Over eighteen years of teaching IEW to hundreds of students, I have probably taught every possible type of student. A number of them have been on the autism spectrum, and I have seen tremendous writing progress with these students. Normally, my autistic students have highly engaged and intentional parents. The parents and the IEW method combine to create the best possible learning outcome.
Dr. Sinichi Suzuki, creator of the highly effective Suzuki method of music education, believed that every child can learn to play music, when provided with an effective method, the right teaching, and a nurturing environment. He called this the “mother tongue” method of learning: “Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The potential of every child is unlimited.”
Having been a “Suzuki parent” myself, I appreciate that IEW is so “Suzuki-ish!” Seeing the transformative power of IEW all these years, I have come to believe that every child who is properly trained can develop language ability. Every student has the potential to learn to write, when provided with an effective method, the right teaching, and a nurturing environment in which to learn. It is no coincidence that Andrew Pudewa, creator of the IEW method of writing, was a Suzuki strings teacher before he created IEW.
Recently, Andrew interviewed Marie Greenhalgh, who has used IEW very successfully with her autistic son. The podcast of the interview is at the bottom of the page linked below, but also on the page is a list with links to all of the IEW resources mentioned in the interview! Click here: Help for Teachers of Autistic Students Using IEW: An interview with Marie Greenhalgh.
