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SN children

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Original poster

use of laptop in school?

37 replies

nuttyredhead · 26/02/2011 12:00

Hey all,
Ds age 9 diagnosis of Dyspraxia. I self referred ds to OT last year,is simply t best thing i ever did.Anyway they recognised he has significant problems with hand writing,in form,speed and fluency.They say he needs access to a laptop/computer.
I was wondering if any of you had children that used a laptop in the classroom.I was wondering how frequently they need to use it,should he use it for all written work? The dysraxia foundation say hand writing is not an essential skill and i tend to agree as handwriting causes such a problem for him.
School say they do not have funding for a laptop either,is it a case of hving t buy it ourselves!! All new territory for me.
Any advice or input would be great guys.

Rgards
Justine

OP posts:

starfishmummy · 26/02/2011 12:10

DS uses an alphasmart in school - its just a basic word processor type thing with a small scrolling screen; I think they can plug it in to the computer to print stuff off. He doesn't use it much I think (he has learning delay and is at SS so they use lots of other methods too).

THe alphasmart belongs to school and doesn' come home. I think there are other pupils who do have laptops - I'm not sure who pays for them though, or how they make sure they are kept safely at school.

Original poster

nuttyredhead · 26/02/2011 12:17

DS finds handwriting so tiring,its been an issue for 2yrs now,but having this OT report has confirmed this.He has poor posture, low muscle tone,vestibular and proprioception problems too.These all add to his problems when hand writing.I am anxious to get this in place asap as we are looking at secondary schools soon and i want all the help in place.

OP posts:

maddiemostmerry · 26/02/2011 12:33

My ds also uses an alphasmart. He is at secondary schol and I find they are far less uptight about handwriting than primary school.

I think if you buy a lap top you would have to make sure it was insured to be used at school.

Talk to the secondary schools,most seem to have a supply of Alphasmarts for this sort of use.

tabulahrasa · 26/02/2011 12:58

DS used to use an Alphasmart, he now has a netbook - the Alphasmart was given to him by the IT department of the LEA in Primary, he took it with him to secondary and the school replaced it with a netbook a couple of years ago

they both come home, though he tended to leave the alphasmart at school (with a designated member of staff, not just lying around)more as every time we tried to hook it up to our computer something went wrong, lol

Schools do usually have Alphasmarts hanging about, but it depends how they allocate them how useful that is...really the only way it works is if the pupil is given one for their personal use as they don't have fantastic amounts of memory so sharing them is a bit tricky

he uses it for most lessons, maths being the big exception because his handwriting just isn't legible enough for either him of a teacher to be able to read it.

Check he'll be allowed to use a personal laptop in school, a lot of schools don't allow it.

FamilyCircus · 26/02/2011 13:43

Nutty, I'm looking into this for DS as well. He's also 9 and possibly has dyspraxia, but he's home educated so we don't have to worry about what school think about it.

His learning is seriously hampered by not being able to write legibly, and we're getting nowhere with handwriting practice. I'm a bit worried that he'll get frustrated with typing, but I don't know what else to do.

I will probably just go for a standard 15", cheapish model. I'm trying to find out if there is any specific child friendly/SN software available at the moment. Something with a storyboard template to attach photos and words easily would be good. DS gets distracted easily so I don't want a programme with loads of options to tweak because we'll never actually get around to producing any work. I'm not getting very far though.

tabulahrasa · 26/02/2011 14:45

oh I had a shot of some fabby software that sound like that, hang on, I'll look it up....

5inthebed · 26/02/2011 14:48

DS2 uses a shared laptop at school, and will have his own from April, funded by the LEA. He has ASD, dyspraxia and statemented. He is in MS as well.

He can't hold a pencil properly, he holds it like he is going to stab someone.

tabulahrasa · 26/02/2011 14:52

plasq.com/products/comiclife/win

it's got a free trial, so you can try it out, I had a shot on an inset day - it's really straightforward to use, yeah you can fiddle with font and colours and stuff, but not massively so it won't distract too much and it is designed to be used with a webcam (which is more fun) but you can put in any sort of pictures...

I was thinking of using it for making alternative versions of novels and things in English, but other departments were using it for experiment instructions, how to guides, presentations, it was fun to use

FamilyCircus · 26/02/2011 17:25

Tabula, that software is fabulous; thank you

I'll download it tonight and get DS to have a go at it. It will be so nice for him to be able to produce neat work that he can feel good about. He will love the comic style aspect.

Original poster

nuttyredhead · 26/02/2011 17:43

Thanks fo all your messages. We will have a look at software Tabula,THANKS.I got plenty of questions to ask t senco on monday now.I had never heard of the alphasmarts so i will defo be asking about those.

Thanks again

OP posts:

sumum · 26/02/2011 18:08

My ds (year 3) has a laptop in school that he uses for most lessons (i think), I do think they need to do some handwriting but the lappy enables him to do written work faster so he can at least get some ideas down.

Unfortunatly we had to provide it, if we had waited for school funds he would be an adult!
However we get dla so I thought it a good use of that money.

growlybear · 26/02/2011 18:34

Have you thought of asking the family fund for a laptop.

EllenJane1 · 26/02/2011 19:11

My Ds2 age 11 with ASD ( he's quite dyspraxic) uses an alphasmart also which the school was reluctant to provide. We found a secondhand one so have no problems having to share it or bringing it home. The advisory teachers for communication and interaction recommended it. It's much more robust than a laptop but much more basic with no mouse or (distracting) games so we thought ideal for just getting on with some writing. Schools locally do use them, it was out of my DSs school's experience and we found this seconhand one and didn't want to wait.

