How to help students with dysgraphia in the classroom
Read&Write’s discreet toolbar lets students with dysgraphia choose what they need, when they need it. This removes barriers in the classroom and means students with dysgraphia can let their strengths shine.
What is dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a term used to describe difficulties with writing. It's mostly associated with writing issues, but doesn’t usually include trouble expressing thoughts. However, when people struggle to write down what they’re thinking, it can make it difficult for them to organize and share their ideas. One of the most common signs is messy handwriting. Other signs can include:
- Struggling with spelling
- Poor spatial skills, like uneven spacing
- Awkward pencil grip
- Slow handwriting and appearing particularly tired from writing
Introducing Read&Write: our literacy support tool
For students with dysgraphia, learning how to express themselves on paper can sometimes be difficult.
This means it’s important to provide the right accommodations and tools so that students with dysgraphia can learn and thrive.
Read&Write provides support during everyday tasks, like writing essays, reading and researching. For students with dysgraphia, Read&Write’s powerful toolbar can completely transform how they work by boosting their confidence in the classroom and beyond.
What Read&Write tools can be used for dysgraphia accommodations?
Check it: Lets students check written work and understand how to improve it. It finds ‘sound alike’ and phonetic spelling errors, plus grammar and punctuation mistakes.
Prediction: Provides powerful, in context word prediction as the student types. This lets students concentrate on the content of the work, rather than spending all their time and energy on spelling and vocabulary issues.
Dictionary and Picture Dictionary: Students can quickly check a word they’re unsure of for a dictionary definition and sample sentence, which can also be read aloud. Students can also see a picture of the word to further aid understanding.
Text-to-speech: Plays what students have written or what they’re reading to help with comprehension and to help spot mistakes. This helps with reading speed and productivity, as well as word recognition.
Talk and Type: Lets students type into documents or websites by dictating into a microphone. This removes barriers associated with handwriting and typing so that students can focus on conveying their ideas.
OrbitNote Integration: The OrbitNote integration within Read&Write transforms PDFs into digital worksheets. Students can edit and annotate text in PDFs, while accessing all the great Read&Write tools like text-to-speech and highlighters.
What changes can Read&Write make for students with dysgraphia?
Create more confident learners
For students with dysgraphia, struggling to keep up with their peers can sometimes cause feelings of frustration, anxiety and self-doubt. But when provided with equal opportunities thanks to Read&Write, students can see what they can achieve when they have the right tools.
Enable independent learning
The Read&Write toolbar lets students choose what they need and when they need it. This helps reduce one-to-one teacher help, which students may also sometimes feel too embarrassed or uncomfortable to ask for.
Watch students thrive in an inclusive learning environment
Powerful assistive technology, like Read&Write, is crucial in creating an inclusive classroom and one where all students are given equal opportunities to thrive. As a demand for accessible classrooms becomes more common, this is a crucial step in creating a positive and modern learning environment.
All this & more available with
Helps millions of students and adults worldwide to read, write and express themselves independently.
Are you ready to find out more about Read&Write?
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