Alphasmart

[JJMom39]

We are thinking about buying an Alphasmart for ds who will be entering 3rd grade. He has dysgraphia and dyspraxia, so handwriting is very difficult for him, as is copying from the board and many other related school tasks. I don't know much about them and have not seen one in use. If your child uses one or has used one in the past, what did you think of it? Did they use it at school, or did they resist using it at school because it would make them different from everyone else? Do you or did you have any of the add-on's like Co-Writer and/or Text to Speech? I don't think we are ready for a laptop, but he needs something so that there is not so much writing. TIA!

[JAG10]

Have you asked your school district for an assistive technology assessment? Depending on your state and how the school system is set up, often the SLPs and/or OTs are responsible for the process of determining which device will be most appropriate and with what software.

 

I will say this....typing in 3rd grade is no easy road either. I've had students with significant dysgraphia who begin introduction to a Dana/Neo/Alphasmart and it takes a couple years to develop the skills for typing that will outpace the weakest writer.

 

Does your child have a 504 or IEP? If so, you can ask for scribing accommodations during specific assignments or tests. Is an OT involved? If I were you, I would definitely pursue this through the school. There can be trials of different devices with the teacher and therapist keeping data to determine which device and accommodations result in the most effective learning.

Edited August 15, 2011 by JAG10

[MomWithOCDSon]

We had considered an Alphasmart for our DS (handwriting, especially during exacerbation, can be troublesome for him, as well). The school psychologist actually discouraged us from it because of the "stigma" attached to the device among the peer group, so we never wound up going there.

 

Since your DS has identified learning differences, does he have a 504 Plan or an IEP at school? With one of those, you could arrange for him to have accommodations, even without an Alphasmart, that would lessen the burden of handwriting both in the classroom and for homework. He could, for instance, work on assignments in the computer lab or some other place where a keyboard is available, or he could bring them home and do them on your home computer. Or, since learning to write is one of the key goals of the early school years, you could request that he be allowed to bring some assignments home with him where he could work on them with less pressure and distraction, and with your personalized encouragement.

 

My DS began with a 504 Plan in 3rd grade and now has an IEP in high school. Accommodations regarding handwriting that we've been able to secure over the years have included: 1) he's allowed to take some assessments verbally, rather than writing down his answers; 2) he's allowed to do more assignments on the computer, even when the rest of the class is handwriting them; 3) the teachers give him sets of classroom notes, either their own or a set from a reliable fellow student so DS doesn't have to worry about keeping up with note-taking in class.

[kimballot]

My son has refused the alpha smart since elementary school - which drives me crazy!! My son is older now and I am thinking more and more about having him use a smart pen for notetaking. Is anyone else using this? I don't think it will help with generating essays, but it should help with taking notes in class. Here's a video

[tpotter]

Wow Kimballot, that is really cool. I'm going to show this to my DH, and possibly get one for our son just entering college.

 

I also agree with JAG10, although I would actually ask for an OT and Assistive Technology evaluation. It's really important to find out why your DS is having the writing problems, and what compensations/therapy needs to be done to determine what, if any AT is necessary, and what can be handled through therapy, scribe, etc. Put your request in writing. Different states have different requirements for when they have to respond by.

[JAG10]

Also, if they learn cursive in 3rd, sometimes that helps with the flow and reduces reversals. Sometimes it just complicates matters.

 

Type to Learn is a good keyboarding program for kids.

[JJMom39]

Thank you for the replies! I don't know what I would do without this forum

My ds goes to a small private school so much of what he has in place already has been because I have asked for it or the school has seen the need for it. The school does not have an OT or SLP, but we have a private OT and SLP. So far his OT has focused on experimenting with weighted pencils and different types of grips. Ds hates all of them. He wants to hold the pencil the way he is used to holding it. He will not use anything like that in the classroom. He will, however, use an angled stand for writing, which helps to stabilize his arms. He has a tremor in his hands and arms so writing is difficult for him, beyond the other motor issues he has. Last school year we developed a list of accommodations that includes things like reduced in-class writing, use of abbreviations when applicable, shortened writing assignments, parents do writing for him at home, school special ed teacher does some writing for him, extra time for tests, tests can be taken orally, use of a scribe for some things like standardized tests. (The "scribe" is a teacher or parent who is able to help.) It would be great to have a scribe for more things, but there is no money for that and the public district will not be offering that--his diagnoses are not severe enough. Towards the end of the year we went through the process of getting an IEP, through the public district. Although I am glad we did it for the paper trail, the end product is not very helpful. There was little that was new, and the things that were new are really not that helpful. The accommodations that he had in place and that we are adding this year are the most helpful. During the IEP process no one suggested an assistive technology evaluation. I will ask the school and see where that leads. It will have to go through the public district again. They did not do and OT evaluation because ds had already had an extensive eval through the private OT. I will ask her about assistive devices also. The Alphasmart came up because this summer he started working with an educational therapist. She would like to see him move into more typing so that writing is less of a burden for him. She's not pushing for him to do his own typing this year, but thought that having access to a laptop or Alphasmart could get him started. She also mentioned using Dragon Speak or other similar programs. I think that would be better for him since typing would also slow down the creative writing process. He does have some typing skills--he takes typing in computer class and they have been working on typing since Kdg--but he is still hunt and peck so no speed demon on the keyboard. I know the school will go along with whatever we want, but it's a matter of figuring out what will be the best fit for him and making it happen. They are more than willing to work with us, but I have to drive the bus and I don't always know where I am going.

