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Students' need are unique and need to be addressed individually 

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Students' need are unique and need to be addressed individually 

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the key to success in the classroom lies in having appropriate adaptations, accommodations, and modifications made to the instruction and other classroom activities.

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Center for Parent Information and Resources

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Supports, Modifications, and Accommodations for Students - Center for Parent Information and Resources

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Your Central Hub for Parent Centers Serving Families of Children With Disabilities

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What are some accommodations that students may receive?

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What are some accommodations that students may receive?

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According to www.parentcenterhub.org, Modifications or accommodations are most often made in the following areas:

Scheduling. For example,

giving the student extra time to complete assignments or tests

breaking up testing over several days

Setting. For example,

working in a small group

working one-on-one with the teacher

Materials. For example,

providing audiotaped lectures or books

giving copies of teacher’s lecture notes

using large print books, Braille, or books on CD (digital text)

Instruction. For example,

reducing the difficulty of assignments

reducing the reading level

using a student/peer tutor

Student Response. For example,

allowing answers to be given orally or dictated

using a word processor for written work

using sign language, a communication device, Braille, or native language if it is not English.

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What are the differences between accommodations and modifications? 

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What are the differences between accommodations and modifications? 

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Accommodations change how kids learn.
Modifications change what kids learn.

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What accommodations and modifications are available for SWDs?

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What accommodations and modifications are available for SWDs?

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There are endless accommodations and modifications available for SWDs and they are primarily addressed in the following categories:

Scheduling

Setting

Materials

Instruction

Student Response

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How do I determine what type of AT a student needs? 

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How do I determine what type of AT a student needs? 

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SETT method is one way to determine what type of AT a student needs to be successful in the classroom and beyond.

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Disabilities come in all shapes and sizes and there is no "1 size fits all"! 

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Disabilities come in all shapes and sizes and there is no "1 size fits all"! 

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students with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, ADHD, Noonan syndrome, Dyslexia, Down syndrome, physical disabilities, hearing impairments, behavior disorders, and autism

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What accommodations are available for students with hearing impairments?

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What accommodations are available for students with hearing impairments?

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COMMUNICATION
ACCOMMODATIONS
• Specialized seating arrangement
• Reduce auditory distractions (background
noise)
• Enhance speechreading conditions
(avoid hands in front of face,
mustaches well-trimmed,
no gum chewing)
• Clearly enunciate speech
• Repeat or rephrase information when
necessary
• Educational interpreter (ASL, signed
English, cued speech, oral)
• Obtain student’s attention prior to speaking
• Reduce visual distractions
• Present information in simple, structured,
sequential manner
• Allow extra time for processing information
• Frequently check for understanding
CHECK OUT THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE FOR MORE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE D/HH

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What testing accommodations are available for SWDs?

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What testing accommodations are available for SWDs?

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There are many accommodations available for SWDs when it comes to test taking:

Allow extra time

Repeat directions

Read test orally

Ask for student to repeat directions in his/her own words

Allow student to take test in small group setting

Provide breaks

Break test up into several sessions

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What modifications are available for students with autism? 

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What modifications are available for students with autism? 

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Here are 20 modifications listed in order of importance according to Karen Wright, M.S., C.T.R.S.

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Accommodations and modifications come in all shapes and sizes too!

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Accommodations and modifications come in all shapes and sizes too!

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Accommodations are changes that remove barriers to learning.

Accommodations change how kids learn, not what they learn.

Your child can get accommodations through the teacher, or in an IEP or a 504 plan.

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Kids with learning and attention issues often face barriers to learning. For instance, if your child has ADHD, she may not be able to sit still long enough to do math problems. If she has reading issues, she may struggle to learn history from a traditional textbook. Fortunately, there are changes in the classroom-called accommodations -that can remove these barriers.

Read on to learn more about what accommodations are and how they can help your child.

What Accommodations Are

Accommodations are changes that remove barriers and provide your child with equal access to learning. Accommodations don't change what your child is learning. Rather, they change how your child is learning.

Here's a classic example. Let's say your child is taking an American history class, but she struggles with reading. As an accommodation, the teacher lets her listen to an audiobook version of the textbook.

By using an audiobook, she can learn history without her reading issues getting in the way. This has removed a barrier to her learning.

