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The Introduction of Keyboarding to Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders With Handwriting Difficulties: A Help or a Hindrance?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2012

Jill Ashburner ,
Jenny Ziviani  and
Ana Pennington
Jill Ashburner*
Affiliation:
Autism Queensland, Australia
Jenny Ziviani
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, Australia
Ana Pennington
Affiliation:
The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia
*
Correspondence: Jill Ashburner, Autism Queensland, PO Box 354, Sunnybank, Qld 4109, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study explored the utility of using keyboarding as an alternative to handwriting for students with ASD who experience handwriting difficulties. Participants included 22 students with ASD (M age = 10.83 ± 1.4 years) who had been using portable word processors in mainstream classrooms for at least 6 months to circumvent handwriting difficulties. Teacher, parent and student questionnaires rated perceptions of students’ motivation, ability, preferences and frequency of use of keyboarding as compared to handwriting, helpfulness of portable word processors and factors contributing to or limiting their use. Keyboarding and handwriting speeds were measured in letters per minute. Two short compositions using handwriting and keyboarding were compared in length and quality. Handwriting legibility was also rated. The teacher, parent and student questionnaires indicated that students’ motivation was generally rated as much higher for keyboarding than for handwriting. Teachers and parents predominantly perceived portable word processors as helpful. The group mean scores for keyboarding speed, and length and quality of keyboarded compositions were greater than comparable group mean scores for handwriting. These differences, however, did not reach statistical significance. Keyboarding, nevertheless, was effective in overcoming difficulties experienced by many students in respect of legibility.

Keywords

autismAsperger syndromeschoolhandwritingkeyboarding
Type
Articles
Information
Australasian Journal of Special Education , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , July 2012 , pp. 32 - 61
Copyright
© The Authors 2012

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