He got it in year 3 but only started to use it regularly in Y5 when the quantity of writing really increased. He took to it really easily as it's so much better than writing for him. We think he'll probably have a school laptop in secondary as the presentation of work gets more important and internet use increases. He still has to do some writing in Maths and on worksheets and planning sheets etc.

Because it's used each day he can use it in his SATS this May without having to specially request permission. He does have a Statement so that might not be the case otherwise IYSWIM. In real life how much writing do we do anymore that couldn't be done on some form of tech? HTH

moosemama · 27/02/2011 18:53

My ds is 8 and sounds very similar to yours in terms of his physical difficulties. He started using an Alphasmart at school in January and took to it like a duck to water.

He still hand-writes worksheets where only a small amount of writing is required and also writes manually in numeracy. He uses the Alphasmart for longer pieces of writing, so much of his literacy etc.

We've found that his school anxiety has significantly reduced since he got his Alphasmart and he no longer complains about literacy lessons - which is a huge plus. The OT also put in her report that he shouldn't be forced to do cursive/joined up writing, as his hypotonia means that he just doesn't have the strength and control to manage the necessary flow effectively. They did recommend that he continued to practise his print-letter formation though as without using them the muscles will only get weaker, which will just exacerbate the situation.

What really helped him was learning to touch-type using the BBC Dance Mat Typing Programme (which is the one they use in his school). We built it into his homework timetable, just ten minutes at a time a few times a week - although to be honest, he likes it so much he often stays on longer.

We didn't have to buy ours, as they had a spare one after upgrading the one that was being used by a year 6 boy.

They are cheaper than laptops and as as EllenJane said, not as distracting - especially if you have an IT made ds.

auntevil · 27/02/2011 20:50

Thanks for the info everyone. DS1 is having another assessment - that i asked for - and i was going to discuss with OT their thoughts on using some form of laptop. I think that because we got a dx when he was quite young - pre school, their concentration has always been on writing. He is in yr 3 now and struggles with the speed of some lessons. The school is MS with a disability base, so tends to listen to the OT and physio input.
I assumed that we would pay for whatever we needed. Can't imagine our LEA stumping up for anything.
Nuttyredhead - let us know how you get on - and what is recommended by the school.

wraith · 28/02/2011 00:54

in honesty i can speak from personal experiance (tyes im that youthful)

i was permitted the use of a excellent tandy laptop in school which had 40kb of memery and 1 meg of storgae.... ona monocrome 8 line screen

did it help yes i was able to take notes and work at the same speed of my peers and was only forbbine its use during spelling tests or any test where spelling and grammar (which ive given up on ) counted.

if you do get access to one id recommend one running one of the easy linux netbook varients simply because theres less space for abuse as its harder to get games and the like running.

starterfor10 · 28/02/2011 10:48

It seems much easier to get these things in Secondary. My DS uses an Alphasmart and the school seem to have quite a supply of them that children go and get if they need them.
Has he got a Statement which specifies use of a laptop or similar?

SparkleRainbow · 28/02/2011 16:46

My ds doesn't have a statement yet, but LA sen team have recognised his medical problem and we are meeting PDSS IT specialist on Friday to establish what would be best for him. He is 7 nearly 8. You could ring up the SEN team and ask them how the LA goes about funding IT provision for children. It might help.

chachaheels234 · 01/03/2011 14:53

The OT also said my son would benefit from a laptop in school because of the same reasons as you, The OT asked our LEA to asses him for a lap top, laptop was provided over a year ago by LEA .school have said that no teacher in the school wishes to let my son use it in their lessons.. So after a rather strained review the SENCO said she will use it in her lesson which is music I might add, he has used a laptop once that I know of in the lesson. I should also say that the designated laptop has gone missing.It is so frustrating having to go in all of the time and ask the same questions and getting nowhere.I feel like a burden asking for what is already in the statement.

SparkleRainbow · 01/03/2011 16:28

What on earth is their justification for "no teacher in the school wishes to let my son use it in their lessons". The OT said your ds would benefit, the school has no right to overrule this, they are not medical professionals. Plus if the school as lost the designated laptop, then the school should replace it. Ooo sorry chacha that has made me so cross on your ds' behalf.

SparkleRainbow · 01/03/2011 16:29

Don't feel like a burden chacha, go in and bang the heads table for better support, the school is letting your child down.

Sorry still very cross on your behalf, will slip off, calm down, and climb off soapbox

chachaheels234 · 01/03/2011 16:46

Many thanks for your concern Sparkle, I have days when I am really assertive so I go in and explain my concerns etc and believe me there are more issues than the laptop, only to find myself coming away with my tail between my legs because they have said that by insisting on things that are wrote in his statement I am "stifling and over analysing my sons worries, and they don't believe he needs much of the support anyway.I wish I had more fight in me, I just get speechless at their obnoxious statements.

tabulahrasa · 01/03/2011 17:00

Do you have anyone that can go in with you chacha? Someone willing to be assertive on your behalf?

SparkleRainbow · 01/03/2011 17:02

How about parent partnership? That is exactly what they are supposed to do.

tabulahrasa · 01/03/2011 17:07

yep, most LEAs provide advocates as well, they just don't advertise it very well...

But if a friend or family member is willing to go with someone, it's usually more comfortable. (and tehy can be bumped for someone else if it doesn't work, lol)

Parents are quite often unwilling to ask for help with school meetings, or aren't aware that you can take people with them - that's what I seem to come across anyway

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