Accommodations don't change what your child is expected to know or learn. They don't lower expectations. Your child may use an audiobook in American history, but she's still expected to learn about events like the Civil War. And she still must complete all assignments and take exams, just like her peers. The accommodation simply helps her work around her challenges.

This is what makes accommodations different from modifications. A modification changes what your child is expected to know or learn. In American history, for instance, a modification may be that a child only needs to learn half of the material in the textbook.

Types of Accommodations

Accommodations work best when they target a specific barrier or challenge. For instance, for the child who can't sit still to do math, an accommodation may be frequent breaks. For the child who struggles to write out answers on tests, an accommodation may be to have her give answers orally. The accommodation matches the need.

Here are four categories of accommodations for different needs.

How to Get Accommodations for Your Child

If you think accommodations may help your child, talk to her teacher. Often, the teacher may agree to informal supports. These simple changes don't require paperwork. It doesn't take much, for example, for the teacher to move your child's seat away from a noisy classroom door that's distracting.

If your child needs bigger changes, however, you may want to seek formal accommodations. Under federal law, kids with disabilities have the right to equal access to learning. This means accommodations for their disabilities, which can include learning and attention issues. To exercise this right, you must ask the school to evaluate your child.

"Accommodations don't change what your child is expected to know or learn. They don't lower expectations."

The evaluation can lead to an IEP or a 504 plan for your child. You and the school decide together what accommodations to write into the plan. By law, this must also cover any accommodations on state tests. (Learn about the difference between IEPs and 504 plans.)

Just because an IEP or a 504 plan lists accommodations, however, doesn't mean they're always followed in the classroom. It's still important to check in with the teacher. And it's important to talk with your child about how the accommodations are working.

Schools are usually open to providing accommodations. The bigger challenge is choosing the right accommodations and keeping track of which ones are most helpful.

If an accommodation is in place, but your child isn't using it, find out why. Also, if your child gets accommodations on state tests, it's important for her to use them regularly in class. This helps her get familiar with the accommodations.

Accommodations Outside the Classroom

Learning and attention issues don't just create challenges in school. They also affect everyday life. That's why accommodations also exist outside the classroom. But instead of providing an equal opportunity to learn, they provide an equal opportunity to participate.

Accommodations can apply to many activities. You may see them used in driver's tests, the workplace, summer camps, sport clubs and even at Disney World.

Some of these accommodations are provided informally. Often, though, there's a specific process you need to follow to get them. Outside of school, kids with disabilities have a legal right to reasonable accommodations. To learn more, read how the Americans with Disabilities Act protects your child.

Accommodations can be a powerful tool for helping your child by removing barriers to learning. Learn more:

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Accommodations: What They Are and How They Work

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Kids with learning and attention issues often face barriers to learning. For instance, if your child has ADHD, she may not be able to sit still long enough to do math problems. If she has reading issues, she may struggle to learn history from a traditional textbook.

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Modifications are changes to what your child is taught or expected to do in school.

Modifications aren’t the same as accommodations, which are changes to how your child learns.

Only students with an IEP or a 504 plan can have modifications.

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What accommodations and modifications are available for students with Emotional Behavioral Disorders?

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What accommodations and modifications are available for students with Emotional Behavioral Disorders?

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Based on a students individual needs, there are many accommodations and modifications that can be put in place in a classroom setting to help the student find success. The following website lists the needs and the appropriate accommodation/modification

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The following is a list of needs and modifications to help a child with an emotional behavioral disorder, EBD, find success in all environments.

Need 1:

Kids with an Emotional Behavioral Disorder may have difficulty establishing a variety of relationships
Modification:

Set up goals aimed at social interactions

Use role-playing situations

Use seating arrangement to encourage social interaction.

Need 2:

Children with an emotional behavioral disorder often have skewed views of their long term possibilities and desires
Modification:

Include students with EBD in the planning process and IEP, so they can visual and voice their goals.

It can also help for them to note the goals it will take to get there.

Need 3:

Children with an Emotional Behavioral Disorder are often achieving academically below their non-disabled peers in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Modification:

Set up personalized goals and strategies, so that the child can find success.

Early detection and intervention is the best strategy

Children with Emotional Behavior Disorders may present extra challenges to caregiver in forms of outbursts and disobedience. The caregiver cannot give into this as it only validates the child's behavior. Instead caregiver needs to challenge students to keep them learning new skills

Need 4:

Children with an Emotional Behavioral Disorder may appear easily distracted, less attentive, and have poor concentration
Modification:

Set clear rules and expectations with visual stimulating material.