[kimballot]

It sounds like you are doing great and are really on top of things. I have heard good things about dragonspeak, but we found it to be glitchy on our computer (the computer was not very new).... and it was a turn off for my son. I wish I would have perfected it myself first so he could have made a more successful transition to it.

 

Your OT might find some information useful on the NY state OT association website at http://www.nysota.org/node/334

 

Keep us posted!

Edited August 15, 2011 by kimballot

[JAG10]

One thing I heard about Dragon Speak is that it is "one speaker" specific. So, it can adapt to the patterns of one person only and can't be used by someone else.

 

There are apps as well you could use for trials.

[JJMom39]

Thank you all again!!

[kimballot]

One thing I heard about Dragon Speak is that it is "one speaker" specific. So, it can adapt to the patterns of one person only and can't be used by someone else.

 

There are apps as well you could use for trials.

 

Yes - you have to "train" it to your voice pattern- but if I recall correctly, you could wipe that out and then re-train it for another voice. So - you should be able to train it for your voice and get used to using it... then start over and train it for your child's voice. You just cannot switch back from one person to another on a daily basis. It is probably best to check before purchasing it, though, as my version may be outdated now.

[Mary M]

Our dd was provided with an Alphasmart by the public school last year when her dysgraphia exacerbated again with PANDAS. Dd was in 7th grade (age 12). She found the Alphasmart had some drawbacks--1) the school did not have a cord that worked for printing so all of her teachers had to have the device in their possesion long enough each day to read her homework from the night before. 2) the device was an older model and therefore only displayed 2 lines of text (I think it was two)...this made creating a cohesive thought challenging for her as she could not remember what she wrote that she couldn't see. I was concerned that the other kids would tease her but interestingly...she shut them down when they made negative comments. It may have been helpful that the school she attended also housed the County-wide special ed program with lots of inclusion opportunities so lots of alternatives were present in any given classrooom. She had already made a connection with this population by befriending some of the students while she was well. Advocating for herself was just an extension of advocating for others. Unfortunately, dd's symptoms then prevented her from attending school for the remainder of the year. Due to the disadvantages noted about the alphasmart, we opted for a small netbook. Of course, now her OCD prevents her from charging it! LOL!

Mary

from Michigan

[Johnsmom]

My son has refused the alpha smart since elementary school - which drives me crazy!! My son is older now and I am thinking more and more about having him use a smart pen for notetaking. Is anyone else using this? I don't think it will help with generating essays, but it should help with taking notes in class. Here's a video

 

 

 

 

 

What is the name of this product? Id like to share with our school for future use. Thanks!

[kimballot]

My son has refused the alpha smart since elementary school - which drives me crazy!! My son is older now and I am thinking more and more about having him use a smart pen for notetaking. Is anyone else using this? I don't think it will help with generating essays, but it should help with taking notes in class. Here's a video

 

What is the name of this product? Id like to share with our school for future use. Thanks!

 

It is a "livescribe smart pen" They are available from a variety of stores, and there are different versions (older and newer versions, some with more or less storage, etc). The livescribe website is here http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/smartpen/

NOTE: I do NOT work for livescribe or have any financial interest in this... and my son has not used this yet - I just think it could help lots of our older kids. (just want to be sure we are clear on that)

[EAMom]

My dd got one in 4th grade. Actually, there were already a bunch of class alphasmarts (which were used for certain projects) in her classroom. I don't think she used her own alphasmart much in the classroom (not wanting to be different) which was our original hope.

 

However, did use it for reports (at home) in both the 4th and 5th grade. (She's just starting 6th grade now.) It was great for reports b/c she could do most of her typing on the alphasmart and then later plug it into our home computer so she could do the final edits/print on that.

 

I agree that a 3rd grader might not ready for a laptop (too fragile) at school. Unfortunately, the stigma of being different was pretty big, so we really didn't get to utilize the alphasmart's full potential in school.

Edited August 23, 2011 by EAMom