Fine Motor Adaptations for
Marcia Chance
Why does Marcia need
adaptations?
Broun, 2009

multiple studies have shown that there are “neurological abnormalities
that may cause differences in their movements and execution of motor
tasks” (Broun, 2009, p.15).

people with autism may spend much of their energy on the physical
process of writing instead of written expression

recommendation to use computers as an adaptation

Co:writer would reduce the amount of fine motor energy exerted
General Classroom Adaptations
Reaven, 2009
•
introducing new concepts: multiple choice questions and written
worksheets
•
focus on creative strengths: drawing, etc.
•
frequent review of concepts
•
video modeling of difficult concepts
General Classroom Adaptations
Cole, Horvath, Chapman, Deschenes, Ebeling
& Sprague, 2000
•
reduce length or simplify assignment
•
spelling is not graded
•
copies of notes from peers
•
mark number of correct items
•
no re-writing
Co:Writer

Co:writer is a word prediction computer
software program (www.donjohnston.com)

three types of word prediction:
- word completion
- bigram/trigram prediction
- linguistic word prediction
Flexspell


word prediction is based on phonetic spelling
research has been done on common
phonetic spelling errors of struggling writers
Dictionaries

largest dictionary has over 40, 000 words

5 dictionaries
- main dictionary
- collected words dictionary
- writer’s personal dictionary
- topic dictionary
- eWord bank
Why would we use this software
for Marcia?
Mirenda & Turoldo, 2006

increase the amount of words spelled correctly (decrease
frustration)

improved legibility (unnecessary to erase messy work)

the proportion of proper word sequences improved

increase her motivation to write
Why would we use this software
for Marcia?
Mezei & Heller, 2005


increase in typing rate (less likely to fall behind peers)
increase the amount of words spelled correctly (decrease
frustration)
Tumlin & Heller, 2004


small overall increase in typing rate
increase in the amount of words spelled correctly in 2 out of 4
subjects
Dragon Naturally Speaking

speech recognition software developed by Nuance
Communications
Main Features:

dictation - Spoken words are converted to written text

controls - Spoken words are used as commands

text-to-speech - Written words are converted into audio
Main features continued…

dictate into a word processor, e-mail or other programs

activating/de-activating the microphone – “wake up” or “go to
sleep”

“scratch that” deletes the most recent speech that has been
inputted

“new line” or “move to”
Features continued…
Editing:
 edit text - state “select that” to highlight desired passage
 quick correct menu - examples of possible substitutions for
editing purposes
Grammar:
 autopunctuation - commas and periods are placed automatically
 punctuation - placed after specific voice commands (e.g.
“exclamation mark”, “open quote” or “apostrophe”
 formatting – “tab key”, “new paragraph” or “bold that”
Why would we use this software
for Marcia?
Reaven, 2009




individuals with autism’s anxiety may cause fatigue
and sleep disturbances which reduces attendance
Nuance communications state that a 900 word
essay could be dictated in 6 minutes
tendency for perfectionism in ASD
editing feature would enable her to select from
several different options to edit text to her high
standards
Why would we use this software
with Marcia?
Gardner, 2008
Literature Review:
Study #1 – 1999
 individuals with difficulties writing were able to write longer, more
complete written passages
Study #2 - 2000
 speech recognition software benefits: increased vocabulary, less
focus on spelling and greater attention to ideas (written quality)
Why would we use this software
for Marcia?
Gardner, 2008




writing involves physical stamina
students with cognitive difficulties and fine motor issues
may have problems with organization and correcting
errors
individuals with writing difficulties may be embarrassed
by the formation of their letters and spelling errors
anxiety over the mechanics of writing may effect the
quality of their writing
Resources

AnxietyBC
 www.anxietybc.com
Steps to PMR procedure:
www.anxietybc.com/resources/pdfs/MuscleRelaxation.pdf
Autism Community Training (ACT)
 www.actcommunity.net
Popard
 www.autismoutreach.ca
SET-BC
 www.setbc.org
The Gray Center
 www.thegraycenter.org/





References
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