Special needs, laptops and MFL

[karmakameleon]

My son is in Year 7 and has some specific learning needs. He’s very bright but has consistently struggled at school and for the last couple of years we have been advised to encourage him to type. He always refused until very recently when he taught himself to touch type and agreed to use a laptop for English.

Over the last six months we can see a definite improvement and clear progress in all subjects. He’s using the laptop for all essay subjects and, at our last parents evening, teachers commented that his written work is beginning to match what they know he is capable of based on his oral contributions in class. There is still some way to go but there is definite progress.

So now I get to the “but”. The only lesson where he is not allowed to use a laptop is MFL. This is now the only subject where he is clearly still struggling. He was told by his class teacher that this was because of accents not being standard on the keyboard. At parents evening I asked if it was possible to teach him how to use the keyboard to produce accents but this was glossed over. Afterwards the teacher sent me a lengthy email on why it was important to learn to hand write in MLF.

I’m keen to understand if this is standard practice before I take this further with the school. If there is evidence that handwriting is better for learning MFL, even with special needs, I’m happy to let the conversation drop. However given the change in him overall and his considerable progress in just six months (he’s gone from bottom of the class in every subject apart from maths to at least average in the last round of tests) it seems like something we should at least consider.

Would be grateful if anyone has any experience of this and can advise.

He doesn't 'need to learn to write,' he has a disability which means that the physical demands of writing presents a barrier to learning for him. The laptop means that he can access the work and allows him to fulfil his full potential. It is a reasonable adjustment and his usual way of working. Speak to the Senco, the teacher is misguided.

Yes I would agree that longer answers could be typed. Why not actually have a lookat his MFL book and see how much and what kind of writing he does?

He has an ed psyc assessment and it was based on this that typing was first suggested.

It’s clearly enough to cause issues with his test results given the 12% mark recently. Regardless of how much writing he does now, he’s in Year 7 and I’d expect the amount to increase over the next few years so if it’s a problem for him we may as well find a solution now.

I've seen recommendations on the Facebook dysgraphia group I'm on for an app called SnapType, where you can take a photo of a worksheet and then type answers in. That might help with a teacher who is unwilling to provide resources in a different format.

I would reply back and CC in the SENCo. Quote from the Ed psych report, state that typing is a reasonable adjustment.
Does your DS have an EHCP? If so and it’s written in there then quote that too.

Thanks, I think that is what I will do. He doesn’t have an EHCP. He’s in a private school and his needs are pretty basic, give him a laptop, some ear defenders and a quiet space aka the library and he’s good.

Speak to the senco however it's really tricky to use a laptop for every lesson and sometimes it can slow you down.

The MFL teacher is being difficult because it’s easier for them to have sheets/ books to look at. If your son has a disability that affects their ability to write (as my DC does too) then no amount of ‘oh just get them to write more’ is going to help, all it does is stop them being able to show what they can do and therefore get more frustrated. My DC has just finished GCSEs and used a laptop for all - for the French exams, they printed out their answers and added the accents afterwards as trying to remember all the accents was too difficult for them. This was perfectly acceptable under JCQ exam arrangement rules. Push back on this OP, your son deserves it!

It really doesn’t slow you down if the alternative is handwriting when you have a disability that prevents you conveying your thoughts when you have to physically hand write. My DC is such a fast typer due to practise that they can write more than an average child can handwriting. It’s such an antiquated view that handwriting is superior.

The teacher is being obstructive. My DS used a laptop in all lessons year 5 onwards including French, German and Latin.

My son has Asperger's and is in a private school too he uses a laptop all the time for longer pieces of writing. He had multiple interventions to support his writing in primary, however if it is an issue that persists and which is clearly linked to an additional need (dysgraphia is frequently co-morbid with autism spectrum conditions), typing is absolutely the right thing and the MFL teacher needs to be teaching inclusively.

My dc have all been able to use laptops for MFL GCSEs. Writing is painful for them and it is a reasonable adjustment. Some teachers have complained but it is not linked to subject as much as the teacher. One of the biggest advocates for one of my dc to get them on a laptop was a MFL teacher.

