typing for visual/fine motor deficits

I’m bummed — www.thelearningstudio.com is gone. The lady behind it (who passed away) designed materials just as you describe. If I had time I’d search out (Elspeth Sladden was her name and I think “Keyboarding Coach” was one of the products) and see if it’s been picked up by somebody else… I hope so.

My son learn keyboarding with the Type to Learn software from Sunburst. The school occupation therapist provided us with the program. My son has both fine motor deficits and visual perception difficulties. He learned keyboarding in third grade and now in seventh grade uses the computer for just about all of his school work except math. The typing program offers big visuals and audio cues to help the student learn keyboarding along with fun games. It was a life saver!

Read, Write and Type is also a good choice, and a bit more fun for some kids. My son has all kinds of motor deficits and he sometimes hated to use Type to Learn because he had to be able to achieve a certain typing speed before he could advance to the next level. This was very frustrating for a kid with fine motor issues. On the other hand, because we did Read, Write and Type at home and Type to Learn at school, he is now a relatively speedy and accurate typist who can type 35 wpm. Of course, this didn’t happen over night. It took several years before my son became really proficient, but every bit of progress helped him to succeed with his school work.

Andrea

My daughter started out on Mavis Beacon and also uses just the Jump Start Typing program. Her OT at school also works with her some. SHe only types about 20 wpm so far - she’s starting 4th grade.

Check out the herzog typing program http://www.herzog.com. It is not a game but teaches keyboarding alphabetically. The student uses proper keyboarding skills but the first lesson starts with “abcdefg”. It has nice repetition. Once the student finishes the program, we usually encourage them to type emails to family members, type spelling words, do some type of typing so they are typing for a few minutes almost every day of the week.

well, you could always wait about ten years. I am 19 and a college student and am just beginning to become a somewhat proficient typer. I figure another ten years and I may even become above average. Sorry that is not real advice but I just answered because I can relate. I have visual perception and motor difficulties and am honestly just becoming a somewhat proficient typer about ten years after my first lessons in touch typing. So don’t give up hope, practice makes perfect, or better anyway.

Has your child had an assistive tech assessment? They should bve able to give you specific recommendations on programs that will work best for your particular child’s specific problems.

Karen

I stumbled on the website you mention http://www.thelearningstudio.com/ and contacted them. Elspeth’s husband put me in touch with a woman she had worked with who is coming to my home and teaching my son to keyboard. It remains to be seen if he’ll really master it, but the system seems great. (I happen to live in New York, where Elspeth lived)