Delta School District

Written Output Difficulties

Fall 2006

Writing is a very complex neurological process. There are many factors that affect written output motor function, language, memory, mental energy, production control, generating ideas, sequencing or handling materials.

Some Common IEP Goals

These children may:

Have poor self-esteem due

to their learning disability
and they need a lot of
reassurance and emotional
support
Experience emotional
turmoil due to a long
history of being chastised
for poor written work
Be easily discouraged or
embarrassed and feel
dumb, especially when
others look at their written
work

Not developed the more

sophisticated language and
conceptualization required
for school success because
of lack of use of written
language

Rarely finish or hand in

assignments

Have frequent careless,

repetitive errors

Show a serious shortage of

facts and ideas, structure,
organization and sequence
and in writing

Exhibit many avoidance

tactics

Appear to be engaged,
good at fooling people

Have a poor active working

memory

Need a safe learning

environment where it is
safe to take risks and
make mistakes

Have a slow recall of basic

math facts and spelling
patterns

Appear lazy, unmotivated

or even defiant
Often be disengaged from
school seemingly
unaware of, or
unconcerned with,
consequences

Produce very minimal

amounts of written work

Have chronic writers

block

Need the teacher to know

they are capable,
intelligent learners

Have difficulty putting ideas

into words when writing (but
may demonstrate no
difficulty when speaking)

Have difficulty thinking up

topics and deciding what to
write

Have trouble getting

started

Find writing tasks

mentally exhausting

Complete short answer assignments

on paper (Math, Spelling)
Gradually increase amount of
information/detail in stories/reports
Use computer for longer assignments
Use school e-mail account to send
homework back and forth
Successfully communicate thoughts
and learning in a variety of ways
(written, orally and graphically)
actively participate in classroom
lessons and activities
demonstrate competence with
curriculum concepts through writing
with guided support, identify, plan
and complete learning projects
demonstrate learning in a variety of
written and oral formats
complete classroom and self-selected
tasks according to established
criteria
Write stories with logical sequence
Use vocabulary appropriate to
speaking vocabulary in writing

In this document:
Characteristics

IEP Goals
Strategies

Gladys Rosencrans CoordinatorSpecial Programs Delta School District #37

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
1

Assessment

Finding Strategies for Success

Try asking these questions...

1. Which forms of output appear to be
unsuccessful in this child? This should
include academic output, such as writing
and homework, as well as nonacademic
channels of output, such as sports and
creative activity.
2. How can we describe the specifics of
this student's output failure? For example:
What pattern of spelling errors do we see?
Are there legibility problems? Does she
have trouble recalling rules of punctuation
and capitalization while writing? Does she
work too slowly? Or too frenetically? Is it
too hard for her to pick topics or generate
ideas for a project? Can she verbalize
ideas but not write them?
4. Can we identify
the area of

an interview with the student, specific

tests, and information from teachers.
5. How do we relate the identified
dysfunctions to the evidence we have
documented (in questions 1 to 3 above) ?
6. What are this student's strengths and
affinities?
7. What sorts of help and support has he
or she received in school, and how good is
the match between this student and the
current educational setting?
8. Are there complicating factors in this
child's environment or life circumstances?
9. What kinds of behavioral complications
are present?

10. What is the student's own

understanding of or insight into his output
neurodevelopmental failure? Has he decided he is just lazy or
dysfunction ? Is it
can he pinpoint breakdowns impeding his
attention control? Is it productivity?
memory? Is it
language? Is it
organization and
Adapted from The Myth of Laziness Mel Levine,
2003; Simon & Shuster Paperbacks
Demystifying the difficulties
strategy use? Is it
motor function? Is it
ideation? This
should be based
upon the parents'
accounts, examination of work samples,

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
2

General
Strategies

Update assessment to identify strengths and

challenges
Try to determine the specific area(s) of
difficulty and provide direct support in those
areas
Allow extra time for assignments
Allow oral answers or testing when possible

Allow student to dictate ideas to a scribe

Provide access to learning materials at
appropriate interest and comprehension level
Provide some education-assistant time

For the student who has difficulty with...

Ideas

Allow and encourage representation of learning

in a variety of formats
Direct instruction in a variety of writing genre
Encourage student to draw or sketch ideas
before writing
Provide opportunities to represent knowledge
and learning in alternate forms (eg. oral
presentations, making models, etc.)

