dysTalk Laptops Help Dyslexic Dyspraxic Children To Access The Curriculum - Dyslexia - Forum - dysTalk

Laptops help dyslexic dyspraxic pupils access the curriculum.

As the parent of a dyslexic and dyspraxic child who uses a personal laptop and assistive software for all of her school/homework I thought it might help other parents to start a thread on this subject. I hope my comments are constructive and give a view on this from a parent and pupil perspective.

Some of the benefits we have found in using a laptop are: printed work can be easily read by the child, free software can be downloaded that will read work back for proof reading, a child who has experienced repeated failure with handwriting often finds word processing motivational, word processing work gives the child independence from a TA scribe, touch typing provides finger memories of spelling, using a keyboard improves fine motor control and the child gains self esteem and confidence as their computer skills develop and they find they can access the curriculum.

some dos and don’ts.

Schools would not consider letting a child with dyspraxia, dyslexia use a laptop unless their access to the curriculum was seriously hindered by their writing speed. A child with fine motor control difficulties would be unlikely to be able to touch type at speed for quite some time.

Do not accept slow touch typing speed as an excuse for the school to limit the amount that the laptop is used, question this and stress the importance of your child being able to access the curriculum independently.

Do work with the school on a joint touch typing programme for home and school, but remember that to develop a fluent word processing style opportunities must be made available and encouraged within subject lessons and be part of their normal day to day recording. Reasonable adjustment must be made by school staff.

Do arrange a meeting with the SENCo to talk over the ways that the laptop will be used at school and have targets set for when and where it will be used written into the IEP.

Do talk to your childs O.T they should be able to look into how your child will move around school with their equipment and where it will be kept safe at lunchtimes and so on.

Do try to get the LEA to commission an ICT audit of their needs or get one done yourself . You will then have a report on their ICT needs the report will help secure you the schools permission and support for its use.

If your child is provided with a laptop the onus should be on the school staff or the childs TA to provide the support so that they are able to use it. Children with dyslexia, dyspraxia do have organisation issues with or without a laptop it’s part of being dyslexic dyspraxic.

Do impress on the school how important it is that your child is given every opportunity to use their laptop at school even in the early days, the sooner everyone gets used to it the better for your child.

Don’t be fobbed off with excuses for it not being used.

Our personal experience was with secondary school looming our child could not write or spell her name and as a result was supplied with a personal laptop. We found that when left to school staff our child did not get the opportunities to use the laptop at both Primary and Secondary school, some of the excuses as to why it wasn’t being used - they didn’t expect pupils in year 7 to use them, they didn’t really have pupils using laptops until Key stage 4 and pupils don’t do much writing in years 7,8. The situation was remedied by contacting the disability discrimination commission and sending a formal letter to the Head to remind the school of their statutory duty not to discriminate.

Since being issued with a laptop our child has made substantial progress in all subjects, she is motivated to produce lengthy pieces of written work which demonstrate her learning and understanding of the subjects studied. This way of producing work has allowed her to became an independent writer.

31/08/2009 21:41:43
Pauline

Dear pauline

I was so relieved to read your post; my son is 8 and recently diagnosed with dyslexia, he is at a small independent school and already this term (the first term since the diagnosis) we have hit such resistance to (a) him using a laptop even for homework and (b) school applying any concessions or modifications within the class. I feel so disspointed and feel I am letting our son down whilst at the same time not wanting to come accross as the 'difficult' mother!. Your advise is so inspiring and I would like to ask if I may, how to contact the disability discrimination comission, as I think this is going to be neccesary. Hope to hear from you soon.

thanks, can you send to my email if possible, as i don't normaly join forums and might forget to check!

Miriam

03/10/2009 00:45:38
Miriam Shieldhouse

Hi Miriam

I'm glad my post was useful. Having seen the benefits of my own daughters use of her laptop I believe passonately that SEN children should be given access to ICT in the same way that their peers have access to pen and paper. Sadly most schools are very behind the times in adapting to the technology and I think cause many children to suffer years of frustration and low self esteem because of this.

If you google Ipsea and click on useful links you will find the website of the disability commission.Another good website is Abiliynet they have free factsheets to download and advice on software which you might find helpful.

Good Luck

Pauline

08/10/2009 20:20:33
Pauline

Hello Miriam

Our local LEA has this week agreed to issue my son with a laptop( after a battle of 18 months) He is in year 10 and has very low self esteem which is partly due to his dyspraxia. I was overjoyed to read your comments and I'm now in the process of doing some research to investigate which laptop/keyboards would be best suited for him. Any suggestions? Thanks

c

14/10/2009 20:58:14
Susan Harris

My son, who is 9 years old, has a laptop which he uses for longer writing assignments in class and it has made a tremendous difference in his writing. He has dyspraxia and his handwriting was so poor it was really holding back his writing (composition) and the OT recommended that he be assessed for a laptop. The school has been very supportive and he spent several months trying out different laptops and pieces of software. He is seen regularly by the ICT teacher who checks to see how is getting on with the laptop. My son is a fabulous touch typist -- there are many good typing 'games' that he found really helpful.

