We’ve reached the final installment in Andy Clarke’s series on uses of Inspiration 9 in writing. Enjoy!
Inspiration & Specific Learning Difficulty: Why does visual learning benefit students with disabilities?
In my first two articles (Exploring the Basics of Writing and Writing from the Student Perspective) I talked about the fundamentals of writing, first in general and then more specifically within academia. Throughout both articles I touched on the needs of students experiencing a specific learning difficulty (SpLD), highlighting some of the challenges professionals have in both identifying these students’ needs and subsequently providing support within an academic framework.
In this article I want to explore why visual learning tools are recommended as part of a typical technological support package for students with SpLD. What is it that these tools offer? What makes them valuable as learning and writing aids? And most importantly, why are they especially important for this particular group of learners?
To accompany this article I have recorded a video, which demonstrates some of the useful adjustments I commonly make to Inspiration Software tools to help accommodate students with SpLD. Now that I’ve piqued your interest, let’s get cracking!
The diagnosis of a Specific Learning Difficulty is about the variance in an individual’s cognitive profile rather than a fixed point. You’ll never hear, “Well, I found out I had dyslexia after a routine blood test.” However, there are a number of common indicators of special learning difficulties. Two examples I see regularly are “auditory and/or visual processing difficulties” and “working memory”. I want to hone in on these two challenges and demonstrate how we can address them with Inspiration 9.
We know that letters are symbols and that to read and write effectively you need to have adequate symbol decoding skills. Auditory and/or visual processing difficulties can interrupt decoding, slowing the individual’s reading speed. Add to this the brain’s fantastic ability to automate (providing a helping hand in guessing what’s there when things get tough) and we begin to get misreading of words too. This can start to have a significant impact on reading comprehension.
Working memory indicates the brain’s capacity to store and use variables (such as a list of items), which can be manipulated, combined or quickly retrieved in order from memory. The number of variables an individual can functionally manage is typically between five and nine, with the magic number being seven (for fun, Google “working memory, magic number 7”). When this functionality is compromised, though, tasks like retention and comprehension become very difficult. Students can experience frustration and give up on their work.
The use of diagrams and pictures can help address both of these challenges by removing much of the symbol coding involved and also breaking down elements into more manageable chunks. Let’s take the task–or should I say art–of making a cup of tea. The written instructions could be:
“To make a cup of tea you will first need to find a suitable cup or mug. You then place a tea bag into the cup and pour in hot water to fill up to 1cm from the top of the cup. Leave the teabag to stand for between three and five minutes, or stir gently until you have reached your preferred strength. Now remove the teabag, add a dash of milk and stir. DO NOT add sugar unless you want to be solely responsible for ruining the traditions of the UK.” 
Or you could simply demonstrate this process through an Inspiration diagram:
Of course I am not positing that all types of study can be broken down into a simple map. However, a lot of the key points can be. And once the key points are clearly understood, many more detailed considerations can easily follow.
For more information and ideas on this topic, make sure you check out the “Inspiration and Specific Learning Difficulty” video!
It’s my hope that through this series of articles, I’ve demonstrated that Inspiration is more than just a tool for visual structure in compositions. It can also be used in a more holistic approach to aid research and reinforce learning for students who need the most help.
Cheers and thanks for reading,
Andy
- Andy Clarke is a DSA Assessor and freelance AT consultant who has been a prominent member of the UK AT community for over 20 years, assessing individual needs, training and supporting people so they can get the most out of technology.
