Students help those in need improve their handwriting

By: Jarrod Bogan

Posted: 4/12/07

A group of Texas A&M students at Mays Business School, in collaboration with a few special education majors, had a dilemma about what to do for their class project.

Taking a more altruistic approach, they decided to teach students with Down syndrome how to improve their handwriting skills, said Alyssa Probst, a freshman marketing major who was involved in the project.

The students taught a class that included 13 students ages three to 12. The students - 11 with Down syndrome and two with autism - were taught basic handwriting skills.

"Each of us came out with a whole different perspective and learned that skills that we take for granted don't come as easily to some people," Probst said. "It was amazing."

The students went about this task by collaborating with the Down Syndrome Support Group of Bryan-College Station and its President Christie Knight. The goal of the organization is to enlighten the public while promoting a positive understanding of Down syndrome and to provide a system of support to families and individuals affected by Down syndrome.

The Down syndrome support group was started after Knight had a son four years ago that had Down syndrome. She began looking for support in the area but could not find one. Knight said that could not find one. Knight said she assumed the worst after finding out about her child's condition.

One day, she heard a speaker on the A&M campus named Ben. Ben had Down syndrome, yet he was married. His wife also had Down syndrome, but they still managed to live on their own.

"After hearing the speech, I called my husband and said to him, our son is getting married," Knight said. "I was motivated by the speech."

She then set about organizing the Down Syndrome Support Group.

Knight said she wanted the group to serve as a resource for parents so they would know what to expect when dealing with a child with Down syndrome or other disabilities.

"I've always been a firm believer of education and know it is a big part of everyone's life," Knight said. "Eventually (the children) move out of the house and live on their own."

Phyllis Hodges, a kindergarten teacher and grandmother of a child with Down syndrome, was sent to Dallas to be trained so she could teach and organize the Handwriting Without Tears method that the A&M students used to teach the kids. She also set up the class by making individual plans for the kids and set them up with their A&M mentors. The reason why it is difficult for children with Down syndrome to learn to write is because of their low muscle tone, which makes it hard to grip the writing utensil, she said.

"This problem makes forming letters difficult," Hodges said. "The system used helps the kids to learn how to form letters in a fun way that also allows them to remember how to do it later."

Knight said the A&M students ended up helping out tremendously. They raised the same amount of money that the Down Syndrome Support Group paid to send Hodges to get trained and donated it back to the Down syndrome group.

The students raised money by sending letters to people they know and approaching businesses in College Station, Knight said.

When it finally came time to teach, some of the A&M students, did not know what to expect, but they were willing to take on the challenge. They learned that patience and repetition was the key to facilitating the best learning environment, she said.

Hodges said the class was a great success.

"I thought it was very beneficial to the A&M students as well as the kids with Down syndrome," Hodges said.

Lauren Owens, a freshman kinesiology major, started a club of her own called Our Siblings Ourselves, which is for Aggies with disabled siblings.

"Our organization is a support group for Aggies that are dealing with the transition to college and moving away from their handicap siblings," Owens said. "It is great what the Down Syndrome Support group is doing, I believe that we should all be treated equally and am glad that they are getting the message out there as well as providing the education," Owens said.

The group also puts on other activities that bring the disabled children and their siblings on various trips. These trips give their parents much needed alone time and provides as a training ground for the A&M students that help with these trips, she said. Many of the students that help are special education majors.

"Books don't give you real world experience," Knight said.

There are also going to be more Handwriting Without Tears classes in the fall.

"We are getting the kids ready for the future and other people ready for our kids," Knight said.