Students with significant disabilities can take an interest in writing and begin the early stages of writing when provided with adaptations.Below is a list of emergent writing skills and several links where you will find ideas and adaptations that can assist to “make it happen” for students with significant disabilities.
It is often believed that a student begins learning how to write when he can use a pencil to write letters. However, the writing process actually begins when children observe adults while they are engaged in writing. Students see the adults at school and at home communicate messages in writing and they want to emulate this adult behavior, which is a necessary stage for beginning to write. Therefore, it is important to model writing about all appropriate topics that are in the student’s world. Examples include making lists for the grocery store, writing down phone numbers, writing your name on a birthday card and sending a letter. Without observing adults’ writing, a student with significant disabilities may not have the opportunity to begin developing an understanding that symbols and written words have meaning.
Students with significant disabilities can take an interest in writing and begin the early stages of writing when provided with adaptations. Below is a list of emergent writing skills and several links where you will find ideas and adaptations that can assist to “make it happen” for students with significant disabilities.
Emergent Writing Skills
• Scribbling
• Mock Handwriting
• Mock Letters
• Conventional Letters
• Invented Spelling
• Approximated (Phonetic) Spellings
• Conventional Spellings
