We are Special Educators currently consulting and teaching in multiple Michigan school districts. We specialize in Assistive Technology assessment and classroom implementation of appropriate "handwriting solutions" for students, K-12, who have motor or sensory-motor difficulty completing their written schoolwork with paper and pencil. For more than 10 years, we have been highly successful in increasing our students' academic independence and self-esteem by teaching them both “Low-Tech” and “High-Tech” solutions which allow students to complete finished written products as similar to those of their classmates as possible. Many of our students complete all of their written schoolwork without the use of paper and pencil - even advanced math and science! Students who previously relied on others to write for them often no longer need this type of assistance! The students we work with have low-average to above-average intelligence with a variety of disabilities such as:

We are lucky to be working in school districts that are very progressive in the area of Assistive Technology for special needs students — but we are becoming increasingly aware that many school districts are not as fortunate. Yet students with educationally significant handwriting problems are everywhere! Although these problems are easily identified, the area of handwriting problems and their effective solutions is often not appropriately addressed for special needs kids in both inclusive and self-contained classrooms. Many teachers and professionals feel that kids who exhibit signs and symptoms of Dysgraphia, or those that have been officially diagnosed, just need to continue to practice handwriting skills and re-do their written assignments to eventually improve their handwriting. This rarely, if ever, is successful – and these kids often lose precious academic time and are put at great risk for future emotional/behavioral failure due to the fact that they cannot complete finished written products independently similar to those of their peers. While Occupational Therapy can sometimes help to improve the written letters and words of these students in isolation and for very short sentences/assignments, their handwriting often "falls apart" when they are asked to complete actual class assignments and homework. Some kids can become clinically depressed and develop very low self-esteem. Many times, these kids are allowed to do reduced assignments, use a scribe to write for them and/or give oral answers. We always say that these things should only, in most cases, be used as a "bridge" to appropriate technological "handwriting solutions." Without the use of technology for completing written assignments, these kids cannot access their Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) – with "Appropriate" being the key word. Kids with serious handwriting challenges have the right to complete their written schoolwork independently – just like all other students.

This is how Handwriting Problem Solutions was born – in order to bring the "GOOD NEWS" to those who may have need of it, that 99% of all written schoolwork can now be easily completed using "Low-Tech" and "High-Tech" equipment and software!