PDA as AT for Dysgraphic son

A fellow came in with one of them, with that in mind.

You have to learn a special alphabet for it. I would absolutely want a trial period with a return option (or perhaps, if you know somebody who’s thinking of getting one who’d be willing to buy it from you if it iddin’t work out).

Tammy,
Just wondering but why are you focusing on handwriting recognition for your son? Has he had an assistive technology assessment and this was recommended? Has he been trained in keyboarding and word processing? There are many excellent features built into Word that benefit kids who are dysgraphic or have other LDs.
Word prediction is also a possibility…..

Also, you can attach a fold-out full size keyboard to a PDA and use it to type instead of doing the graffiti writing. Its much cheaper than a laptop or even an alphasmart.

[quote=”Tammy T”]I was wondering if anyone has any experience using newer handwriting recognition software on PDAs. I’m currently looking at some from Dell and Palm and would love any feedback…[/quote]

Hi Tammy,

I am an adult with NLD/ADHD who has horrible handwriting. In spite of my concern, I had no problems whatsoever learning graffiti, which is the handwriting system for the palm pilot. Now, the new models have a grafitti system that is slightly different so obviously, I can’t make any promises.

The Dell Axiom is a pocket pc. I have not used one but one reason why I find them attractive is I understand they come with a handwriting system, which I believe is transcriber, in which it will automatically recognize your handwriting. Might be easier, especially, if the person has fine motor difficulties as my hand will get tired when I have written in grafitti for too long.

My advice would be to go to a place like comp usa or best buy and try them out or have the person who would be using this device give it a whirl. I would also buy your PDA if you go that route from a place that has a 30 day money back guarantee.

Finally, it is important to understand the reason why you are interested in a PDA. I bought mine for organizational purposes and it has been a godscend. If I were looking for a portable device to write assignments, I would either go for a laptop because I need the big screen to see what I am typing. Attaching a keyboard to a palm would not do it for me.

Also, another option is voice dictation software which we all know has its unique challenges.

Hope this helps.

PT

I know one teacher whose student developed much better handwriting when he had to learn the graffiti — it gave consistent feedback on his handwriting, after all. I cannot imagine it being easier than learnign to keyboard, though (and my student who bought one has not been seen using it for writing papers, though that is what he wanted it for, saying that teachers wanted typed papers, but since he couldn’t type, he would do that instead.)

This is a great question.

The special alphabet used on all Palm OS PDAs and the AphaSmart Dana is called “Graffiti.”

I’m terribly dysgraphic and learned it in a day and now can write quite fast with it. I prefer a keyboard and touch type but Grafitti is very useful.

Here’s one of many online displays of how the alphabet looks

http://www.palmone.com/us/products/input/

The “dot” is where you start to draw the letter. Notice that the “A” is an upside down “V” that you start lower left.

The bigger you write the letter, the better the recognition.

Anyway, I think graffiti is worth a try for many people with dysgraphia and one can buy a Palm PDA for as little as $79.

http://www.palmone.com/us/products/handhelds/