Effective Writing Instruction for Students with Developmental Disabilities: Curriculum, Measurement, and Accommodations

Janet M. Sturm, PhD, CCC-SLP

Central Michigan University

MATN Webinar Part II – October 30, 2013

Beginning Writers

Writing Development – Beginning Writers

• move from drawing to scribbling to inventive spelling

• are single session writers

• naturally choose a variety of genres & topics

• may not yet have a sense of audience

• use spoken and written skills to convey meaning

• use pictures to convey meaning

• develop conventional spelling over time (after lots of opportunities)

In early writing development students -

Writing Development – Skilled Writers

• Convey what they know through writing

• Focus on all processes (planning, composing, revising, editing)

• Use sophisticated word choice and syntax

• Integrate information from a variety of sources

• Use of sophisticated structures across genres & use writing for a variety of purposes (enjoyment, tell what you know, tell a story, persuade)

• Know “why” they are writing and are able to communicate message based on their audience

• Compose multiple drafts

In later development students -

It Starts with Drawing…

And Becomes Intelligible to the Reader…

Writing In General Education First Grade Classrooms (180 day school year)

Include drawings or pictures with writing

• 148 times per year

Choose Own Writing Topics

• 119 times per year

Start a new piece of writing

• 109 times per year

Write independently

• 164 times per year

(Richards, Sturm, & Cali, 2012)

Students...

Text Types Naturally Chosen by Kindergarten & 1st Grade Students

Kindergarten

• Labels

• Opinions

1st Grade

• Personal Stories

• Plans

• Descriptions

(Cali & Sturm, Manuscript in Preparation)

Writing Instruction & Students with Developmental Disabilities

• social, vocational, and daily living skills

• basic functional literacy skills

• decontextualized drill and practice

• Tracing

• Copying

• Worksheets

The instructional focus has targeted -

(Summarized by Hedricks, Katims, & Carr, 1999)

First Author – A Writing Process Software Tool for Beginning Writers

This tool was designed to be an integrated writing software tool, that supports beginning writers across the writing process -- planning, composing, revising, and publishing – and is

accessible to students with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI).

First Author – Software Goals – It will:

provide functional outcome measures for periodic assessment probes and classroom-produced writing artifacts

provide access to the general education writing curriculum by reflecting, and operating in parallel with, an exemplary model of writing instruction

use research on the development of beginning writers

target simple and efficient interface design for both direct selection and scanning

provide ease of access to planning, composing, and revising processes, & offer ease of movement among the processes

How Does First Author Impact Students with Developmental Disabilities?

First Author – Phase I Research

• Five primary and secondary special education classrooms

• Mild cognitive impairments (3 classrooms)

• Moderate cognitive impairments (2 classrooms)

• 44 total student participants (Age 5-19)

Participants

• Repeated measures between-subjects design

• Control group = Paper and pencil

• Treatment group = First Author software

• Teachers utilized standard instructional practices

• Measured:

• student independence

• writing quantity and quality

• time writing

Research Design

First Author – Results for Student Independence

• 24 student participants were trained on First Author

• Of the 24 students, 18 were able to use First Author with minimal to no support (Rated a 3-4) during the assessment of tool competence.

Training & Learning First Author

• During intervention these levels of independence were maintained.

• The remaining 6 students became more independent and/or purposeful over time.

Skill Maintenance

First Author vs. Paper and Pencil – Time Spent Writing (3 Classroom Sites)

FirstAuthor vs. Paper and Pencil – Research Results on the DWS for 44 Students with Mild-Moderate IDD

Total Words Minus Baseline Level by Group

FirstAuthor vs. Paper and Pencil – Research Results on the DWS for 44 Students with Mild-Moderate IDD

DWS Level (Assumed Interval) Minus Baseline Level by Group

First Author vs. Paper and Pencil (Sites A-E) – Topic Diversity

First Author vs. Paper and Pencil (Sites A-E) – Genre Diversity

First Author vs. Paper and Pencil (Sites A-E) – Identifiable Topic

First Author – Phase II Research

• Eight primary and secondary special education classrooms

• Physical or Otherwise Health Impaired (1 classroom - 35 participants)

• Moderate cognitive impairments (4 classrooms – 34 participants)

• Autism spectrum disorders (4 classrooms – 38 participants)

• 107 total student participants

Participants

• Repeated measures between-subjects design

• Control group = Paper and pencil

• Treatment group = First Author software

• All participants received high-quality writing instruction (Enriched Writers’ Workshop

• Measured writing quantity and quality

Research Design

First Author vs. Paper and Pencil (MOCI) – Total Intelligible Words

First Author vs. Paper and Pencil (MOCI) – Developmental Writing Scale

Michael’s Story

Baseline Writing – Paper & Pencil

Level = 3

Total Words = 0

Unique Words = 0

Topic = Unclear

Text Type = Emergent

First Day on First Author – Fall 2012

First Day on First Author – Fall 2012

Level = 8

Total Words = 14

Unique Words = 12

Topic = Miley Cyrus

Text Type = Label

Michael’s Excitement on Day 1

“Hey Mrs. K! I just wrote a short story about Miley Cyrus!”

Current Writing – Spring 2013

Current Writing – Spring 2013

Level = 11

Total Words = 13

Unique Words = 10

Topic = Acting

Text Type = Plan

Current Writing – Spring 2013

Level = 9

Total Words = 7

Unique Words = 6

Topic = Gravedigger

Text Type = Persuasion

Recognize Possibility – The Future

I had these kids that really couldn’t write even….they

could not write a word, they didn’t know letters. Now I

have these same kids. I have Michael [who] would

actually write backwards. He’d start on the right and

write to the left. But he couldn’t do it. Now he’s writing

sentences on paper as well as the computer. It’s amazing!