hi!

my oldest ds has dysgraphia and is currently being assessed for dyslexia. the recommendation has always been that we teach him type but he hasn't really been interested until now. BUT i am going to push for him to learn to type properly this year, i mean, i know he also has to write but i think that forcing him to do it all the time is flogging a dead horse. would rather he learn to type well etc etc so at least he can do the written communication thing fluently on some level.

so! how do you teach a child to type? he spends a bit of time on the computer and i don't mind paying for/subscribing to something if he's going to enjoy it and it's going to work.

http://www.powertyping.com/ was the first thing I found on google - I would just google and check them out if noone has a solid reccomendation.

Mavis Beacon is a good programme. There's bound to be something on line somewhere. I'll ask DS after school cos I think they used an online programme in his computer class last year.

My Daughter's OT recommended this programme it is a lot of fun, my daughter's teacher even got the whole class using it last year

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

I even enjoyed using it LOL

My daughter is getting a computer for school as she has trouble holding a pencil and writting really takes it out of her. My son also has the same problem and will be using a pencil for the first coulple of years so he learns to write but once the volume increases the computer will be easier. The deal that I have made is they have to learn to touch type then they get a computer, there is no point giving a computer if they do not use it correctly.(yes it will be funded)!!!

Both my boys will be needing computers probably from this year, one has dysgraphia, the other has a physical disability which makes writing difficult. The school SENCO recommended Tux Typing to me, have yet to get the boys started learning their way around the keyboard yet, will add it to the list!

thanks for the recommendations

i insist that he has to put his fingers in the right place but i figure the touch typing thing will come in time, i mean, it wasn't until i'd been typing for years and years that i got the hang of not looking at the keys and even now i have to look down at them every few seconds right now i think the biggest thing is just getting SOME typed work out of him vs the very little he does at the moment because it's so uncomfortable for him.

vicky, how do you get a funded laptop?? at the moment i'm tossing up on whether to buy M a laptop or a netbook or some kind of tablet doohickey for his bday (other option is that i will buy myself a desktop computer and he will have my laptop - IF i can bring myself to give it up, lol).

The OT was applying for funding on our behalf some education fund she is ringing tonight so will try and get more information. The great thing about my touch typing program is that it is like a game and slowly they introduce the next step, the kidz just play on it and they are learning at the same time "win win" situation , I know if I start telling S how to place her hands she would get angry and ti would be very hard work. S can follow instructions on computer better than one verbalized at her IYKWIM

Hi TC, can I ask who you contacted to get your son assessed for dysgraphia.

Could you ask at the school to see if they have any spare laptops or could access one for you? (thats what we did!).

My mum taught me to type the old fashioned way. She printed off a picture of the keyboard and laid it next to the keyboard, then covered over each of the keys with a sticky so you couldn't see what key it was. I'm not recommending this at an early stage for kids learning to type, but do think its the only way to really push someone to become a full on touch typist. Otherwise you are still always just sneaking a look at your fingers and keys.

Missmarch get your GP to refer or self refer to a educational psychologist.

TC ask the school if any of the teacher laptops are coming up to the end of their lease period and if you could have the option to purchase. There was also a cheapish reconditioned macbook on the offtheback yesterday that one of my coworkers was thinking of buying. I don't think I'd go as small as a netbook or tablet if I was going to do a lot of typing unless there was an external keyboard. In fact the thought of my kids carting a tablet to school and back makes me cringe. Too easily broken.

I was taught to touch type at school (around 13yrs old) by having the keys covered. We were made to make a 'bib' that went around the back of the typewriter (hehehe that makes me feel old ) and over our necks. It stopped us from looking down at the keys.

We started off with simple things like asdf jkl; repeating and repeating until we got the sequence correct.

Like everything its repetition that will make it successful so if he has the stamina he should pick it up reasonably quickly.

How fast I can type now is directly attributed to my spelling ability though, so my crappy spelling slows me down as I go back to correct things

This site is in the latest SPELD newsletter http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

We use Garfield's Typing Pal. It was a cheapy that I got years ago from Scholastic book club, but it works really well. I think that Typing Pal is the brand or whatever, and they have it themed to various characters. The kids like it and have done well. We have also used Typing Tournament which you sometimes get the opportunity of buying cheap through school and that's good as well.

we used melanie hansen, she is in 3rd? 4th? ave? http://www.melaniehansen.co.nz/