Severe Writing Disability

Dragon has gotten very good but it is still a whole lot more manageable when you’re talking to that computer in your own house, not in a classroom full of people. I’d want to learn it at home and then figure out the logistics for school. (I work in a computer lab at a community college and we’ve got Dragon 8.)

You might want to post this to the ‘parents’ board since it’s more active… I have heard good things about Co:Writer and Draft Builder (used in combination) from the folks at the QIAT assistivfe technology listserv I”m on ( www.qiat.org - you can ‘search archives’ for Co:Writer and Dragon and find out what the folks in the trenches have to say )

My dd has similar issues and we’ve tried a few things. First, request an Assistive Technology Assessment from the school. Ask that they try a variety of programs, both speech to text (such as Dragon Naturally Speaking) and word prediction (Word Q, Co:Writer). This will give you a good idea as to what will work better and what he is more comfortable with. A word of warning: if he can’t read fluidly at a 4th grade level or higher the speech to text program will be very difficult to program.

My dd used Word Q in 7th grade. It is an easy word prediction program which works with any word processing program. You can download a 30-day trial version at: Word Q - http://www.wordq.com/

We also use Inspiration for outlines, story webbing, organizing writing. http://www.inspiration.com/home.cfm

Currently, because her problems are more complex than just writing, she is using Kurzweil 3000 (http://www.kurzweiledu.com) on a laptop for school. This provides her access to text-to-speech (reading) of her school textbooks and word prediction in one program. She is also learning to take notes by highlighing passages from the texts on the computer.

Good luck on your search!

Mava,
There are many possibilities but you have to find what works best for your son based upon his strengths and skills. Definitely request an Assistive Technology Assessment if it hasn’t already been done. Every student on an IEP is supposed to be considered for assistive technology per IDEA ‘97 and this has been renewed with 2004. What works well for one student may not work as well with another student and it is best to have your child evaluated in his natural environment (school) with appropriate recommendations.

Good luck. Keep us informed. There really are a lot of technology tools that support written expression.

the qiat folks also have an excellent set of forms to look at for assistive technology plans — called “SETT” , so if you Google “Joy Zabala” and SETT you’ll find it…

Thanks for the great advice and web links! I will check all of the links out. My son’s placement ARD is in a week. Keep your fingers crossed! With all the private testing we have had done by different specialists, I don’t see how the school is going to be able to come back and say he does not qualify for anything, particularly a writing disability because it is so severe. Should I request the assistive technology evaluation at the placement ARD?

I’m not sure what an ARD is but if it’s an IEP team meeting, that is the place to request it. Bring a copy of a request in writing to the meeting.

I second what KJT said. Make sure you present the request in writing and have a copy for yourself that they can date and sign for your records.

ARD is an eligibility determination kind of meeting; yes, bring things in writing and get it into the paperwork, no matter which way the ‘team’ decides.

We don’t use those initials here in MA. What does ARD stand for?

ARD is federal terminology, and it is part of the Special Education process. It stands for Admission, Review, and Dismissal. A child is admitted into Special Education (Admission part of ARD), is reevaluated after a period of time (Review part of ARD), and dismissed if the child no longer qualifies for services (Dismissal part of ARD). My son’s ARD in a week will be a review ARD, for he was a Special Education student, speech only, when he was in public school three years, ago. I pulled him out of public school, homeschooled him and put him in private school for 2 1/2 years, but I never formally had him exited from Special Education. When he returned to public school this year, he was able to receive an IEP based on private testing because he already was classified as Special Education. The school is doing their own testing, and his Special Education status will be reviewed at the coming ARD, to see if he still qualifies or will be exited from the Special Education program.

Thanks for explaining that. I’ve been involved in Special Education here in Massachusetts for 15 years (professionally as well as my son and foster son are both on IEPs) and that term is not part of the process in our state. There are many other acronyms but not ARD.

Hey, you’re a foster mom, too!!! My son came to us as a foster child almost four years ago, and we adopted him almost three years ago. Becoming his foster mom is the best decision I ever made!