writing or tech aids in high school to participate more fully — Scope | Disability forum
If we become concerned about you or anyone else while using one of our services, we will act in line with our safeguarding policy and procedures. This may involve sharing this information with relevant authorities to ensure we comply with our policies and legal obligations.

Find out how to let us know if you're concerned about another member's safety.
Please read our updated community house rules and community guidelines.

writing or tech aids in high school to participate more fully

ajayelle
ajayelle Community member Posts: 4 Listener
Hello - I am new to the community.  I am a trainee teacher at a high school and today I had a student with cerebral palsy who found writing very difficult. This limited his participation and he relied on his lab partner's help to fill in an experimental results table which is both supportive and yet deprives him of his independence. He can write but it is difficult to read and it is quite an expenditure of effort for him to keep up with his peers re copying instructions into his lab book.   By this point he was lacking motivation to write up his results which to my mind is where the real good stuff lies. There are laptops available but a) he would have to go up three flights to get one and return it after lessons which is a big ask I think given the time between lessons and b) the manual dexterity required for the keyboard is just a different kind of problem.  I wondered if anyone knew of a solution out there that did not cost thousands of pounds/dollars.  I read about a 'magic wand keyboard' but what i found was very expensive.  I wondered if touch screens lke ipads were a better answer but really I wanted to ask you, the community, where do I go from here to find a solution for him and any other student who may need help to complete work that isn't physically laborious.  This is problem one.  Problem two will be raising money, but I'll deal with problem one first.

Many thanks for any responses.  I'll admit now to being a complete novice regarding the barriers faced at school by young people with cerebral palsy so please forgive if I sound too vague. I am.  This is the beginning of my education towards being a teacher who can actually respond the best way I can to students' needs.

Ajayelle

Comments

Brightness

Complete our feedback form and tell us how we can make the community better.