The Feifer Assessment of Writing (FAW), designed by Steven Feifer, is a comprehensive tool for assessing the cognitive, linguistic, and motor skills associated with writing difficulties in children and adolescents. It aims to help identify specific areas of weakness that contribute to writing challenges, particularly for students at risk for learning disabilities, such as dysgraphia or other related disorders.

Here’s an overview of its key features:

Feifer Assessment of Writing Purpose:

The FAW assesses different dimensions of writing, such as:

• Orthographic (spelling and letter formation),
• Executive functioning (planning and organizing writing),
• Language-based (sentence structure, grammar, etc.).

Structure:

It breaks down writing tasks into subtests to assess multiple aspects of writing:

• Phonological skills – the relationship between sounds and letters.
• Orthographic skills – visual memory for words, letter patterns, and spelling.
• Motor coordination – fine motor control and legibility of handwriting.
• Executive function skills – planning, organizing thoughts, and revising content.

Usefulness in Homeschooling:

Since you’re homeschooling a child with mixed receptive-expressive language disorder and ADHD, the FAW could help pinpoint specific writing challenges and strengths. It could also assist in creating targeted interventions, accommodations, or strategies to improve writing skills, like focusing more on motor skills if handwriting is difficult or emphasizing organizational skills if structuring ideas is a challenge.

Would you like more details on using this assessment in a homeschooling environment or other strategies to support writing development?