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Aitsl Special Needs
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Case Study Essay
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and/or fluent written expression as well as poor spelling and handwriting skills”
(AUSPELD, 2018, p. 8). Students like Joseph have to work hard through the
processes of written expression to the same ability as those that are confident in
uncommon difficulty that may co-morbid with dyslexia ‘that is weakened decoding,
reading and spelling’ (Berninger & Wolf, 2009). It can either be through spoken
language or non-verbal. For a student with dysgraphia, some of the identifiable signs
that may be recognised for students with the neurobiological disorder consists of;
illegible handwriting, slow laboured writing, mixing print and cursive letters, spacing
letters and words oddly, poor spelling and grammar, difficulty gripping a pencil,
incorrect punctuation, run-on sentences and the lack of paragraph breaks and
trouble organising information when writing (AUSPELD, 2018, p. 9). This paper will
considerations and responsibilities for meeting the needs for students with
dysgraphia, strategies to address the needs and how communication would be used
Writing is a complex and imperative skill that students must learn in their educational
experience. It is not unexpected that several students may have difficulty in writing
competently. There are several things that can impact the progress of a student with
dysgraphia in the classroom. Some of the most important impacts that students like
Joseph suffer from in a classroom atmosphere is that these students see themselves
as different, this limits their ability to feel confident in their learning as well as they do
not feel as if they have a fit for purpose in the classroom (dsf, 2019). These students
tend to be a lot slower at completing tasks than others. Their learning experiences
are not going to be positive as they produce self-doubt towards themselves in their
abilities to complete tasks and having the anxiety and pressure of not feeling good
enough and/or very different than all of their peers. In the classroom students with
dysgraphia tend to be made fun of and or bullied because of their differences. This
causes low self-esteem for students like Joseph and impacts them in a major way in
the classroom. According to research (dsf, 2019), it has been stated that
misjudgement is used by teachers through mistake thinking that the students are
being lazy and are not trying their hardest, or aiming for the best of their abilities
significantly. For these students, it can be quite stressful as is. If they are not
provided with positive reinforcement and the essential support, these difficulties have
a damaging effect on the students emotional wellbeing, which in turn damages the
want to learn, engage and be involved through the educational experiences as part
Some other impacts that students with dysgraphia experience consist of having
difficulties in the planning stages of a writing task that includes planning a draft,
perform a writing piece/story and then revising their written work (Westwood, 2015,
p.123). Students have troubles expressing goals and producing thoughts, spending
little amounts of time in the thinking space before commencing a writing task and not
having the ability to write enough in the allocated time that the whole class is given
It is essential for all teachers to know their students and how they learn. This is an
obligation that all teachers must take part in at all times to plan a successful
for the teacher to provide the RTI tier 2 (AUSPELD, 2018) in which is working in
small groups with peers allowing for intervention and ongoing mentoring. This allows
all students to work collaboratively, and students to be able to feel a sense of being
Considerations that teachers need to embed in their planning preparation for both
like Joseph to teach handwriting and letter formation through using sand trays, paint
bags, glitter glue, scented pens/textas as well as using verbal to memorise the
size scales. Within this, allowing students to start writing on whiteboards as large
print as they feel confident with and then gradually minimising the size of the surface
and or scale for the students to be able to identify and adapt the norm to practice
(AUSPELD, 2018). Also placing visual prompts on students’ desks for support is also
as important. And also using teaching aids to support the students’ needs in order to
form appropriate handwriting. Aids that are used for dysgraphia are highlighted
paper, pencil grip and or specialist pens/pencils to maintain appropriate pencil grip,
slant boards to provide the best posture for the wrist and hand muscles as well as
providing students with raised paper to grasp the sensory through touch in allocating
the correct letter sizing and formation as this is what students like Joseph struggle
with (AUSPELD, 2018). For teachers, these are important considerations to think
and plan for to support individuals handwriting development and needs. For written
expression teachers need to think of the students’ needs and their abilities as such.
Using templates to assist students with the planning and construction of written tasks
what the students are capable of is crucial to embed in the planning for students like
Joseph. Instead of getting Joseph to write essay forms of writing it is more beneficial
to allow him to draw pictures or dictate his ideas during planning to organise his
ideas when writing. Using explicit direct instructions is beneficial for Joseph, as a
teacher, it is important to know the content to be able to simplify it for students that
have dysgraphia to explicitly teach the students the steps and processes that will
support their educational needs (Carnine et al., 2004). These are all great
allow inclusion for all students instead of just singling out Joseph. The teacher will be
There are a variety of people that are involved to take on roles and responsibilities to
cater for the needs of students that have dysgraphia. The most responsible as such
is the classroom teacher. The teacher is responsible for meeting the needs most, by
planning, implementing strategies and assessing to make sure that the needs are
plans.
variety of tests to obtain successful results from each individual student (dsf, 2019).
And if it is non-language based where there are mechanical problems with both fine
2018). An Occupational Therapist is the most valuable therapist that students who
struggle with writing mainly see to grasp efficient support (Understood.org, 2019).
Occupational Therapist for his motor skills (NCCD, 2019). Other people that have
students through small group tasks and or one-on-one support to help cater for the
disabilities.
