Writers at Risk By: Carol Adler, Missoula, Montana

Several groups of children are at high risk of inadequate progress in written language. Some children of average intelligence fall further behind their peers as they get older. They need special help. How can they be identified? How can we give assistance?

• early success in writing for all children
• early identification of writing difficulties
• intervention, to provide the maximum direct assistance to those children at risk of failure.

As teachers, we must take special care to avoid labeling children as disabled. However, it is through continued diagnostic teaching that we will recognize specific areas in which each child needs additional support.

When a child is recognized in class as delayed in language abilities, is the delay recognized as

• general?
• specific?

Do these group of children have different educational needs? What assistance is provided to these children? Are these children given assistance early in their schooling when it may be most critical? What assistance is provided to classroom teachers who recognize these needs?