Writing: Underutilized for young children with disabilities?

Abstract

Young children write to learn the alphabetic code, take notes to help them remember, and provide meaningful text to others. These are cognitively and linguistically complex processes. Reciprocal relationships among the development of writing, the purposes of writing, and the learners of interest impact instructional approaches and student outcomes. Teachers can increase success when they provide explicit and systematic self-regulation and writing instruction, view children as collaborators in the process, provide scaffolding that gradually shifts the responsibility to the children, and adapt instruction to meet the abilities and interests of the children. Effective instructional practices for young children with disabilities or who are at risk, are presented, for example, scaffolded writing, the use of graphic organizers, and self-regulated strategy development.

Citation

Susan Burns, M., Kidd, J.K. and Genarro, T. (2010), "Writing: Underutilized for young children with disabilities?", Scruggs, T.E. and Mastropieri, M.A. (Ed.) Literacy and Learning (Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, Vol. 23), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 175-204. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0735-004X(2010)0000023009