It is important to build up the muscle memory for whichever mode they end up using in exams. Having said that unless he particularly enjoys MFL I would be quite open to him dropping it as soon as allowed so he can concentrate on the other subjects.

The issue with him dropping MFL is that he’s likely to go to an academic senior school. He’s bright and these are the most suitable schools for him but they all demand at least one MFL at GCSE. I’ve also noticed that he’s enjoying English much more since he started to type so I think his hatred of all languages is more about his struggles with writing than about the languages.

Why can't you use a spell checker in MFL? Laptops weren't really a thing when I was at school but I have a French degree and studied in French university so I had to write up to 5000 word essays in French. Accents and spell checks aren't really a problem, assuming you're using reasonable software which can cope such as Microsoft office. You just change the language on the spellcheck to French.
Even my phone can do accents for texting.
To be honest even the worksheet thing could be easily overcome by taking a photo of a paper copy, saving as pdf and writing his answers in using software like adobe.
It sounds like the teacher hasn't got experience of this situation before and unfortunately OP will need to push the senco for the reasonable adjustments which her son is entitled to.

Or you could literally buy a correctly marked keyboard with a usb plug for whatever language it is from Amazon. Then no need for cards etc.

Really pleased that he's enjoying his subjects more now he is typing, that's what it's all about. 😁

This. His laptop is an aid because of his speech and language needs. Not a fun added extra.

My DS used a laptop for all his lessons due to handwriting difficulties including MFL.

Your DS will be getting zero benefit from handwriting in his MFL lessons if having to write is a barrier to learning. Regardless of the evidence the teacher is spouting that may apply to other children, it won't apply to your DS.

I would be fuming at this teacher's failure to accommodate my son's reasonable adjustment.

I am a secondary teacher albeit not MFL but Music. I have had a number of students who used a laptop for answers that are longer than a word or two in the listening exam in their GCSE. It's honestly no big deal. I try to sit down with them in year 10 to show them an old listening paper and talk through which parts they would answer on the paper and which they would type. I stress to them the importance of putting the correct question number and part on each answer. Those students sit at the edges of the exam room by the plug sockets and with a larger table so they can fit the paper and laptop on comfortably.

Your DS's teacher is talking rubbish. If your DS is in y7 and practises using accents etc now, they will be second nature by the time he takes GCSEs. I'm sure lots of them are alt+ something anyway. As others have said, go to the SENCO and tell them what has happened. Does the teacher have access to his Ed Psych's report? Anything like that in my school is uploaded onto our management system and we have to read them to ensure we are meeting specific needs. Something else that we do is upload work into OneNote so students can annotate their own copies. It works really well, but all ours have school laptops with Teams/Office on them.

OP’s DS should be allowed to use a laptop and worksheets shouldn’t be used as an excuse not to allow that, but he is unlikely to be allowed to have spell check enabled for MFL because JCQ’s rules don’t allow spell check to be enabled in MFL exams. Schools generally base internal adjustments like allowing spell check/scribe/extra time etc. on what is allowed in formal exams.

I’m a bit lost for words here in regards to the teachers reaction. I am severely visually impaired, studied three languages in high school, and speak 10 now. Back in the day, I used my braille computer gadget, the computer or did thing verbally. Nowadays, I tend to use dictation more than anything else, but I don’t see what difference it makes, it’s in knowing where to put the accent on the word, I can’t really understand why it would make a difference if it’s hand written or on a keyboard, as long as you know it, you know it.

My Y10 DC uses a laptop in every subject (apart from PE!) due to underlying hypermobility in their fingers and wrists with the added bonus of nerve damage in their dominant hand. Teachers have been brilliant (state comp) and most email worksheets in advance for DC to type in direct. DC then prints them at home or emails to the teacher depending on the teacher's preference. MFL has been as supportive as all the other subjects.

Thanks, this definitely what it’s all about! A year ago I couldn’t understand why a child who reads so much hated English, now I understand. But instead I’m asking myself whether a child who voluntarily spends his evenings on duolingo genuinely does dislike languages.

Thanks to everyone who shared their experience. I’ll email the SENCO on Monday and hopefully we can get this sorted.