Low- Tech To High-Tech Ways to Empower Your Student to Write

It is important to assess the student’s seating system during their expected time to write. First, we examined if the seat fit, and supported the student so that they had a 90/90/90 pos- ture with or without physical supports beyond that, one must consider breath support for the student and if they have the re- quired muscle strength to sit while writing without additional physical support. Looking to ensure that tone, high or low, does not impact the writing process both initially, and then as the time spent writing progressed. Determining if the students need to access switches or communication devices in order to com- municate/write and if the seating system supports that need. Sensory proprioception issues were also kept in mind. Check- ing that the student’s sensory system is able to processes the information of where their body is in space so that they are able to generalize/adapt the function of sitting in order to use their cognition for writing is vital. Executive function skills must be explored. As writers our stu- dents must be able to organize information, plan, learn, multi- task, remember multiple pieces of information, prioritize, pay attention and initiate the writing process. Establishing what strengths our students have, along with any supports they re- quire in order to be successful with their executive functioning was another vital component to our initial assessment. Also considered was the student’s vision. All too frequently, students own glasses but do not have them. Investigating if the students are color blind, have nystagmus, require large print, colored overlays or even audio text for assist with processing text at their highest comprehension level were kept in mind when gathering information. As we collected baseline data, we began with handwriting and keyboard samples if possible, which included near point copying, copying from a board, creative writing and dictation. An alternative keyboard was considered to offer support if the student was already familiar with that option. Photographs or videos were utilized to help assess the student’s access for work completion. We also obtained classroom work samples in or- der to compare classroom work versus one-on-one work com- pletion. Standardized and informal assessments were utilized if needed, to look specifically at visual motor, visual perception, fine motor, motor coordination and motor planning (praxis) skills. Once a specific writing task was determined as a starting point for the team and all of the evidence gathered, we then be- gan the task of determining which technology supports would be trialed. When implementing technology we always present- ed “low tech” items first. For example, if hand grasp was an is- sue shortened pencils, pencil grips or slant boards might be of- fered. Difficulty with grading pressure while writing might result in a trial of mechanical pencils or pens. If the team found that the paper might be the potential issue alternative paper was offered to trial; paper with bold lines, raised line (which offers tactile feedback) paper that highlights the base of the line, writ-

ing templates or larger spacing between lines. Colored overlays could assist with improving print clarity/print stability. Likewise, if working on a device, such as a laptop, the background color or font color could be altered. Students who require sensory supports with seating might benefit from balance chairs, standing desks or ball chairs. Book stands could be used while the students were laying on their stomach propped on elbows. A clipboard could provide a sta- ble base of support while sitting in a glider rocker, a couch, a beanbag, or walking about the room. We found that although research supports the 90/90/90 principle, when working with students who have significant sensory needs we must endeavor to be resourceful. In this manner we are able to support their sensory system while still having the students be active en- gaged writers. Students whose executive skills required support were intro- duced to visual step by step checklists, video modeling, high- lighting of important steps, graphic organizers and/or interac- tive tutorials embedded into their written work. Specific skills were taught for naming projects and organizing files on their computer. Creativity became a defining feature with our process to en- sure students are able to write. We quickly realized that although these supports previously mentioned worked well with stu- dents working towards Common Core Standards those working towards Alternative Standards/Essential Elements required flexi- ble thinking. We introduced visuals in a different manner so that the students were using curriculum pictures paired with words, their Pragmatic Organizational Dynamic Display (P.O.D.D.) book or eye gaze with visuals on a high contrast boards to indicate their written responses. Single switch, proximity and sequence switches were programmed with vocabulary and became part of the writing process. A combination of a variety of switches in a variety of locations,head/hand/chin/knee/foot, produced success. We found that everyone was an author! Students who were previously not engaged and required direct adult support became attentive, required only intermittent adult support and were able to share opinions, facts and their sense of humor. The next level of supports include software and extensions. Co-Writer is used as a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) tool in our district. Word prediction software and extensions, such as Co-Writer, were reintroduced and explicit instruction offered to students who are limited by their ability to correctly form the letter, to correctly identify a letter on a keyboard or by those stu- dents who have a limited phonemic awareness. Students who struggle, now were able to hear the letter they typed and, for those who struggle with letter formation, were able to inde- pendently recognize that they typed the incorrect letter. Stu- dents are able to create their own topic word bank and hear the predicted word bank choices prior to self-selecting them. Many people have access to word prediction in their everyday life through their smartphone. Providing students access to this in-

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