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Getting started
Get into a position that is comfortable for you and the typer. The
posture of the typer is important. If they are slumped, their accuracy
is compromised. As the support person, you need to be seated perpendicular
if possible, so you can see the person's face and eyes, but close
enough to support his/her wrist. Tell him/her you want to type because
there is something you want to talk about. Determine if the typer
is right or left handed. Family members or care givers may help
with this information by telling you which hand they prefer to eat
with etc. Hold the Buddy Board™ at a comfortable 30 to 45
degree slant, so it is easy to see, never just flat on a table.
(The Buddy Board™ holder is ideal for holding the board in
place on a tabletop at the right angle for typing.)
Hold his/her hand from the bottom (at the wrist joint) so that his/her
index finger is isolated. If the person cannot form a point you
may have to start by putting your hand on top and pushing all but
the pointer finger down. (This hand on top position should be moved
to below the wrist as soon as pointing skills emerge.) As a support
person, you will be providing a backward resistance to the hand
or wrist. This resistance helps the person you are supporting feel
where they are in space and have more control over their movements.
Be confident and support the person enough so you can feel their
pull as they push past your resistance to a letter or pretyped word.
Your job is to help the individual begin the motion by providing
this resistance. (Do not move from right to left. The typer will
do that as he gets to the keyboard and selects letters.) Once a
letter is selected, help to end the motion by pulling his/her hand
back to a centered position 6" or so away from the keyboard.
From this centered ready position the typer can start again. If
you don't pull back, it will be difficult for the typer to select
the next letter or for you to provide the needed resistance. As
you are providing this resistance, remember that ideally your typer
will eventually learn to do this up and down motion independently.
(This is one of the first steps to independence in typing for those
with motor difficulties. Setting a rhythm helps people become more
independent.)
Your job as a support person for a typer
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Encourage good posture while typing.
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Encourage the person to look at the board and
quit support until their eyes return to the board. |
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Ask clear questions. |
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Set a rhythm. |
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Be calm and quiet while the person is typing
only speaking their letters and words. |
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Clarify and verify what the person is typing
if you don't understand by asking questions. |
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Remember that you are in the background to support
the person. Don't speak for them. Say what they have typed and
have given you permission to say aloud. |
Helpful hints for support persons:
| 1. |
If a typer has lots of energy and
finds it difficult to sit still, it is often most effective
to show your patience, wait a few moments, do not draw attention
to the behavior, and never get upset. The person often needs
physical and emotional support to keep typing their thoughts.
You will know when they are really done typing. Often a typer
will type "no" or "leave," or allow their
hand to go limp if they are done typing. You can ask, "Do
you want to say anything else?" Asking this is a way to
be sure they are done typing.
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| 2. |
Never move the person's hand around
the keyboard if you do not feel a direct movement toward a letter.
Doing this will destroy his/her trust in you as a support person.
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| 3. |
If you don't feel a pull toward any
letters, pull back and stop. Say something like: "I don't
know what you want to say. You need to pull hard toward the
letter you want, so I can understand what you are telling me.
You need to teach me how to type with you. Can we try again?"
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Help the typer to avoid errors when
you know what he/she is trying to type. If he/she is typing
yes" but is headed for the "a" next to the "s"
for the last letter, ask if he/she was typing "yes."
If the typer is not accurate in their pointing, using the Buddy
Board™ keyguard (the clear plastic holder) is very helpful,
as this has countersunk holes for each letter and number. This
greatly helps with the accuracy in pointing and understanding
what the typer is saying.
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| 5. |
Pull back after each keystroke. This
is very important. Doing this gives the typer time to organize
his/her thoughts and movements for selecting the next letter.
It also helps you as a support person to offer the needed resistance
so you can feel which letter he/she is headed for.
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| 6. |
Softly say each letter or word for
the typer as the he/she types them. As soon as you know the
complete sentence he/she is typing, say it aloud. Verify whether
you understood everything correctly by asking "Is that
right?" The individual should point to either "Yes"
or "No."
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| 7. |
In the beginning start with clear
"Yes" or "No" questions. Gradually progress
to multiple choice questions. E.g., "Would you like grapes
or watermelon?" This will help you get the feel for how
the typer's hand moves when he/she is selecting a variety of
letters at one time. Avoid testing the typer's attention span
or repeating questions you both already know the answers to.
E.g., "How do you spell your name?" Asking such questions
will diminish the typer's trust and appreciation for you as
a support person.
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| 8. |
If you aren't getting a quick response,
the typer may be thinking. Ask if he/she wants more time to
think. If you are confused about what is being typed, repeat
the question or ask if the typer understands what you are asking.
Don't be afraid to check out your mutual understanding often.
At times a person may type nonsense to questions that he or
she doesn't want to answer or doesn't understand.
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| 9. |
Mutual trust between the two of you
is the key element. The person doing the typing needs to know
that you believe in his/her intelligence. He/she also needs
to be assured that you will not make fun of him/her or repeat
what he/she types without your asking for permission. The individual
must also understand that you will not ask him/her to type in
front of others without asking permission from him/her first.
