Many students feel overwhelmed at even the mention of writing. They struggle to begin, generate ideas, organize their thoughts, and put those thoughts into words and sentences in a way that makes sense. For those who produce a written product, many unfortunately find that they have failed to answer the prompt that was assigned. Starting over is daunting. Many feel hopeless.
Writing is complex and requires the merging of one's skills from all five language domains. Writing also requires intact executive functioning abilities and fine motor skills. When we write, we must integrate our knowledge of spelling. punctuation, capitalization, vocabulary, grammar, purpose, perspective, organization, critical thinking, etc. Much of this must occur concurrently, leaving students at a loss of how and what to prioritize in the writing process. Where should they even begin?
At Holding Hands Speech Therapy, we understand, and we're prepared to help! As a private clinic in the Annapolis area, we are thrilled to offer the EmPOWER™ process. EmPOWER™ was developed through years of research and practice as a means to make the self-talk, language, and organization of writing VISIBLE and ACCESSIBLE. It's a set of 9 questions and visual tools that leads students from writing prompt to finished product. EmPOWER™ can be used with any writing curriculum and is developmentally appropriate for beginning writers in 2nd grade through high school. With a flexible system that can be tailored to a range of difficulties, EmPOWER™ benefits students with executive functioning deficits, language-based learning disabilities, developmental language delay, and receptive/expressive language disorders by teaching them skills that, with practice, can be implemented independently. Writers are met at their level of competence and progress at their own pace.
Interested in learning more about how EmPOWER™ can be used to help your student? Contact Holding Hands Speech. Individual therapy sessions near you are currently available. Week-long summer intensives will be offered beginning in June. Check back in April for more details.
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