WRITING IN CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
WRITING IN CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents the results of a study aimed at examining the ability and level of writing proficiency in students with disabilities at primary school age. The sample consisted of 58 students with disabilities of primary school age. Dysgraphic Prediction Test and Lilien Lirs graphomotor array were used to assess visual perception and graphomotor skills, while the handwriting was evaluated by the Scale for Assessment of Dysgraphic Forms in handwriting. The obtained results show that a large number of subjects (24 or 41,4%) did not score a single point on Dysgraphic Prediction Test, while only 21 subjects (36,2%) successfully completed the test (M = 7,98, SD = 7,062). Also, the obtained results show that the highest number of respondents (39 or 67,2%) did not score a single point on the Lilian Lirs test, while only 10 respondents or 17,2% successfully completed the test (M = 1,60, SD = 2,46). Using the Scale for the Assessment of Dysgraphic Forms in handwriting, we found that out of 22 written samples, 9 students (41%) have a well-developed handwriting, 8 (36%) have an ugly handwriting, 3 (14%) respondents have dysgraphic handwriting, while 2 (9%) respondents have a pronounced dysgraphic handwriting. Out of the total number of respondents, 36 (62%) of the sample students could not write the appropriate text on the basis of which the sample of the handwriting was taken. The obtained results provide the exact knowledge of the presence of difficulties in adopting writing by students with disabilities. Teaching students with disabilities, according to the results obtained, imperatively imposes the need to respect the developmental characteristics of this population of students and the individualization of the initial teaching of writing. This involves major changes to the standards and outcomes of achievements required by the regular curriculum and the development of an IOP for each student with more complex individualized contents to support the child in order to adopt writing. However, effective work with this student population also entails the need to adopt special curricula intended for teaching in schools for students with disabilities.

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