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AT Tools for Writing


Assistive Technology for Writing

Writing is a form of communication that is an essential part of learning and living. Writing is a method by which students show what they know. It consists of mechanical skills such as spelling, punctuating, and capitalizing handwritten or typed work. It incorporates executive skills like planning, organizing, editing, and revising. It fulfills expressive needs such as recording, informing, persuading, or entertaining. A student’s disability may impact one or more of these skill areas: assistive technology can provide these students with access to the general education curriculum by providing the support they need to perform writing tasks that demonstrate what they know.
 
Writing is important to all students, including those with significant intellectual disabilities.

Learn more about writing for students with significant cognitive disabilities here:

AT for the Mechanics of Writing

AT for the Mechanics of Writing

Listed below are some general accommodations for writing mechanics that may be considered as potential assistive technology solutions by a team. In many cases, links are included to provide examples of a product or device that incorporates the feature. This information is provided for reference only. Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) does not endorse any particular product, program, or curriculum.

AT for the Organization of Writing

AT for the Organization of Writing

Listed below are some general accommodations for written organization and executive function that may be considered as potential assistive technology solutions by a team. In many cases, links are included to provide examples of a product or device that incorporates the feature. This information is provided for reference only. Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) does not endorse any particular product, program, or curriculum.

  • Graphic organizers: provide cues for the structure or purpose of a specific writing task

  • Multi-featured graphic word processors: provide structure to a writing task by presenting customized keyboards, word lists, phrases, and/or pictures to the student

  • Writing templates: organize the physical space on a page and/or the basic elements of a specific kind of document

  • Handheld scanners: allow a user to look up definitions of a typed word and/or capture the word/phrase for use in a word processing file

  • Proofreading tools: suggest corrections to spelling, grammar, and style – often include other features such as text-to-speech or word prediction