The Pen or the Paper?: Written Expression Supports for Secondary Students with Emotional Behavioral Disabilities.

Written expression is a critical skill for students with disabilities; yet, little is known about how to best support secondary students with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD). This repeated acquisition study served as a follow-up study that demonstrated the effectiveness of a novel technology (the FLYPenTM) for written expression. Three secondary students with EBD alternated between the FLYPenTM and the associated graphic organizers alone to write eight essays to explore which support was most effective. Prior to this study, all students struggled in written expression, and typically included one paragraph without topic sentences or supporting sentences. Students were equally supported in with each method. Students indicated the FLYPenTM "hooked" their interests in writing, but the paper-based graphic organizers provided the actual structure and support for improved writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]