|
|
|
| Home > Advocacy Library > Letters to Wrightslaw > Letter from Daniel - Your advice about touch typing is not appropriate |
|
|
Daniel writes: “Your advice about touch typing for all children with learning disabilities is not appropriate.” “Whether
touch typing is useful or not for a specific student with a specific disability
depends on the nature of the disability. Other assistive technology, such
as voice input, may be much more useful in some cases, such as severe
dyslexia, where touch typing will not help because of a severe spelling
problem. In my daughter's case, this made the difference between being
a successful honor college student who writes fluently on complex topics
and being relegated to high school "learning center" classes.”
Wrightslaw Answers You
make valid points. Allow us to clarify our position on technology. We
agree that every child with a disability cannot learn to touch type -
some children have disabilities that affect coordination and fine motor
control – they may need to use different kinds of technology. But most
kids with disabilities can learn to touch type - and we believe it’s important
for these kids to master this skill.
Here
is Pete’s commentary about “Assistive Technology” from our book, Wrightslaw:
Special Education Law:
We had several objectives in writing "Seven Steps to Effective Parent Advocacy." First, we
wanted to encourage parents and professionals to think about intelligent,
creative uses of technology - this is one key to providing a better
education for kids with disabilities. Second, we wanted to help parents
understand that THEY can help their children learn important skills -
they don't have to rely on the school to teach everything. Helping a child
learn to touch type is a good example of this. In
your letter, you mention voice technology. As you see from Pete’s commentary,
we agree that voice recognition technology can be very useful. Like your
daughter, one of our clients is severely dyslexic - the remediation he
had was too little, too late. And he has spelling problems too. This young
man is now in college and uses voice dictation software for his assignments.
I don't know
if you are aware of Pete's history. When he was seven, he was diagnosed
with severe dyslexia, dysgraphia, "minimal brain damage" (an earlier term
for ADHD), and other problems. The school people informed his parents that
he was ‘borderline mentally retarded’ so his parents should lower their
expectations - he was not college material.
Pete's mother
didn't accept their advice but conducted an investigation into treatments
for dyslexia and dysgraphia. As a result, Pete had intensive Orton-Gillingham
remediation every day for two years and also attended a residential summer
program. NOTE:
Pete wrote an article, “Three Generations at the Supreme Court,” that
was published in “Perspectives.” You can read his article at: https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/orton.html
Because
Pete had intensive, appropriate, early remediation, problems due to poor
reading were not a problem by fourth or fifth grade. But he did have problems
with written language – his spelling was okay but he had trouble putting
his thoughts into words and writing them down.
These
problems decreased after he learned to touch type. Because he types 60+
words a minute, he can type nearly as fast as he thinks.
When
Pete's sons turned 11, they had to learn to touch type. When each child
could type 30 wpm with a few errors, they could stop. (This was before
Windows software so they used books and a DOS program.) Because the program
was boring, they buckled down and finished it in a few weeks. Learning
how to touch type helped both boys in school.
Legal
Definitions of “Assistive Technology”
The term
“Assistive technology” includes "devices" and "services." 20
U.S.C. Section 1401 – Definitions
(1)
Assistive technology device – The term ‘assistive technology device’
means 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.
(WRIGHTSLAW, page 24)
(2) Assistive technology service – The term ‘assistive technology service’ means any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an Assistive technology device. Such term includes – (list of services follows) ASSISTIVE
TECHNOLOGY: INFORMATION & RESOURCES
* LD ONLINE * To
learn more about Assistive technology, visit the “In Depth Section” of
LD Online:
Here are three articles about Assistive technology (AT) from LD Online: 1.
“Tools for Living with Learning Disabilities” (published by the Coordinated
Campaign for Learning Disabilities) provides a good overview of tools
that help people work around their disabilities. Tools can be simple or
complex. Simple tools include highlighters, tape recorders, and calculators.
Complex (or high tech) tools include voice recognition software, talking
calculators, and software to help users spell words correctly.http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/ccld_assistive_technology.html
2. “Considering Your Child’s Need for Assistive Technology” includes these topics: *
Legal requirements about Assistive technology,
* How to use technology for students with different disabilities, * How to include technology in the child’s IEP, * How to prepare for IEP meetings, * Assistive technology evaluation guide, * Issues related to statewide assessments, *
How to use technology at home 3. “Technology: Some Common Questions Answered” (by John Copenhaven in “Counterpoint,” a newsletter published by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education) This
article, originally written for special education administrators, is a
series of “frequently asked questions and answers” about technology. In
a dispute about the school district’s obligation to provide technology
services and /or devices, parents and advocates may be able to use information
from this article to support their position. You can get a copy of this
article at: * LD RESOURCES * LD
Resources is an excellent source of information about technology and “low
tech” and “high tech” tools. The LD Resources site is the brainchild of
Richard Wanderman, a popular speaker at conferences around the country.
Visit the LD Resources site – you may want to subscribe to the LD Reader,
his free online newsletter.
http://www.ldresources.comNEWS - A. T. CONFERENCE IN COLORADO Achieving
New Heights with Assistive Technology Conference
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
