Can technical writing help developmentally disabled students appreciate and develop text-based coping skills that support independent living?
Yes. Many technical writing skills directly transfer to coping with textual challenges in daily life: designing truly usable instructions, for example, links tightly to handling travel directions and following medical procedures at home, while analyzing descriptions for effectiveness links closely with understanding bills, tax forms, and nutritional labels on packaged food. Concrete examples of all these cases are readily available to focus student attention. And rewriting recipes amid the actual fruits and vegetables that they mention reminds students that technical writing techniques apply to regular adult life, not just to school.
