Assistive Technologies: Software for Supporting People with Dysgraphia
By Paul Graham
Editorial Note
This is the beginnings of a series of articles on the topic. While they may not be complete, I thought I would publish them early so others could see some of the information as early as possible.
What is Dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a condition that causes people to have problems with writing, in terms of handwriting, getting thoughts down on paper, and other challenges.
From personal experience with my son, it is clear that schools are much less familiar with dysgraphia than dyslexia and other conditions. Further, in our area, it is unlikely that the teachers are even aware of what dysgraphia is let alone have any training on how to help students with their challenges.
Software for Supporting People with Dysgraphia and Other Needs
Some time ago, my wife was looking for software to help my son get various things written down for various academic subjects. She found a few things. Recently, I was able to take a little time to help her identify some additional options.
It took a little effort to find software that was relevant and appropriate since there are few software packages specifically designed to meet the needs of those with dysgraphia. I decided to write a few blog posts on the topic to help document what I found for my wife and others that might be interested.
As I started to write up some of the things that I found, it was clear that there was quite a bit of material. So, I have decided to split up the information into at least a few posts so that they are easier to browse through (i.e., shorter). Here is a list of the blog posts that I have or will write:
- Assistive Technologies: Math Software for Supporting People with Dysgraphia: A blog post describing a few software packages that look promising for helping those with dysgraphia write mathematical expressions and draw mathematical diagrams.
- Assistive Technologies: Writing Software for Supporting People with Dysgraphia: A blog post describing a few software packages that look promising for helping those with dysgraphia write papers and other forms of writing.
- Assistive Technologies: Science Software for Supporting People with Dysgraphia: A blog post describing a few software packages that look promising for helping those with dysgraphia write scientific expressions and draw scientific diagrams.