Long division computer program needed, please help.

[AmyontheFarm]

My son large and small motor delays. His handwriting is terrible. Which makes long division a nightmare! He understands he needs to keep the columns straight and if I give him an 8X10 page per questions he can keep it neat, but oiy! the paper. A white board won't work, we tried that.

 

Is there a program that will let me input the questions I want him to solve, so that he can do it on the computer or ipad? I do a lot of scribing for him in his other subjects, but honestly I'd like a break so he could just do his math by himself and be able to read it!

 

He is getting physical therapy for the handwriting and "they" say he'll get it by the time he's an adult :glare: but we need to be able to finish a math lesson where I'm not tearing my eyes out because I can't read what he wrote!

 

Any suggestions

[MomatHWTK]

A friend whose child has dysgraphia used:

Adaptive Technologies (information from Shelly):

1. For written language assignments, Co:Writer Solo Edition. It includes "flexible spelling and the capability to load topic dictionaries from the site or from, say, Wikipedia. So, if you're writing a paper on Italy, you can load from an online source a "dictionary" of terms/cities, etc., you might need. NB: This software is expensive. But I can already say that it has been worth every penny. Also, it will be appropriate for any postsecondary school my son should choose.

 

http://www.donjohnston.com

 

2. For math, we use the Efofex MathPack and SciencePack. This is free with a documented disability. This is to completely lift off any stress of handwriting for advanced math problems.

 

http://www.efofex.com

 

3. For printing/copying/completion of worksheets on the computer, PaperPort 12 is a direct answer to prayer. Worksheets ("homemade" or his Teaching Textbooks, e.g.) and tests can be scanned onto my son’s laptop, he types in the answers rather than write them by hand, and voila: beautiful product that shows what he really knows rather than (again) draining his batteries working on the mechanics of handwriting.

 

So far, he's used this with Teaching Textbooks and monkeying around with a grammar workbook. He wants to do Progeny Press' Lord of the Rings studies. This will be fantastic for that purpose.

 

http://www.nuance.com

 

4. The Inspiration graphic organizing software for any type of written work needing organization. I was so impressed with it when we had the free trial going that I ordered the 3-pack. I wish this thing had been around when I was in school! This is not solely geared for people with "needs". Laura Esquivel used it while writing Like Water for Chocolate.

 

http://www.inspiration.com

 

5. For adapted keyboarding (traditional touch-typing can be difficult to impossible for kids with dysgraphia, depending on its severity), Ultra-Key 5.0 Although Ultra-Key is made to teach touch-typing, we just ignore this and use an adapted keyboarding method.

 

http://www.bytesoflearning.com

 

 

 

[kiana]

For the low-tech solution:

 

Use wide-ruled paper, and turn it sideways. If this is still not large enough, rule every other line or every third line with a dark pen and photocopy the sheets. IOW, give him physical markers for where his numbers line up.

[AmyontheFarm]

Wow! Efofex will be awesome when he gets to the older grades in Math, for sure! I think it's way too advanced for him at this point! But definitely in the future. At what grade did your child start to use these programs?

 

 

 

A friend whose child has dysgraphia used:

Adaptive Technologies (information from Shelly):

1.For written language assignments, Co:Writer Solo Edition. It includes "flexible spelling and the capability to load topic dictionaries from the site or from, say, Wikipedia. So, if you're writing a paper on Italy, you can load from an online source a "dictionary" of terms/cities, etc., you might need. NB: This software is expensive. But I can already say that it has been worth every penny. Also, it will be appropriate for any postsecondary school my son should choose.

 

http://www.donjohnston.com

 

2. For math, we use the Efofex MathPack and SciencePack. This is free with a documented disability. This is to completely lift off any stress of handwriting for advanced math problems.

 

http://www.efofex.com

 

3. For printing/copying/completion of worksheets on the computer, PaperPort 12 is a direct answer to prayer. Worksheets ("homemade" or his Teaching Textbooks, e.g.) and tests can be scanned onto my son’s laptop, he types in the answers rather than write them by hand, and voila: beautiful product that shows what he really knows rather than (again) draining his batteries working on the mechanics of handwriting.

 

So far, he's used this with Teaching Textbooks and monkeying around with a grammar workbook. He wants to do Progeny Press' Lord of the Rings studies. This will be fantastic for that purpose.

 

http://www.nuance.com

 

4. The Inspiration graphic organizing software for any type of written work needing organization. I was so impressed with it when we had the free trial going that I ordered the 3-pack. I wish this thing had been around when I was in school! This is not solely geared for people with "needs". Laura Esquivel used it while writing Like Water for Chocolate.

 

http://www.inspiration.com

 

5. For adapted keyboarding (traditional touch-typing can be difficult to impossible for kids with dysgraphia, depending on its severity), Ultra-Key 5.0 Although Ultra-Key is made to teach touch-typing, we just ignore this and use an adapted keyboarding method.

 

http://www.bytesoflearning.com

 

 

 

[ravinlunachick]

For the low-tech solution:

 

Use wide-ruled paper, and turn it sideways. If this is still not large enough, rule every other line or every third line with a dark pen and photocopy the sheets. IOW, give him physical markers for where his numbers line up.

 

That's a great idea! I think I'll use it for my dd, who has trouble lining up numbers with more than 3 digits.

 

OP, have you tried using graph paper? You can find it in various sizes. I have this book, but you can sample various kinds for free here.

[AmyontheFarm]

My son is using wide width graph paper right now. He has a hard time just controlling his hand so the graph lines might as well be invisible. I did buy some paper with raised lines on it to help him realize that he needed to stop, the idea being that the raised lines would slow his pencil down and help him stop.

 

It just made him cry.

 

He knew he was supposed to stop and he just couldn't get his hand to stop. Therapist said to stop using the paper because emotionally it was hurting my son and he just didn't want to write any longer.

 

So, back to square one.

 

I think we just need to find a computer based program that will let him do his work on the computer, taking the focus off of his handwriting and on to the lesson, math.

 

He is currently using Saxon 5/4 and does really well on the lessons if I scribe for him. If I don't scribe, I can't really read his answers properly must of the time.

 

Some days, he can't read his own writing. It is that bad.

 

So any computer based suggestions?

[MomatHWTK]

The list of resources I posted were used by a friend whose child has since graduated. So I'm guessing she started using the math program in high school.

 

If you type the problems into Excel or another spreadsheet program, would your DS be able to then type his work in the columns above and below? What about creating a table in MSWord that would show the gridlines?

 

 

 

I created a table then went back and took out all the borders. Then, I put borders back in where they were needed to show the problem and work space. (I wasn't able to cut and paste it here though.)

Edited September 14, 2012 by MomatHWTK

[swellmomma]

nm