Learning activities requiring students to use written expression are challenging for those students with handwriting difficulties. In this practice, Jeff Souter, explains a wide range of adjustments that teachers can make to provide all students with equitable access.

If you're considering assistive technology as an adjustment for a student in your class, it's important to consult with external specialists such as occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists.

Specialists can help you to determine important information about students so you can plan appropriate adjustments. Consider:

• Can they use a keyboard independently and will this increase their speed? When learning to type, a student won’t necessarily produce written work more quickly. However, the use of a keyboard in the mid-term may mean they're less fatigued, particularly if software options such as predictive text are available. 
• Would they benefit from speech-to-text software? Students can use this software to dictate their composition before editing what they've written. Students won't have the opportunity to learn how to conclude their story or summarise their argument if they never get to the end of the written piece of work. 
• Would they benefit from predictive spelling? This may not be appropriate for students during a spelling test but may be highly appropriate when the purpose of a piece of work is to showcase vocabulary and structure of written work. 

While some schools focus on technology, others lack access to WiFi and to equipment such as iPads and laptops. As a result, some students have very little experience in using technology and poor keyboarding skills. Many years are often spent teaching students to handwrite, but relatively little attention is given to teaching them to keyboard and to use technology.

The literature suggests these skills should be explicitly taught. Students should be able to keyboard at least as fast as they can handwrite and should learn the touch-typing method if possible. (Freeman et al. 2005)