ld does not need assistive tech?

Does he have paralysis, strabismus, or Cerebral Palsy or any other physical impairment that is so severe that it is limiting his mobility and hand and eye coordination? If he does not then he doesn’t qualify and he probably has some motor coordination issues that are related to delays in development and he would qualify for OT.

IMHO I feel he is still to young to go straight to the keyboard as he has to make his weaknessess his strengths and he needs to practice with writing instruments to get better at it.

What I would suggest is to try some art therapy to help him get used to using his hands and coordinating them in a fun way. Also you can place him with a large piece of butcher paper on a table and using a large crayon you can make a large letter “O” and have him trace the line using a large crayon over and over again. This will help him with his hand and eye coordination. Eventually you can do other letters but this will help him overcome his fears

I was one of the kids who was impaired through two modalities, I had two eye surgeries for Strabismus and I had a hearing impairment on top of it. I had surgery to repair the vision problem, and we used assistive technology in the classroom to help me hear better. In addition after the eye surgeries it took several years to get my hand and eye coordination better through vision therapy and lots of drawing as I suggested to you.

Those weaknesses were made strong through lots of practice and now I am an accomplished artist. I still have depth perception issues and I can’t hit a softball without counting, and I trip sometimes but nevertheless I can paint and draw and write neatly when I am not typing..

Hi Lora,

Here is a site that might be helpful:

http://www.pluk.org/AT1.html#9

I don’t have any experience in having kids with LD in the school system. However, while I agree that seven is may be too young to start keyboarding, it sounds like your concerns are quite legitimate.

Another option you might want to consider is to take your child for an outside AT evaluation and see what those folks tell you. Karen Randall, who has posted frequently on these boards and who has a 12 year old son with similar sounding difficulties, felt that getting her son keyboarding was one of the best things she ever did. She had taken him for a private AT evaluation which is causing me to mention that option.

Hopefully, she will see this post to elaborate or someone who has had similar experiences will chime in. But I had saved that link from the introductory AT course I had taken and thought it was excellent so hopefully that will at least answer some of your questions.

PT

You can request an occupational therapy evaluation. . I would focus on remediating at 7 years old but don’t rule out introducing him to keyboarding. Jumpstart has a good intro to keyboarding software. I use Handwritng without Tears by Jan Olsen. Most students like it and are successful. Website: www.hwtears.com, has great handwritng tips for teachers and parents. First get an evaluation to determine why his handwriting skills are poor -an OT may help with this.

I have to say, I am glad I didn’t jump right to keyboarding too early. My son prints very nicely now. He used to write with big letters and write slanted down the page. It was a mess.

My son still has some difficulty with writing but it more related to spelling than anything else. I think he will do keyboarding in fourth. He can write in script but it isn’t automatic yet. I want him to do better with that first more because I think the practice of writing in script helps him to overcome some of his remaining visual motor deficits than because I feel that script is a truely important life skill.

I don’t really care that his written output is not where it should be yet. I would rather he get help for his underlying deficits than meet some arbritrary deadline for writing output.
He can write a nice essay when I sit with him and give him the spelling help that he needs so he doesn’t lose his concentration trying to get the spelling right. It really isn’t that much of a motor issue anymore.

Another great program that was similar to the one used by my son’s ot is www.callirobics.com or may be www.calirobics.com

She also used handwriting without tears and I used it at home for him as well. It was very easy to implement.

Hi, Karen Randall here.

While I DO think keyboarding is vitally important to have in place before middle school, there are some down sides tos tarting it too early. In the real world, we can’t ALWAYS use a key board. So it is important to develop a legible form of communication, whether it’s printing or cursive, if the child has the physical ability to do it.

Our neurpsychologist told us that the “window” to make a big improvement in handwriting skills closes around 10 years of age. By that age, for most people, what you have is what you get. Your writing “matures” in form and speed beyond that, but if you want to give a child wiriting skills you will be most successful if you get it done before then. So generally, her feeling is that to provide as much OT as possible in the early elementary grades, and encourage the child to “do the best they can”. After the age of 10, she said in most cases it makes more sense to focus on keyboard training if the child has not developed fluent, functional handwriting skills.

In Robbie’s case, he had OT in early elementary school, and had developed neat printing. (He can’t write cursive at all, I suspect due mostly to the visual/spatial demands) His printing is very legible, but his speed is not fast enough to be functioanl in the more demanding environment of even upper elementary school, let alone middle school.

We bridged the gap by scribing for him on any longer written assignment, both at school and at home during 4th and 5th grade. In the mean time, he got keyboarding 3 times a week. Finally, by the beginning of 6th, he was typing fluently enough that he has been able to do his written assignments by himself this year.

I definitely think that teaching him keyboarding skills was vital. But I also would not have wanted to give up on the printing/writing skills in first or second grade.

Something to keep in mind is that very young children often don’t have the hand span to be able to learn correct fingering. This can make it harder for them to learn correct fingering when they are bigger. Many young children, even those without developmental delays, also can’t yet move their fingers independently enough for correct keyboarding. But, of course, both of these issues could be assessed either by an assistive tech person or an OT.

Karen

Lora,

Your post got my dander up. I work for an organization that has an Assistive Technology department. Parents of children with disabilities bring in their children to try out devices, software on their children. They also do AT evaluations.

