 1. Area of Difficulty
o Tasks requiring fine motor or visual-motor integration skills including:
- Paper and pencil tasks, especially writing and drawing
- Learning to tie shoes
- Counting objects pictured on a page
Teaching Strategies
o Computer use
Computer use should involve teaching the use of the computer as well as using it as a tool for other materials (reading and math) and be included in the IEP. This skill can in the end replace much of the paper and pencil work. It is signficant that the computer be used as a tool, and not simply as a reward.
o Minimize paper and pencil demands
Minimize tracing
If name writing is difficult, allow either a name stamp or writing just the first letter.
o Use real object counters to teach math, rather than objects pictured on a page
o Encourage parents to adapt clothing to maximize independence. For instance:
- Velcro instead of tie shoes
- Velcro instead of buttons for pants if needed
2. Area of Difficulty
o Tasks requiring spatial analysis including:
Learning to distinguish letters. Especially those with reversals (e.g. "b" from "d")
o Learning left and right
o Learning to tell time with a circular clock
o Orienting on a busy page such as a workbook page
Teaching Strategies
o Simplify the amount of material presented on a worksheet (one or two problems or words per page)
You can do it easily by copying regular pages, while covering parts of the page with a sheet of paper.
o Use auditory memory skills and ability to learn from pictures in teaching reading
o Use picture cards with word labels for games such as lotto to encourage beginning sight words.
o Teach high motivation sight words before child may know all the letters
o Encourage the child to memorize picture captions and stories following the text
o A whole language approach must be used flexibly, it is often successful, with stories often dictated instead of written by the child if the child has significant grapho-motor difficulty.
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