
No comments:
Post a Comment