writing (was more on ISD)

[Guest guest]

Michele:

I'm so glad to have read of Aubrie's successes so early in her experiences

with ISD! The small class sizes are terrific, and that is a major plus for

utilizing a deaf school. At least that has been our experience over the

years with . And being a state school has its benefits, as well as

some limitations, for being able to get those " odd " things our children

might need.

The raised-line paper is something I have requested for years for ,

but they won't put it in the IEP. I've been very frustrated with this! One

of those " odd " things that they could get, if I could just get them to

understand she needs the tactile cue when writing. One interesting note on

and writing is that she writes straighter sentences when there are

NO LINES!! She also writes better on a white board. I don't entirely

understand why this is, since it is a vertical surface, not horizontal.

We've tried a slant board and it just isn't the same effect. I still can't

figure out if it is a visual or motor component. (I wonder if it is related

to body posture?) I know she had a terrible time with the buff colored paper

with blue lines. But she can identify things that are blue, and currently

has a preference for blue ink pens.

We have decided that she will definitely be using a computer for writing

now. (This IS in her IEP, as well as 3X per week keyboard training.) But,

she will need to have a black keyboard with white letters. The beige/buff

boards with grey or tan letters is too hard for her to see. Her Teacher of

Record also mentioned checking into a " Smart " keyboard. Has anyone used

one? Just wondering what that is exactly. They gave me a basic idea, but

couldn't show me one yet.

Here's a lovely little " quirk " that had us all totally amazed and baffled:

also writes " reflectively " on white boards. Let's see if I can

explain that. When asked to write her name with each hand at the same time

(we were trying to figure which hand was dominant) she wrote like this:

" nitsirK " starting with the " K " s in the middle and working out to

the " n " s, instead of " " , again starting with the " K " s. We

couldn't get her to write it the second way, no matter how we explained it

and even demonstrated with our own names! The evaluators and I were blown

away! I can't do that very well if I try, yet did it quickly and

like it was perfectly natural. I still wonder what that was all about!

(Oh, and she is not really dominant with either hand, so I think that has

been a large part of her problems writing. She is starting to use her right

hand more, but will still shift to the left at times. I guess that will be

good thing when she is typing more.)

I am just fascinated with some of 's quirks, and would love to know

what causes or prompts these!

Friends in CHARGE,

Marilyn Ogan

Mom of (14 yrs, CHARGE+ JRA)

Mom of Ken (17 yrs, Asperger's)

Wife of Rick

oganm@...

[Guest guest]

Marilyn-

You have a fascinating kiddo! I also marvel at the quirks. We know they

must be indicative of something - but what?

I've never heard of a " smart " keyboard - but that sounds interesting. I

think I told you guys that Aubrie's classroom has a smartboard instead of a

chalk board. At our home school, whatever teacher she had would use a

portable whiteboard instead of the chalkboard.

The resistance to raised line paper baffles me. What's so hard?? It's not

even incredibly expensive - especially compared to other accommodations our

kids require.

Michele W