19/10/2009 16:42:56
Kris

hi

I am an occupational therapist, new to work in paediatrics - I am keen to know of any touch typing programmes that may be appropriate for teenagers who have dyslexia / dypraxia. there are so many courses available it would be great to know which ones are most appropriate and user friendly from the childs and parents perspective? also has anyone had experience of using pen computing technology (ie use of a tablet computer). if so how did they find it? any information would be much appreciated.

kind regards

Rosey

01/12/2009 16:44:47
Rosey Palmer

Miriam - Thank-you for your post. My son is 8 and has been diagnosed with visual spatial dyslexia for approximately 2 years now (and known to me for 3+years. He was fully tested and diagnosed by a highly respected community paediatrician, but still receives no help at all at school. He has not even had an ed psych report, and I ve been told that even if he had a lap top there wouldnt be any time for him to use it in class. The constant confrontation got too much for me and I stepped back and put up witht the school as I have a younger son who does well there. Ive been reading all morning after deciding that I really have to help him now, and your article has motivated me to fight for my childs rights again. Many thanks and good luck with your childs care.

04/12/2009 11:26:17
Nichola

my duaghter is severely dyspraxic oral and motor also dysarthria,we have just applied for a laptop,does anyone know where i could find a laptop supplier who could supply one with lower case keypad and speech assisted etc? any information would help! Thanks Paula

14/01/2010 13:36:56
paula Coglan

Hi Paula

I would recommend that you look on the Abilitynet website. Just put Abilitynet into google for professional advice,free downloads and factsheets from the Abilitynet team who specialise in assistive technology for people with disabilities.

14/01/2010 16:14:01
Pauline

Hi was hoping that you may be able to give me some advice ,my son is coming 10 this year and is not making much progress at school i shall explain from the beginning in 2004 was diagnosed with verbal dyspraxia /ADHD possibility of having damp and was meeting very little milestones in 2005 we moved 800 miles to scotland where the education system was very different he attended a rural school for 18months had no imput from any services after arguing with the school eventually got the paed and ep to assess him paed assessed for 20 mins and ep for 10 they said that he had been misdiagnosed and according to class teacher had no problems and was attaining at the correct level to this i disagreed and got the label of being a difficult mum he had an iep but this was directed at home life nothing to do with education as it was felt that it was that he was under pressure at home eventually after 18months i moved him to a town school and never said that he had any problems very selfish i know but i wanted to see ,it took the new school 4 days and then they asked for me to make an appointment they asked me a few questions one was ,was there two children with the same name in his previous school because something didnt talli it was then 2007 i was told that he couldnt write he couldnt read ,was struggling in all areas of the curriculum and was considerably below the lowest of underachievers ,i am now extremely cross but delighted that some one else has realized his difficulty i then begin battle again paed is adament that he only has mild adhd ,speech therapist has said that he is dyspraxic and lst says he is severely dyslexic he has spent the last 5yrs learning the alphabet is still struggling with basic keywords and i feel has exhausted the lsa list of moving forward he is a lovely little boy but if i dont find a way forward soon in the way of a method for him to learn i am going to be in serious trouble as a parent as he is already losing his sparkle and school is becoming a battle he is also quite immature for his age this makes it very hard to find friends and keep them he is 1 of 4 children the oldest being 18 and him my youngest any advice would be gratefully recieved as i feel i am losing my battle i had spoke to the school several times about a lap top as he cannot write independently and have been shrugged off

Thanks Becky

22/01/2010 12:25:24
Rebecca Hutson

Hi Becky

Try to find as much information as you can about what the Local Education Authorities duties are towards your son. A good place to start with this is IPSEA (just put that into google) they have a website which gives professional advice to parents on LEAs statutory duties and links to other educational sites where you should be able to find out what the school should be providing to meet your sons SEN.

Good Luck

22/01/2010 15:36:33
Pauline

Thanks Pauline for your reply but IPSEA doesnt cover scotland ,i have had regular ieps for my son since starting this new school in 2007

but have had no imput from any other services even down to transporting him 50 miles aday the response i got was you took your child out of a school that was meeting his needs therefore transport is down to you i have found the whole system to be a complete failure my son has no statement just attend the ieps ,new head teacher has now written to paed ,ep,salt,to attend a meeting on 2/2/10 as he feels that they need outside agencies on board i really just wanted some guidance on what i should be asking at present out of a school week he gets 1/2 an hour aday support was told that this is not always on a 1-1 and in the class room is worked with in groups of four has 1/2 hour session of speech therapy a fortnight surely if a child is nearly 10 has only just learnt the letters of the alphabet cannot write independently or copy correctly is still on numbers 1-100 has no idea how to spell we should be getting more help than we are at present we read everynight and i have supported the school in every area of education at home and have done since going to school i have spent double the time with him than any of my other children and have always done hmwk attended every open evening gone to every meeting all they seem to say is he is a delightful little boy i am as frustrated as he is.

