ABSTRACT
The act of writing is often broken down into two types of activity: the basic skills of transcription, and more complex skill of composition. Information and communication technology (ICT) has a part to play in both transcription and composition. The distinction between transcription and composition will be used to anticipate barriers to learning for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and suggest suitable software and hardware to try. The National Literacy Strategy (NLS) suggests that children should have fluent and legible handwriting. It divides skill of composition into planning, drafting, revising, and editing. There are computer programs that claim to help with handwriting practice. For example, 'Startwrite' produces printouts of standard styles of handwriting. A talking word processor, such as Talking Write Away, is often useful for Granada Learning pupils with ASD for one or more of the following reasons: it provides feedback so that the child can more easily detect spelling and typing errors themselves.
