Typing and Special Needs
Gage has always struggled with writing. This isn’t uncommon for kids with learning differences, so we know there are a lot of kids and families facing what we are facing with education. Gage will dictate things to me sometimes, he will write (not always legible) or he will type (takes a long time). Homework is a challenge and getting your thoughts on paper is a big deal, obviously.
Gage attends a small private school that welcomes technology. Early in his first year there – 6th grade – they encouraged us to get him an iPad and we did. He has recorded lectures, taken pictures of boards with notes, goofed around with it (not allowed) and even had a couple of his textbooks loaded onto it by his school. It’s been great that they have a technology specialist we’ve been able to use for recommendations and feedback and she keeps us informed of Gage’s progress on the iPad (he could certainly use it smarter/better) and will tell us of programs she thinks could help.
One of the main goals educationally (seriously, there is always one, isn’t there?) is to get both kids touch typing (a friend asked what this meant — it means to have the finger placement proper and learn how to type without looking). Quinnlin is a little bit better in writing, but she still uses a keyboard at school. So teaching both of them is important. Each morning this Summer break (except vacation, of course) we’re going to run through these programs recommended by Gage’s school.
Here are the one’s she found and my notes after three days use:
- Typing Class for iPad – this is a game style app that helps to learn fast typing with fun and makes you more productive. 4 different games with multiple levels. ($1.99)
- Tap Typing – This app gives practice sentences and paragraphs for typing. ($3.99)
The following is what the school used in computer class this year:
- www.freetypinggame.net – Has practice lessons and games for keyboarding
- Dance Mat Typing –http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ – Has sequential keyboarding practice lessons
- www.learninggamesforkids.com – Has multiple keyboarding games for practice.
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About The Author
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts is founder of Support for Special Needs and has been a regular contributor since its inception in May 2010. A mom to two kids with special needs, she didn't want other parents to feel what is the often isolating world of raising a child (or two!) with disabilities. Her kids had kidney transplants at the age of eight and will need liver transplants in the future as a result of ARPKD/CHF. They both have vision disorders and learning disabilities.
My son has been using a computer since he was 2 years old and one in the school since he was in 1st grade. In kindergarten, he did an early keyboarding program called Type to Learn Jr. That was the only formal keyboarding program he ever did until 6th grade. He did a 6th grade program and started and ended at 18 words per minute, till using just certain fingers and his own technique. He did increase his accuracy though. True 10-finger touch typing based on these programs just was not in the cards for him. For the same reason handwriting is hard, true 10 finger touch typing is hard for our kids. It’s important that our kids know their way around a keyboard (and don;t hunt and peck) and have a certain speed but I don’t think that true touch typing needs to be a goal for special needs kids. There are tables that tell you what the handwriting speed during composition and note-taking for certain ages/grades are. That is a functional keyboarding speed. Anything beyond it is really not necessary. Remember this as the kids work on their keyboarding. Functionality is the goal not some old-school notion of a certain speed / handplacement that was necessary to be a secretary in the old days…. My 2 cents.
True, it’s different for all kids and whatever works best is well, best!
P.S. His typing is more accurate than mine. Sorry. At 18 wpm, his handwriting matches the grade level handwriting speed. He word processes all of his language arts work and has never been held back by speed.
Great post Julia! I played the BBC game last night and had a blast. I learned to type when I was 10 (bored one summer in the country) and it has served me well. I’m hoping to get Liam onto some of these games. He has his own style of typing right now – uses most fingers and both hands without crossing the center line, so if it works for him for accuracy and speed I’m okay with that. But I think these games can help even if he doesn’t touch type in the true meaning of it.
As of this morning, Gage is at 10 WPM, which is you know 9 more than when we started~
What a great post! I work at the company that runs a typing game site called Nitro Type, http://www.nitrotype.com. It is used in a lot of schools and I got the following message from a teacher about the success one of his students had in increasing his typing speed while having fun at the same time (it’s been edited for identity purposes). It’s an amazing story. Perhaps it’s a site that might interest you. Although it doesn’t work with the iPad.
Real email from a Middle School Teacher:
“Nitrotype is great! I have a 7th grade boy in my class that, because of Cerebral Palsy, only has use of his left index, right index, right middle and right ring fingers. Because he is also mute, learning to type effectively is even more important to his success. We have tried traditional typing programs, “One-Handed Typing Software” and even a smaller keyboard. None of these allowed him to be able to type for more than a couple minutes without getting frustrated and giving up. But on Nitrotype, he has increased his speed from 5 words a minute to 12-15! He is constantly winning races! Not only is Nitrotype a wonderful typing program, it has that motivation factor (and it’s HUGE) that is missing from most typing systems! “