First off, you are a member of the IEP team and they can’t decide without your input that Assistive Technology is not needed. Assisstive Technology might be anything from a pencil grip on up. The question you should ask the school, the guru’s at work told me, is what criteria did they use to determine that your child should not be considered for AT. Ask them if they can show you the documentation of that criteria. One consideration for AT is if your child is meeting his goals.

I agree that an OT should be considered and it might be an OT that could determine if any devices (pencil grip, slant board) would help with your son’s writing. An OT would be able to determine your child’s present fine/gross motor performance.

Below is a definition of AT:

The Definition of Assistive Technology from the Tech Act
Public Law 100-407, the Technology-Related Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988

Assistive Technology.
—The term “assistive technology” means technology designed to be utilized in an assistive technology device or assistive technology service.
Assistive Technology Device.
—The term “assistive technology device” means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Assistive Technology Service.
—The term “assistive technology service” means any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. Such term includes—
(A) the evaluation of the assistive technology needs of an individual with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the impact of the provision of appropriate assistive technology and appropriate services to the individual in the customary environment of the individual;
(B) services consisting of purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by individuals with disabilities; (C) services consisting of selecting, designing,
fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;
(D) coordination and use of necessary therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as therapies, interventions, or services associated with education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
(E) training or technical assistance for an individual with disabilities, or, where appropriate, the family members, guardians, advocates, or authorized representatives of such an individual; and
(F) training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education and rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of individuals with disabilities.

I have two boys,both are dysgraphic(disability with illegible handwriting)
If I had it to do all over again,I would have gotten them familiar with a keyboard at a much younger age then we did.

With that being said,this is my advice to you.
I have said this a million times and probably ya’ll are getting sick of hearing it. BUT the IEP team is who decides ANYTHING on the IEP. The PARENT is an equal member of the team,you have equal say.

To assess the need for assistive technology a qualified individual and in some cases in school district there is a Assistive technology team,should be called and these individuals should do an evaluation. I would suggest writing a letter,requesting a formal assistive technology evaluation.

IDEA and the assitive technology ACT states that the need for assistive technology is to be considered,no matter how mild the disability seems.

OT services should be considered,and any activity using fine motor skills should be utilized. My oldest even tried counted cross stitch there for a while:-)

would this be true? this is what they told me at the iep, that he did not have a physical impairment that is why they would not recommand at services for him. anyone have this experience?

>>>>>>>>>>>>Does he have paralysis, strabismus, or Cerebral Palsy or any other physical impairment that is so severe that it is limiting his mobility and hand and eye coordination? If he does not then he doesn’t qualify and he probably has some motor coordination issues that are related to delays in development and he would qualify for OT.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My son has fine motor problems, and is weak on his right side. But he does not have any physical disability. As I mentioned in my other post, he received OT in the early elementary grades to improve his printing. When, by the summer between 3rd and 4th grade it became apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to learn functional cursive, and the speed of his printing was not adequate to keep up with the demands of written output in school, we had keyboard training added to his IEP. He has always had an Alphasmart or computer available to him for final drafts, but honestly, until we got his keyboarding skills secure, he prefered his painfully slow printing to the keyboard. (which was even slower when he needed to “find” each key)

Now in 6th grade, he uses a lap top thoughout his day for written assignments of any length.

Karen

what is an alphasmart? what age did you introduct that to your child? who recommand it?

<<<<<<<<<<

Lora,

No your child does not have to have to have a physical impairment to consider AT. Please go read the article on the following site. I’v included some of it below.

http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2003_03/contents.htm

Assistive Technology and the IDEA: New Revisions Mean a Greater Role for Technology in IEPs
By Penny Reed and Gayl Bowser, Reprinted from Exceptional Parent Magazine, Sept 1999, pp. 54­58.

“Although school districts have been required to provide assistive technology devices and services since 1990, in many cases assistive technology was treated as a “special area that was separate from the general delivery of services.” In some cases assistive technology was only thought about for children with very severe disabilities or only for those with physical and speech disabilities. The 1997 revision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ‘97) included many new requirements for school districts.

One of those new requirements is the group of “special factors” which each IEP (Individual Education Plan) team must consider. Assistive technology is one of those special factors. The requirement states simply, “In developing each child’s IEP, the IEP team shall consider whether the child requires assistive technology devices and services.” Now each IEP team in every school district is specifically required to focus on the need for assistive technology. So what should be different in your IEP meeting now that your IEP team is required to consider your child’s need for assistive technology? You can request that the IEP team consider assistive technology for your child.

What to Expect on Assistive Technology Consideration in the IEP Meeting
Generally, the discussions about assistive technology should come after you have agreed upon the goals that your child will be expected to attain in the next 12 months. It is not possible to make a decision about assistive technology until you can talk about the specific tasks that your child will be trying to accomplish. According to IDEA ‘97, an assistive technology device is defined as “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off-the-shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability.” The functional capabilities of the child in any situation are directly related to the tasks that he or she is trying to accomplish. There is different assistive technology to be considered for your child in meeting a goal in arithmetic than in meeting a goal in writing.”

Hi Lora,

An Alphasmart is a full sized keyboard with basic word processing capability. It has a small 4 line display. It can be linked to a computer so that the files in the Alphasmart can be loaded into a regular word processing program for editing or what have you.

The advantages it has over a lap top is that it is much lighter in weight, less complicated, and runs for a LONG time on AA batteries. It is also just about indestructible. Add to that a low price tag, and you have a tool that is a much better fit for elementary school children.

Most schools have some available for children who need them to use during the school day. Sometimes they will assign an Alphasmart to a child for home use as well.

Karen