Hi again! Now my son is in high school the workload has really ramped up and the school are insisting (they would say encouraging) our son to use a laptop as his is unable to keep up with the rest of the class when he writes. We've no problem with it as long as his typing speed is actually faster than his writing!! I asked the school if they could help teach him to touch type and they have told me that they don't teach any pupils to type - haven't done for years apparently?? Anyway, they eventually gave us some old Mavis Beacon software to work on at home. The problem is he really doesn't have the fine motor skills to use all 5 fingers to type - it takes him 5 mins to even concentrate enough to get a glove on. I'm wondering if we are wasting his time persevering - or am I just giving up to early. We had considered voice recognition but his speech really isn’t clear enough for the software to pick up. We have asked the school for the teachers to give him a copy of their notes but looking big picture typing is a skill he will need as gets older. what teenager wants an ASN auxiliary following him around taking notes?? Has anyone out there found anything to help with typing or even any suggestions? Thanks again to you all for your ongoing support.... Debra

As an LSA who has spent the last term scribing for a yr 10 pupil who now has a laptop, I say, is it too late to get a proper OT assessment done again? The LEA should also have a Specialist Teacher advisor for IT for pupils who fall into your son'e category, who could be asked to carry out an assessment to advise on which software etc might be most accessible...
I know it's easier said than done!
Incidentally, my lo uses a keyboard with larger keys - not cool when you're in secondary school, but maybe for practise at home?
Dx

Hi,

We have recently been made aware of a 'typing without typing' programme that is available from the Dasher Project.

There is a usable demo and lots of information on this system at their website which may be found by following this link: http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/

It may not suit everyone but could be worth looking at.

Regards

Forum Moderators

Hi Debra, My son cannot really handwrite at all as he has very poor fine motor control. If he does write something, he has to grip the pencil very hard and produces enormous capital letters which are very shakey-looking. the effort required is vast, as any writing is accompanied by huge amounts of dribbling and difficulty maintaining his position on his seat.

For these reasons he has always used a laptop in secondary. Having said that, he doesn't take notes in classes like History where the volume to be written down is huge, or Geography, which can involved drawing things or colouring in, neither of which he stands a chance of doing. It is very common at his school and also at universities for students with disabilities to have a note-taker. We have encouraged our son (who was initially reluctant) to go for this option as it allows him to concentrate on what the teacher is saying, contribute in class and saves his energy for other things. He does all his homework on his own on his PC at home--we made it very clear from the start that we would not be scribing for him. In exams, he also dictates to a scribe and has used this successfully to gain a very good set of GCSEs.

My advice would be to see if your son could be assessed by someone from the ACE Centre, AbilityNet or CENMAC (CENMAC only relevant in London, the others are nationwide) who could give a view on this. For us, the decision was between apparently 'independent' writing which actually meant he was getting much less out of a lesson, or going for the dictation method and keeping typing skills for home.

You could certainly ask the centres above about touch typing. My son is now extremely proficient, but uses one finger. He also has a keyguard on the keyboard and some short cuts, plus prediction software (Penfriend), although tbh it's mostly him stabbing away at the keys. My own view is that it is going to be hard for someone with significant fine motor problems to touch type, but practice does definitely help speed things up. From that point of view, you might want to think about a long term strategy, as it took M quite a while to be comfortable with producing essays on the PC--now he rattles them off (but teachers are aware that he may need a bit longer to do stuff)

HTH

Pat
Mum to Michael, 17 athetoid CP, Caroline 15 and Sarah 13

[quote name='debbiem' date='Feb 8 2008, 09:49 AM' post='16554']
As an LSA who has spent the last term scribing for a yr 10 pupil who now has a laptop, I say, is it too late to get a proper OT assessment done again? The LEA should also have a Specialist Teacher advisor for IT for pupils who fall into your son'e category, who could be asked to carry out an assessment to advise on which software etc might be most accessible...
I know it's easier said than done!
Incidentally, my lo uses a keyboard with larger keys - not cool when you're in secondary school, but maybe for practise at home?
Dx
[/quote]

The best program for teaching typing that I have found is the BBC's Dancemat website (Google it). You can practise any set of letters, rather than having to build up enough speed before the program will let you progress to the next level. However, your son may find it a bit young - depends on his sense of humour and whether he'd find a bossy, Scouse cartoon goat childish or cool!

I would also recommend Penfriend word prediction software, but do check whether your son would be allowed to use it in examinations - I think the current thinking is that it would be allowed if the pupil uses it for their day to day recording.

Your son's school should be making reasonable adjustments for his needs, and providing him with copies of notes and worksheets should come into that - we do this at my school right from Key Stage 1! If he has a Statement of SEN, you could try getting this written in at the next Annual Review.

There are different keyboards available (and Windows has an on-screen keyboard) which your son may find easier to use. It may also be worth trying placing the keyboard on a slope to see if that improves your son's access. If you still need help, contact AbilityNet as someone else suggested.

AbilityNet and the BBC both have helpsheets on their websites for adjusting the settings in Windows to make the computer easier to use, e.g. filter keys which prevents extra letters being typed from one key press, which may mean your son can then manage a standard keyboard. If one-handed typing would be more appropriate, then Inclusive Technology sell a program called Five Finger Typist, which teaches this.

HTH

Debra,

I thought for a minute you were talking about me 17 years ago when I started Secondary school. I started typing in primary school when I was 9 that was over 21 years ago as I could not keep up with my pears and my writing was impossable to read beein ataxic .When I started they wanted to me useing 2 hand to tutch type but my hands will not stay over the keys and hit more that one key at the time so that was a no no so I learned to type with two fingers on my beter hand and the left nand the thum just sits beside the Shift key. It not tutch typing but it works

To get my hand used to the keyboard i had a key guard which is a sheet of persepects with holes drilled in it for the keys so you can not hit two or three keys at once. (ok I still do hit more that one key sometimes) but it just learn you to be more accteer. I still need to look at the keys when typing any my speed is 22 words a minute. One time it was up at the dissy hight of 26 WPM.

But for one time do not give up in tying or in the hand wrighting