Thanks Becky

22/01/2010 18:24:26
Rebecca Hutson

Sorry I can't help Becky. My experience of getting support for my daughter is of the English Ed system. It does sound from your post though as if the Head is taking things forward,although some talk the talk but won't walk the walk, my daughter's Primary Head was always willing to talk to me and I actually ended up having seventeen informal meetings with him in nineteen months and he used to say things like ''don't worry Mrs ... your daughter will really take off when she's at university'' she couldn't read or write at 10 years old... makes you wonder where they dredge these people up from??.

You probably already do this but if you don't already I would recommend that you request meetings with all outside agengies who assess your son. Take notes at all meetings with the school and outside specials and ask for copies of all written reports of any tests or observations that have been carried out. This gives you a record of any action promised by the school and a way of checking that recommendations/appointments proposed by the external specailists are acted on and carried out within a reasonable time.

This may sound untrusting but I know from bitter experience that it is up to the school whether they act on the external specialists advice. They can choose to ignore it and do, especailly if they think it will end up costing them money. The more evidence that you have the more you can push for your sons right to access the curriculum.

I hope that helps a bit

22/01/2010 20:37:17
Pauline

Hi Pauline thanks for the reply thats what worries me that he is all nicey nice and willing to speak to me but very slow on the up take was told yesterday that the ep may not even assess him just put in strategies ,i know its not nice to have a label but without a diagnosis which none of them seem to want to commit themselves in saying what is wrong with him i dont feel we will move forward he is delayed in all aspects of learning i will keep you updated once we have had our meeting in feb

Thanks Again

Becky

23/01/2010 10:58:55
Rebecca

Hi, Pauline i bit the bullet today and bought my son a laptop and informed the head that i want it discussed at our meeting on the 2/2 do you have any tips for me on how i can persuade them that i feel this will make a real difference and how we can use it for home and school together also do recommend any programmes to purchase have been looking at nessy any advice would be greatly appreciated

Becky

29/01/2010 11:11:42
Rebecca Hutson

Becky, I put educational additional needs Scotland into google and a website came up from cafamily who give information on SEN in Scotland. From what I read on their site you have the right as a parent to request that the education authority establish a co ordinated support plan for your son. This seems to me to be the same as requsting a statement. There is a set timescale for the authority to carry out this process and you have the right to appeal to the additional support tribunal if the authority do not prepare a co ordinated support plan or if they do and you are unhappy with it. If you look into this in more detail you could inform the school of your intension at the meeting. Your sons profile of SEN and detailed history of professional involvement is quite similar to my daughters. If establishing and preparing a CSP is a statutory duty of your education authority this will be the best way of securing and developing provision for your son. Once this is put into place programmes for working with his laptop can be written into his objectives and targets.

A good touch typing programme is Englishtype the website for this is at www.englishtype.com

Another good website with software products for people with dyslexia and other disabilities is at www.dyslexic.com

30/01/2010 19:50:56
Pauline

Hi Becky,my daughter is 10 and has lots of difficulties. Over the years i have fought long and hard to get any help,i have however picked up some useful info from parent partnership(just google it)like when your child is on an iep it could be school action or school action plus.If your child is on school action plus,the school should be getting advice from outside agencies like the specialist teaching team who should be assessing your childs needs and making recommendations.You are entitled to copies of all reports on your child and your child is entitled to up to 15 hours of help a week.If things still haven't progressed enough, the school (or you)can ask the LEA for an statatory assessment.I will warn you this is a very long process.I believe every child is entitled to an education it's very sad that so many SEN children have so many battles to face before accessing it. Anyway my daughter enjoyed nessy but got on much better with acceller read,acceller write, she also does various phonics groups.After another asessment the specialist teaching team have recommended a word processing tool called clicker 5,unfortunately i cannot tell you about this yet as still fighting to get the recommendations put in place!At the end of the report it says-The IDP Dyslexia(Dfes 2008)offers further suggestions for supporting pupils with difficulties in acquiring Literacy skills. Hope this is of some help to you,keep fighting and keep smiling!!! Oh and good for you getting a laptop and good luck on the 2nd(i recommend you bring someone with you for support and write everything down before you go in).Have you thought about contacting social services,as they have a special needs team that would probably be helpful in pushing for a statement. You could also try Education Welfare.

All the best,Tasha x

31/01/2010 02:57:57
Tasha

Thank you all for your posts. It's great to know we are not alone when no one else seems to understand. My son is 9 with dyspraxia- diagnosed only after years of fighting with the school. I went private for an independent EP and OT assessment in the end. On my way to get a laptop this weekend. Any suggestions for a good laptop for children with finemotor skill issues and who is most likely going to drop it from time to time?

10/03/2010 11:19:37
Yankee blue (Member)