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| 10. |
Motivation is also a key factor for
success. The typer assumes that if the support person knows
something there is no reason to type it. He or she is most highly
motivated to type when they are expressing a strong preference,
opinion, or emotion. A good starting point is allowing typers
to select favorite activities, foods, or objects by typing them
out. Be sure that the choices you offer are ones you are willing
to provide most of the time within reason. Typers are also motivated
to let others know how intelligent they really are. Most typers
will enjoy answering questions in class if they are sure their
answer is right. To get the typer to do school work you may
need to instill motivation within them. Let the typer know that
he will get to give his work to the teacher, or show others
how smart he is by answering questions in class. Most nonverbal
typers (like all of us) don't like being wrong. This is especially
true when you think about how they have been treated socially
throughout their lives.
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| 11. |
If you are unsure of what the typer
wants to tell you, admit that you are unsure and ask the person
to retype the word so you'll know exactly what he/she wants
to tell you. Once in awhile, the typer may spell a word phonetically,
the way it sounds. If you're having trouble, sound out the word
and check with the typer if that is the correct word.
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| 12. |
Find ways to communicate all day
long, every day! And have fun! This is talking, so ask others
to respect and praise what your typer says as if it was said
out loud. |
Using this method, you can enjoy getting to know the thoughts,
needs and emotions of someone who is unable to speak aloud but carrying
around the same human emotions and thoughts as those of us who are
blessed with verbal communication. It's an exciting process!
Also take a look at these links:
Deal: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dealcc/facil.htm
Facilitated Communication Institute: http://soeweb.syr.edu/thefci/
Breaking Barriers: http://www.jwhowarddesign.com/clients/tash/
Peyton Goddard: http://www.peytongoddard.com/index.html
Autism National Committee (for a list of books by people with autism)
http://autcom.org
Teaching Independent Typing
To teach independence in typing, you need to begin to fade support
almost immediately. Ideally, you first teach the person how to type
with a single finger and then begin the fading process.
Most independent typers will say that it takes lots of daily practice
to become an independent typer. There is a wonderful article at
http://www.advocatesforspecialkids.org/sue_rubin_letter.htm
by Sue Rubin, a college student in California who is now an independent
typer. It took her five years to go from facilitated to independent
typing. Sue explains in her article that for longer papers, she
will want support or facilitation, but she will clarify later with
independent pointing any areas of miscommunication.
Fading of support can be done in a number of ways. Often a beginning
typer may need help to create a pointing finger, so the help comes
from the top of the hand shaping the point. From there the fading
could look like this:
A hand under the wrist
A finger in the palm of the hand
A finger on the wrist
A touch at the forearm
A touch at the elbow
A touch at the shoulder
Standing or sitting beside the person typing for support in staying
focused or to speak their words aloud.
As you fade where you support the person, begin encouraging them to
lift their own arm and hand upward from each keystroke. This lifting
up from the keyboard is a first step toward independence. Helping
the typer set a rhythm for their typing is also important in getting
to independence. Some typers who get stuck on a key, need help to
tap a table with their finger in between keystrokes.
Some other help to become more independent in pointing are:
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Use wrist weights to improve strength
(helpful for some but not all typers)
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Use a keyguard to improve accuracy in pointing |
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Encourage looking at the board directly as much
as possible (many people with autism find looking directly at
the keyboard difficult). As mentioned above, it helps to stop
all typing until the person's eyes are directly on the communication
device. |
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Work on choices placing pieces of paper or 3"X5"
cards a distance apart so that a person first works their shoulder
muscles to reach for the card, then gradually over weeks and
weeks, bring the papers or cards closer together, so that the
person is working their upper arm muscles, then forearm muscles,
then finally their muscles near the wrist. All of this improves
accuracy in pointing and making choices to smaller and smaller
areas such as a keyboard. |
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Use a detached keyboard from a computer to practice
accurate pointing |
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Don't start with open-ended questions or a person
learning to type independently. Use yes/no or multiple choice
questions. Start with short words or answers and work up from
there. |
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Remember that you are in the background to support
the person. Don't speak for them. Say what they have typed and
have given you permission to say aloud. |
Remember that everyone is different in their abilities and motivation.
Independent typing takes lots of concentration, practice and hard
work to achieve for those with motor difficulties. For some it is
a two-year process and others it is a five-year process. But if
you and the typer are up for the challenge, the rewards are great!
A New Two-Handed Method
Jamie Burke and his mother began doing two finger typing using alternating
strokes with first one pointer finger then the pointer finger of
the opposite hand. At a recent ANC conference in Denver, I observed
Jamie's mother stand behind Jamie and support him from the elbows.
The rhythm and alternating from left to right seemed to speed up
the typing and help with independence. An article about this method
is available by Marilyn Chadwick of Syracuse University at http://soeweb.syr.edu/thefci/6-4cha.htm
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