Writing and Language Disorders

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aphasia

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late talking

pervasive developmental disorder

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Music CD's to encourage Speech Development

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Education Station

Learning to Write

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Books & Articles Curriculum Remedial Programs Software

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Accommodations for students with communication & learning disorders

Adaptive programming & games

Early Literacy Information for Educators
"Reading is the single most important educational skill your students will learn. Understanding the organization and meaning of text and instruction in both phonics and literature is essential to helping young children read. By understanding the prerequisite skills for reading, teachers can build a solid foundation for their students to learn and succeed in school."

Experts on Accommodations -- Available to answer your questions

Idea sharing forum for teachers

Modifying Curriculum and Instruction

Nine Ways to Adapt Instruction

Software

Dr Peet's TalkWriter for Windows
TalkWriter has ABC games and a talking/singing word processor. It includes a spell checker and teacher workspaces.

Kurzweil - "Kurzweil Educational Systems currently offers two powerful assistive technology products...Kurzweil 1000 is an advanced scanning and reading solution for the blind or visually impaired. Kurzweil 3000 is our scanning, reading and writing solution for people with learning disabilities or reading difficulties."

QPointer Voice® enables you to create, format, edit and save documents, you can write and send e-mail, surf the Internet entirely by voice. You can manipulate any editable text and dictate into any Windows-based application. Voice is used to move the cursor and execute mouse commands, it is basically a voice mouse, where "what you say is what you see".

Read, Write & Type
Children learn to hear the individual sounds in words, and associate each sound with a letter and a fingerstroke on the keyboard. Children use their eyes, ears, mouths, and fingers. This multi-sensory and motor approach stimulates learning and helps children who have different learning styles. Children develop fluency by making thousands of letter-sound (phonics) associations. Children are engaged and motivated by the colorful characters, games, animations, and music.

The Amazing Writing Machine
"...This program will make your child's homework easier and better organized. It's easy to figure out and operate, and makes writing FUN again!

As for my personal experience with this title, my oldest daughter has been diagnosed with a language development disorder. She doesn't like to write, although she can, with much encouragement and support. She spent an hour with this program, produced an original poem and printed it out with a cover page! If it happens that your family also owns the KidPix Studios (any), the tools work the same way and the stamps are interchangeable - they can be used in The Amazing Writing Machine. "
Read the review here http://www.kidsdomain.com/reviews/kdr/awmachine.html

Remedial Programs

There are many different handwriting programs out there; these are just a couple. Please let us know if you've found a program that was helpful to your child. Email us at support@speech-express.com

Callirobics (CALLIgraphy and aeROBICS) "are a unique concept in handwriting exercises. They consist of repetitive simple writing patterns (straight and curved lines) to music. The music relaxes the participants and adds rhythm to their exercises. With music the exercises become fun instead of tedious penmanship chore. Music also benefits participants who learn better through auditory, instead of visual means. For beginners,(4-14) advanced and adults."

Handwriting Without Tears
includes products for Readiness, Printing and Cursive writing.
developed by Jan Olsen, an OT. "The purpose of my work is to make handwriting an automatic and natural skill for children of ALL ability levels. Children who can write well with ease and confidence do better in all of their classes, enjoy school more and feel proud of their work. Children and teachers enjoy success with Handwriting Without Tears because it makes handwriting easy and fun to learn."

Books & Articles

Handwriting Instruction: What Do We Know? ERIC Digest
"There is increased emphasis on children's writing today, but the emphasis is on writing stories and essays that demonstrate that children are learning to think. However, before children can write anything, they must learn printing or cursive handwriting. Despite the influence of new technologies, the computer and the word processor have not replaced the need to learn how to print or write.

In the search for effective handwriting instructional practices, researchers have examined the following questions: How are printing and cursive handwriting usually taught? Should printing be taught first and then discontinued? What should be done with the children who are poor printers? Are special paper and pencils necessary? and Is there a single "best" method for teaching handwriting?" Read this article to find out more about the importance of learning handwriting.

Handwriting Hints from the Teacher Web
Pencil grasp, size, finger position and more tips about helping a child learn to write.

Structured Writing:Using Inspiration and Write:OutLoud Software to Teach Paragraph Development By Charles Haynes & Kathleen McMurdo. "This book, CD-ROM and poster offer step-by-step instructions to teach students of all ages and abilities to write well. Solutions and strategies for multiple learning styles and disabilities are addressed. Inspiration 6.0 and Write:OutLoud 3.0 (software not included) are used to demonstrate the writing process, although any concept-mapping and word-processing software may be used effectively. The Mac/Win CD-ROM included contains color-coded templates that define, teach and reinforce paragraph structure. Files require Inspiration 6.0. © 2001. 97 pages."