Wendy, Teacher for students with disabilities
I’m a resource teacher for learners with physical and intellectual disabilities and I have a timetable of students who work with me on a weekly basis, including those with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and Down syndrome.
My experience using Touch-type Read and Spell has been very positive since it was first recommended to me by another resource teacher about three years ago.
Those students who are struggling the most with literacy, I put on the TTRS course. It helps them learn the letters of the alphabet and then moves them on to building letters into words, and words into sentences, while utilising capital letters and correct grammar and punctuation at the same time.
It is so important that students can take things at their own pace and TTRS enables this and gives learners the opportunity to take breaks when needed. The positive feedback is fantastic and very motivating. The students love to see how they are doing and hear the clapping when they complete modules!
I had one student for whom TTRS was really life-changing. He was a teenage boy who struggled to write his full name or even a sentence when I first started supporting him. After trying various resources and methods with very slow progress, I put this student on the TTRS course. Within a couple of months, he was able to independently type a full sentence in dictation mode with correct punctuation!
It is true that success breeds success. The confidence gain was huge and this student has since been able to receive certificates of learning for the first time in his life. For some of the students I work with, TTRS will be the only certificate they earn and will mean so much to them and their families.
When I add a student to the TTRS course, I do so with them alongside me so they can see how it looks and receive their username and password immediately. They complete the first few sessions next to me, so I can give them guidance on how to follow the onscreen instructions and support them with finger placement.
After about three sessions, they complete sessions on their own in the same room as me but without me supporting them individually. I always encourage students to log on at home and do approximately 20 minutes at a time in addition to the time they spend on the course with me. This independent use boosts their confidence and reinforces learning from class.
From an administrative perspective, I like that I can go into the TTRS teacher console and print off everything a student has covered in terms of spellings and sentences. I use this as hard evidence to show students and their parents what they have achieved.
TTRS has become a part of our education program and is included in the targets I set during regular meetings to update and monitor Individual Action Plans alongside colleagues. TTRS certificates are put into our students’ training folders as evidence of their achievement.
I don’t need much support from the TTRS team because everything is very straightforward and user-friendly, but it’s great to have the reassurance that there is support by email, online chat, or telephone if needed.
In summary, I think this program is fantastic. TTRS has really helped to improve my students’ overall spelling ability and knowledge of sentence structure and punctuation. It’s helping with their speed and accuracy in word processing too!