Parents are also an important figure to take on roles and responsibilities for their
child’s needs. A parent is a child’s first educator; the parents are aware of more
about their child then the teacher can be entitled to. The parents work alongside the
the needs in a continuum. These are the most significant individuals that help cater
for Joseph and students that have learning disabilities to take on roles and
There are several strategies to accommodate and modify aspects to suit the needs
of social, emotional and academic needs for individuals like Joseph. It is important to
mentioned earlier students with dysgraphia feel different and often develop low self-
esteem. Using positive reinforcement within any areas of achievement that the
student’s progress through is vital to incorporate. Through this using verbal praise,
show the progress of the student’s achievements and orally present positive
(Jones, 2011). Teachers must implement a widespread strategy for learning, within
this providing a welcoming environment that caters for all students equally by
including materials and equipment that can be implemented into topics for all
students not only those with a disability and or difficulty (Jones, 2011). The use of
visual aids is crucial to create stimulation, this can be carried out for instructions, or
the organisational stages of writing tasks through using visual support such as
help support students through the adaptations of learning styles as well as increase
the student’s independence and emotional wellbeing through the use of motivation
Writing, Audio notes, NoteTalker, Read and Write and Ginger Page Writing’
(Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning, 2018). Assistive technology allows
students to reach their full potential in an informative and engaging manner (Alghazo
Allowing for extra time for tasks and or reducing the amount of writing (AUSPELD,
educational tasks that are completed, as Joseph struggles with completing written
exercises in the allocated time as the rest of his peers. Allow substitutes to hand-
written answers by using a device with a scribing application to help support the
needs of Joseph and students with dysgraphia as well as proving a digital recorder in
which students can use for class projects and or assessment tasks to provide a fair
and accurate overall result (Understood.org, 2019). Students that have learning
allowing time for students to take breaks in their written tasks and to stretch is
through written tasks by limiting the need of draft samples, type their final writing
piece, and cater for them at all times by teaching strategies for improving handwriting
skills as a whole class approach through direct instruction (Carnine et al., 2004). As
well as the freedom to choose their writing equipment to suit their needs such as
pens/pencils and the sizing of their letter formations. This allows students to feel
confident and stable through the use of personal choice (Understood.org, 2019).
It is crucial for teachers to adapt their pedagogy to not penalise a student with writing
difficulties for the poor presentation of their work and or spelling as this does occur in
important for both the teacher and parents to be active through the communication
process in an open formation to confirm that the best outcomes are presented to the
child ‘Joseph’ (ASUSPELD, 2018). Both the teacher and parents are always active in
preparation, how the child is progressing through the learning outcomes and what
can be achieved at home to co-morbid the similarities of the schooling task to help
support the needs of the student’s difficulties and or learning (AUSPELD, 2018).
There are several ways that parents can be involved in the communication
processes a few being notifying the teacher about the difficulties observed
(AUSPELD, 2018), strategies used at home that had been found effective
(AUSPELD, 2018), being active at all times through the child’s learning progression
through educational aspects (AUSPELD, 2018) and collaboratively working with the
(AUSPELD, 2018).
To conclude, those suffering from dysgraphia and face written expression difficulties
help the learning needs and difficulties for Joseph and students like him.
Implementations should be considered within the early years of learning for written
difficulties, as it is one of the most known problematic areas for many students.
Students like Joseph experience many impacts that affect their school life and self-
esteem crucially through the classroom environment. One of the most crucial
impacts being students seeing themselves as different and thus affecting their
learning abilities and self-confidence (dsf, 2019). For students with dysgraphia, there
are roles and responsibilities that individuals need to take into consideration to
support students’ needs, the most critical being the teacher and the parents to obtain
ongoing support for Joseph to visualise success within his learning. The teacher is in
charge of supporting the students, by planning for their needs and undertaking
all times to cater for success. And the parents to be communicative and work along-
side the educator to fill similar roles for their child. So as it has been put above,
students with dysgraphia need the attention to find success in the classroom, to
allow them to feel confident and involved in schooling and for future life aspirations
and goals.
References:
Carnine, D., Silbert, J., Kame’enui, E., & Tarver, S. (2004). Direct Instruction
Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning [Call Scotland]. (2018). iPad Apps
for Learners with Dyslexia/ Reading and Writing Difficulties. Retrieved from
https://www.callscotland.org.uk/common-assets/cm-files/posters/ipad-apps-
for-learners-with-dyslexia.pdf
Belonging, being and becoming: The early years learning framework for
Australia. Barton, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia
dysgraphia/
Graham, S., Karen, Harris, K, and Larsen, L. (2001). Prevention and Intervention of
https://www.davidsongifted.org/search-database/entry/a10709
NCCD. (2019). Classroom adjustments: Specific learning needs (Dysgraphia).
www.nccd.edu.au/case-studies/joseph-supplementary-cogntive
Srivastava, M., de Boer, A. and Pijl. (2017). Preparing for the inclusive
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-
disabilities/dysgraphia/understanding-dysgraphia
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-
school/instructional-strategies/at-a-glance-classroom-accommodations-for-
dysgraphia