For children who read braille, one handwriting skill that needs to be taught is
the child’s signature. This skill is usually started in second or third grade
when the other children begin to learn cursive writing. A braille reader’s
signature is always written in cursive because there is no starting and
stopping. It’s continuous and they don’t have to pick up the pen or pencil to
find the top!!! Also it’s the way we as adults are asked to sign important
documents.
The time to teach a specific letter is when those letters are used in
conversation to reference ideas or concepts such “U” shaped curve, “S” shaped
curve, “t” intersection, “Y” intersection, or “L” shaped route. These letters
don’t need to be taught specifically but more like it’s introduced so that the
child understands what you’re talking about.
APH signature guide
Materials:
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Signature guide
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Letter writing guide
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Raised line drawing kit available from Maxi-Aids
Procedure:
There are many ways to teach a student’s signature. Here is an example of one
way:
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Decide what the child is going to write as their signature. This is a discussion
to have with the child’s parents. Remember not everyone writes every single
letter of their names when they sign their signature. Some people only write
their first initial and last name. Others write their first and last name with
their middle initial. Still others write their signature with a letter followed
by a line. Their signature doesn’t need to be perfect, but it needs to be
consistent.
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At first, practice writing the student’s signature without using a signature
guide. The space within a signature guide is very limited and many children need
to make exaggerated movements to understand the concept of “short line to the
right”.
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Have the students do square or rounded letters. For example the letter “J” might
be line down, and to the left or short line to the left then a line going
straight up.
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Begin by having the student trace his or her name from start to finish. Say the
letters and the directions for writing each letter as you write the letter. To
teach you can go hand under hand or square the letters such as go up, then right
then down.
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Talk about connecters so that the child does not put their letters on top of one
another.
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Have the student practice using the Raised Line Drawing Kit as lines that are
drawn become raised and easily traced. The child’s signature becomes easily
followed by touch.
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Once the child understands the directions for writing his or her signature, use
a letter writing guide over the raided line drawing kit. This will begin to
confine the student’s signature from top to bottom but still give the student
room to spread out to the right or left. This will also provide the student with
a firm beginning and ending point as they begin to refine their signature. The
letter writing guide also allows them to use the entire page to practice their
signature without moving the signature guide to a new location.
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Once you feel that the student is ready, move them to a signature guide.
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In order to develop consistence, you should provide practice so have the student
use the signature guide on a daily basis. Have the student carry a signature
guide so that they can sign their name anytime they need to.
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