Problem: The student can write or type words, but does not seem to be able to generate organized, coherent, and adequately long written compositions.

Cognitive / Self-Regulatory Possibility: Organizational impairment

Step 1: Organize observations relevant to the problematic behavior/issue

• Who is reporting the problem?
• When does it occur? (Include time of day, activities etc).
• Where does it occur?
• What tends to precede the problematic behavior/issue?
• What tends to follow the problematic behavior/issue?
• What is the age and functioning level of the student?
• Previous documentation/charts?

Step 2: Identify possible contributors to the problematic behavior/issue

In many cases, there are several contributors to the student’s identified problem. These contributors may interact with each other, therefore, it may be necessary to combine tests from different categories of possibilities. The existence of several interacting contributors may become obvious as you proceed through individual intervention experiments.

Organizational impairment: Some students may have difficulty with written composition as a result of organizational impairment. (See Tutorials on Organization; Advance Organizers.)

Relevant Observations: The student’s ability to put his thoughts in writing may be related to the organizational demands of the task. If a task is not routine and/or has many components to be organized, the student may be unable to focus and maintain goal-directed work. The student may appear confused and disorganized. The student’s materials may be poorly organized. (See Tutorial on Organization.)

Useful experiments for assessment and intervention:

1. Observe and record the frequency and/or intensity of the problem behavior when a new teaching strategy or support is being implemented versus when it is not being implemented.
2. Possible organization-related teaching strategies or supports (See Tutorials on Organization, Advance Organizers): Maintaining components of a task, deliver the task within a well understood routine versus within elements of novelty. Compare performance when advance organizers (e.g., graphic organizer for the type of writing, picture cues, written outline) are used versus when they are not used. Compare performance when the teacher requests one or two sentences at a time versus a longer written composition that requires organizing.
3. If written composition improves during intervention, it may be that this problem behavior is in part a result of organizational impairment. (See Tutorials on Organization; Advance Organizers; Instructional Routines; Written Composition)

Possible referrals: School psychologist for assessment; instructional support specialist for instructional strategies