looking for some guidance with a particular student

viavoice is awful. No kidding. I tried it after using Dragon speak Naturally and there is simply no comparision. My reason for attempting the switch was a delivery of new Mac’s. Forget it. Dragon speak naturally will work for an articulate child.

How about some OT? If both handwriting and keyboarding are issues then sounds like OT to me.

The child does get OT–about 15 minutes/month. An evaluation for some sort of voice output method was supposed to have taken place, but I have yet to see anything…

Thanks for the information on the ViaVoice.

Kelti

Why do you see the alphasmart as posing a problem for attention? Its not like there is really anything to play with on an alphasmart. For a child with ADHD, handwriting can be a much bigger draw on attentional reserves. You’ve got to remember how to make the letters, remember to draw them on the lines, remember the rules about writing sentences, and remember what you wanted to say. Even if the child hasn’t learned “correct” typing form, he can still hunt and peck. In fact, it is generally recommended (at least for younger children) that there not be a big emphasis placed on proper form. The child can be exposed to typing skills, but anyone, even a kid with ADHD can use an index finger to poke out words. In fact, some kids can be amazingly fast using hunt and peck.

If the kid has attentional issues then I definitely would NOT recommend text to speech ala Dragon or anything else. ADD/ADHD kids are not known for their frustration tolerance. You ever feel like flinging somethign to the next county it woudl be the CD for one of those. They are hard to learn, require lots of reading (it is doable, but…), and are frustrating as heck to get it to do what you want.

I think the AlphaSmart sounds like a better idea. I don’t see how attention would be much of a factor on it.

—des

The student has GREAT difficulty keeping track of everything, much less another pack for the Alpha Smart! He’s very hard on supplies/equipment, too. What makes this much harder is that he’s told me he hates typing. I’m not totally against an Alpha Smart, but if he’s not going to buy into the idea…the OT seems to think that since he CAN clean up his handwriting, and make it legible, that the situation is ok. I have a different opinion. This child CAN clean his writing up, but it takes an extroardinary amount of time, and this simply is not his normal way of doing things. He’s really got the “READY, fire, AIM” thing going on…

Kelti

Can’t agree that adhd is the limiting factor for Dragon Speak Naturally. You need to become experienced in the training process. But the key is the verbal ability, the fluency of the dictation of the child. It also helps if the kid is somewhat tech savvy. Having some experience with MS word will make the correction process of Dragon much easier.

But am curious as to your plan. The voice file has to be resident on a computer and the file is continously updated. Will the student report back to one machine, will he carry a laptop? Can’t thinkit feasible for the kid to carry his voice file. If you are worried about an Alphasmart, know that they are far more rugged than a laptop.

Personally, I am waiting for the day Dragon goes to my palm.

Well I should rephrase this: If ADHD is a problem then Dragon is NOT going to be *easier* than an AlphaSmart. I think it would be harder, not impossible.

As for what you have to carry, I think you have to carry MORE with a computer than AlphaSmart.

I am VERY familar with text to speech having learned a few different programs. So I know waht is involved, but I have never taught it to a child. There are some things that will make it more difficult but not necessarily impossible for a child.

IF the kid is willing, there are ways to deal with handwriting. I wouldn’t say it was the preferred way of dealing with dysgraphia when there are more than a few words.

Sue has some ideas on dysgraphia on www.resourceroom.net

—des

This student needs an assistive technology evaluation. Then you won’t have to guess about what will work.

I’m working on an evaluation–but I’m currently at the mercy of the OT. She was supposed to come yesterday for her regular visit, but called to say she wasn’t feeling well–-UGH!

Thanks for the website references–I’m gaining knowledge as I type!
Kelti

Kelti,
Where are you? This is exactly the type of student that I consult about as an Assistive Technology Consultant AND an occupational therapist. How frustrating that must be to be dependent upon a team member who is not doing their job!
As you know, every student on an IEP must be considered for AT by the TEAM per federal law. If that is moving slowly, enlist the student’s parents to put an AT eval request in writing to move things along.
There are many factors to consider when “considering AT” and it sounds as though you are trying to facilitate the process.
Feel free to email me directly if you want to.
Karen

With such students, I first recommend that they be allowed to dictate some of their homework (they often have so much these days) to a willing typist. That will allow them to ‘keep up’ with their homework while they are still catching up in their writing skills. It also allows the teacher to be able to legibly read what they have written and judge their writing on its content - and not be influenced by their poor quality of the handwriting.

For actual writing improvement, I’ve had luck with the Ph.D pen/pencil. It’s stubby shape is designed to improve handwriting and you can get it at Staples. There’s something called a ‘slug pen’ which is also good but it’s expensive and hard to find. A felt tipped black thin marker also can improve their handwriting. I think for some children the lead tip of the pencil is really too slippery and their writing either is too light or too dark as they press down trying to steady the pencil.

ADD children do seem to exhibit poor handwriting.

Thanks for the information. I ended up getting a copy of the Dragon Speak program from our O.T. department, but unforntunately, it was too old of a version to run on any of our computers! Looking at the reading required for the set-up, though, leads me to believe that the student would have had a very difficult time getting the reader to work anyway.

As a standard, I already have changed format for written products. A lot of the student’s work is done orally, scribed, or in modified length. I was just looking for an option which would let him be more independent. At this age (Junior High), that seems to be so important.

I have Dr. Grips that I could try with him, but I’ll have to see if I have .7 lead—he really goes through the .5. I think those pencils are similar to the Ph. D.’s mentioned before.

Thanks,
Kelti

I have found laptop computers to be an outstanding solution for kids with ADHD. I have a child who literally falls out of his chair 3 or 4 times an hour on a regular basis because of his high activity level. Once I started using laptop computers in the classroom, he became so interested in what we were doing that he stopped wiggling and started working. The change is incredible. Of course they take a lot of training but after the first week most of my kids were able to get on the computers with just minimal prompting. We’ve been using them fairly regularly for about a month now and the initial start-up is pretty pain free. The wiggler is still the most work as his short term memory is pretty poor and his work out-put is minimal but we’re working on it. But, try the laptop. It has worked wonders and it is great for handwriting.

I have found that Kidspiration is a great way to inspire kids to write. Once they write something they can hit the voice button and listen to what they say. What fun!