EDUC 5163 - Assistive Technology

Take the Pencil Out of the Process

Leslie Broun

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Leslie Broun’s article “Take the Pencil Out of the Process” brings light to a number of important ideas around what it really means to be accommodating for students in their best interest. Broun discusses why handwriting is an issue for many students, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), learning disabilities and developmental disabilities. This discussion is valuable for everyone that works with children to keep in mind.

The task of writing is a large undertaking. If students have struggles with motor planning, which many students with ASD experience, then the output of printing and handwriting takes a long time. Broun discusses that many parents prohibit their child from using a keyboard for writing tasks, even when the child is demonstrating an inability to print either efficiently or legibly. This can majorly interfere with their academic performance. Sometimes students may grow out of this, or with extra practice an improvement in their skills may be seen. For some students, however, no progress is made with their handwriting, and production continues to be a struggle. Broun outlines the signs of dysgraphia, the inability to form letters correctly and quickly, and I thought this was valuable information for educators to keep in mind. These students may focus more on the handwriting process than thinking about the content of their work, they may write as little as possible to shorten the handwriting process, and they may become used to thinking in as few words as possible as well, which may affect their creative license when presented with a writing task. I also thought it was interesting that Broun brought up the point that motor dysfunction may be considered to be a “soft” sign associated with autism. When it comes to students with ASD, the primary movement troubles that many individuals experience are hypotonia, which is low muscle tone and strength, and apraxia, which is an impairment in the execution of skilled movements. Together, these conditions interfere with the ability to hold a writing instrument, as well as complete the handwriting process. One more interesting observation that Broun discusses is the issue of macrographia, or larger letter size. Many students I have worked with with intellectual disabilities experience this.

Broun outlines explicitly that as teachers, we should not assume that an individual with efficient fine motor skills in other areas should be able to develop and refine their handwriting skills. It is important to keep in mind that low graphomotor skills impact written expression, which can extend to many other areas in a classroom. For example, Broun makes a connection to poor behaviour being the result of the fear and frustration encountered by students who are having trouble with communicating through handwriting. As mentioned above, it takes great concentration to produce the actual writing, so the focus for students who struggle is no longer on the task at hand, but creating the output. The quality and quantity of their response becomes limited. Instead of focusing on using a pencil and paper, learning to use assistive technology, namely a keyboard, is a sensible alternative. Broun presents arguments against use of a computer ,such as it not being fair to all students, that it may be too costly, being able to print is important, and that teachers will struggle to find time to teach a student to type. As this article was written in 2009, I believe that technology has improved greatly, and that more has been incorporated into schools. As all students begin to use more technology, such as Google Apps for Education, it will decrease such concerns described above. Integrating technology is an example of differentiating instruction, and allowing for increased student success. To quote Broun, “when we think about the meaning of literacy, it is the thought process that is the most important element”. When educators continue to focus on use of pencils and paper, it is not valuing the thought process for so many students. It may also cause them to form impressions of student abilities that aren’t valid, simply because they are unable to complete a motor output process.

I think that Broun raised a lot of important points to consider for students who struggle with the physical components of writing in this article. I believe that all teachers should be aware of the alternatives to requiring students to handwrite work, and that if they are truly designing their lessons with the Universal Design for Learning approach, this would not be an issue that continues to impede student success in today’s classrooms. Our world is advancing technologically everyday, and education needs to follow suit.

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