Language

Motor Control

Productivity &
Mental Energy

Time,
Organization &
Handling Materials

writing
Provide easily accessible lists of vocabulary

Allow and encourage representation of learning in

a variety of formats

Encourage student to draw or sketch ideas

before writing

Encourage student to verbalize the story before

Memory

Provide study guides

Plan for Success
Use of graphic
organizers or key visuals
Encourage expansion on amount and depth of
information included in reports

Metacognitive development of effective writing

strategies
Frequent conferencing to develop and monitor
personal writing goals
Encourage student to draw or sketch ideas
Provide photocopied text and allow the student
to highlight key ideas instead of taking notes
Work with a partner to share writing
Provide a tape recorder when possible
Provide word processor (Alphasmart) or computer for note-taking

words for reference

Encourage the use of picture dictionaries
Provide photocopies of overheads used in class

Teach keyboarding skills

Provide photocopies of overheads used in class

Metacognitive development of effective writing

strategies
Collaboratively establish concise, criteria and
expectations for written assignments
Direct instruction in a variety of editing
strategies
Provide written specific criteria for assignments
as a checklist
Photo-copy notes if lengthy

Break large assignments into manageable chunks

Encourage and monitor use of time management
strategies such as planners
Monitor to ensure all assignments are received
and recorded
Reduce volume of assignments and emphasize
completion rather than amount
Use of computer for lengthier assignment

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
3

before writing
Provide photocopied notes for study purposes
Use of a tape recorder when appropriate
Encourage student to draw or sketch ideas
before writing

Provide opportunities to demonstrate learning in

a variety of ways
Provide organizational supports such as graphic
organizers to support writing
Allow student to dictate ideas to a scribe
Use contracts to increase commitment
Use of graphic organizers or key visuals
Set specific criteria for assignments

Use of graphic organizers or key visuals

Use planner to facilitate home/school communication

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
4

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
5

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
6

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
7

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writing With Power!! Julie H. Ferguson. Beacon Publishing. ISBN 0-9689857-6-9
The Myth of Laziness Mel Leving, M.C. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. ISBN 0-7432-1368-8
Draw Me A Story Bob Steele. Peguis Publishers. ISBN 1-895411-82-3
Draw & Write Your Own Picture Book Emily Hearn / Mark Thurman. Pembroke Pub.
ISBN 0-921217-46-3
Interactive Writing A. McCarrier, G. Pinnell & I. C. Fountas. Heinemann
ISBN -325-00209-6
Going Bohemian Lawrence Baines & Anthony J. Kunkel. IRA ISBN 0-87207-254-1
Teaching Conventions Unconventionally Shelley Peterson. Hendriks Pub.
ISBN 0-96829-702-1
Becoming Better.Writers Shelley Peterson. Hendriks Pub. ISBN 0-96996-190-1
Clicker 5. www.setbc.org/psap/
Clicker 5 is a powerful yet easy-to-use talking word processor and multimedia tool
that enables children to write. It is easy to tailor for individual needs to support all areas
of the curriculum.
Clicker grids support students writing with instant, on-screen access to words, pictures
and sounds. Each cell in the grid can hold a letter, word, phrase or picture. This allows
students to write with whole words, phrases or pictures.
Grids can be linked so that pupils can move through them in a sequence, offering scaffolding through written tasks, and access to an unlimited number of words or pictures. This
supports reluctant and struggling writers and enables them to achieve success.
Clicker comes with a large picture library with 1,500 educationally related images. Important note: If you intend to use Mayer Johnson PCS symbols in Clicker 5, the Mayer Johnson PCS symbol library must be purchased as an add-on.
There are many free, ready-made materials available, on the LearningGrids.com website.
Clicker has accessibility options for people who cannot use a mouse or keyboard.

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
8

Kurzweil www.setbc.org/psap/
Kurzweil 3000 provides scanning, reading, and writing support for students who struggle
with literacy. The program has many customizable features which can be adjusted for students developing their literacy skills at all levels.
Students can use the talking word processor with built in word prediction to support their
written output. They can also scan text documents like books and use the program's annotations and study skills tools to develop and improve their reading comprehension. Worksheets and tests can also be scanned and read aloud using the text reading
features and completed using annotations like text boxes. Kurzweil 3000's text reading
features also makes it possible to read other types of file formats (like Word and
Adobe .pdf's) as well as textual material on the internet.
Students can use Kurzweil 3000 for many different types of literacy activities during their
school day. The program comes with a Literature CD with e-text files for many copyrightfree stories and novels.
Co-Writer

www.setbc.org/psap/

CoWriter SE is a word prediction program that integrates several user specific dictionaries
into a customizable prediction environment offering excellent support for the struggling
writer. CoWriter is one of four programs that are integrated into the complete SOLO package, but it can also be used individually with any word processor. CoWriter has strong
auditory support, customizable student access to tools, and the ability to create and use
topic dictionaries.

Student With Written Output Difficulties Delta School District #37 2006
9