Special needs · Moderate learning difficulties (MLD)

Simple screens, small steps and lots of success

Pencil Spaces helps learners with moderate learning difficulties or intellectual disability with a simpler screen, pictures beside words, repetition and celebrations.

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Area

Cognition and learning

Who it helps

Learners with moderate learning difficulties (MLD), intellectual disability or global developmental delay, tutors, special schools and families

What lessons need

A simple screen, visual supports, small steps, repetition, routine, encouragement

In Pencil Spaces

7 features available today

Part of

Special needs, need by need

What do learners with moderate learning difficulties need from an online lesson?

Moderate learning difficulties, often called intellectual disability in the US, mean a learner takes longer to learn new skills and may find abstract ideas hard. Lessons work best when they’re concrete, visual, repetitive and full of success.

A screen with fewer choicesChild Mode · AvailableChild Mode cuts the toolbar to five tools, hides chat, boards and apps, and keeps the teacher’s face in view.
Pictures alongside wordsImages & Video · AvailableAdd pictures and clips by upload, drag and drop, image search or a webcam photo.
The same place every weekPersistent Spaces · AvailableEvery board, note and drawing stays in the Space between lessons, so each lesson picks up where the last one ended.
Easy to get inOne-Click Join · AvailableStudents open a link in the browser and they’re in. There’s nothing to download and no form to fill in.
Success you can seeCelebrations · AvailableConfetti, reactions and stickers mark a right answer or a hard-won step.
Pointing without messLaser Pointer · AvailablePoint at one spot on the board without leaving a mark, so the board stays uncluttered.
Work at their own levelPlace Students on Boards · AvailableSend each student to the board with the right material, so everyone works at their own level in the same lesson.

The features behind it

Why can online lessons be hard for learners with moderate learning difficulties?

Most online tools assume a confident reader who can find their way through menus. A learner with learning difficulties can lose the lesson at the login screen.

Busy screens and fast talk make it worse. Too many choices and too little repetition mean a skill learned one week is gone the next.

What does a lesson look like in Pencil Spaces?

The student taps the link, and the teacher’s face appears beside a clean board with five tools. A picture of three apples sits next to the number 3.

The student touches each apple as they count. Confetti fills the screen when they get it, and the board is still there next week.

How do therapists use Pencil Spaces with learners with moderate learning difficulties?

Speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists often support students with learning difficulties, including students in the US with an IEP under intellectual disability. Pictures paired with every word, short steps and lots of repetition work in therapy as well as in lessons.

Child Mode keeps the screen simple for students of any age. A document camera lets the occupational therapist coach life skills such as fastening, cutting or counting coins at the desk.

Tips for teaching learners with moderate learning difficulties online

Use real objects and pictures before symbols and words.
Teach one small step at a time, and repeat it across many lessons.
Keep the same routine, the same Space and, where possible, the same teacher.
Use the learner’s interests to make practice meaningful.
Celebrate effort and small wins often.

Good to know

Read Aloud is coming soon. Until then, teachers read text aloud and lean on pictures.

Questions people ask

Is Pencil Spaces simple enough for learners with learning difficulties?

Pencil Spaces can be made very simple. Students join from a link in the browser with nothing to download. Child Mode cuts the toolbar to five tools and hides chat, boards and apps, so the screen shows the board and the teacher’s face.

Can you teach with pictures and real objects online?

Yes. Add pictures and video to the board by upload, image search or a webcam photo. Show real objects on a document camera or phone camera, and draw on the image live.

How do you stop learning slipping between lessons?

Each Space keeps every board between lessons, so the same materials come back week after week for practice. Recordings and lesson summaries help families practice at home.

Can a parent sit in on the lesson?

Yes. Many families sit beside their child at home, especially in the first lessons. Afterwards, the lesson summary has a version written for parents, with what was covered and what to practice.