By setting up an environment and materials that are stimulating, children can stay more engaged and interested.

Need 5:

Children with an Emotional Behavioral Disorder may be dishonest, blame others, manipulate situations, and bully others
Modification:

Clearly post rules

Stay consistent in expectations

Set limits and Boundaries

Use behavior contracts

Use a highly structured environment

Develop a cue word for the child to note inappropriate behavior

Need 6:

Students with Emotional Behavioral disorders are often truant from school and disruptive when present
Modification:

Communicate with parents, so similar strategies and expectations are used at home

Need 7:

Kids with an Emotional Behavioral Disorder often have low-self esteem, high stress points, and may engage in self-injurious behaviors
Modification:

Establish a quiet cool off area

Teach self-talk to relieve stress and anxiety

Teach and put in place self-monitoring and self-control techniques

Provide time for relaxation techniques

Be aware of your speech and non-verbal cues when talking to the student

Related Articles to 'Emotional Behavioral Disorder: Accommodations and Modifications'
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: A Quick Break Down Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Definitions and Challenges

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The following is a list of needs and modifications to help a child with an emotional behavioral disorder, EBD, find success in all environments. Need 1: Kids with an Emotional Behavioral Disorder may have difficulty establishing a variety of relationships Modification: Set up goals aimed at social interactions Use role-playing situations Use seating arrangement to encourage social interaction.

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What do accommodations and modifications look like in a classroom setting? 

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What do accommodations and modifications look like in a classroom setting? 

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Check out this short video to see some accommodations and modifications being used in the classroom and the differences between them.

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Accommodations and Modifications for Students with Disabilities

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According to www.readingrockets.org, "AT for kids with LD is defined as any device, piece of equipment or system that helps bypass, work around or compensate for an individual's specific learning deficits."

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What types of learning problems does assistive technology address?

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What types of learning problems does assistive technology address?

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Listening
Math
Writing
Organization and Memory
Reading

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What kinds of assistive technology tools are available?

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What kinds of assistive technology tools are available?

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Audio books, electronic math work sheets, graphic organizers.....and the list goes on and on......
Check out this site for a complete list

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Assistive technology (AT) is available to help individuals with many types of disabilities — from cognitive problems to physical impairment. This article will focus specifically on AT for individuals with learning disabilities (LD).

The use of technology to enhance learning is an effective approach for many children. Additionally, students with LD often experience greater success when they are allowed to use their abilities (strengths) to work around their disabilities (challenges). AT tools combine the best of both of these practices.

What is assistive technology for LD?

AT for kids with LD is defined as any device, piece of equipment or system that helps bypass, work around or compensate for an individual's specific learning deficits. Over the past decade, a number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of AT for individuals with LD. ¹ AT doesn't cure or eliminate learning difficulties, but it can help your child reach her potential because it allows her to capitalize on her strengths and bypass areas of difficulty. For example, a student who struggles with reading but who has good listening skills might benefit from listening to audiobooks.

In general, AT compensates for a student's skills deficits or area(s) of disability. However, utilizing AT does not mean that a child can't also receive remedial instruction aimed at alleviating deficits (such as software designed to improve poor phonic skills). A student could use remedial reading software as well as listen to audiobooks. In fact, research has shown that AT can improve certain skill deficits (e.g., reading and spelling).2,3

AT can increase a child's self-reliance and sense of independence. Kids who struggle in school are often overly dependent on parents, siblings, friends and teachers for help with assignments. By using AT, kids can experience success with working independently.

What types of learning problems does assistive technology address?

AT can address many types of learning difficulties. A student who has difficulty writing can compose a school report by dictating it and having it converted to text by special software. A child who struggles with math can use a hand-held calculator to keep score while playing a game with a friend. And a teenager with dyslexia may benefit from AT that will read aloud his employer's online training manual. There are AT tools to help students who struggle with:

Listening

Certain assistive technology (AT) tools can help people who have difficulty processing and remembering spoken language. Such devices can be used in various settings (e.g., a class lecture, or a meeting with multiple speakers).

Math

Assistive technology (AT) tools for math are designed to help people who struggle with computing, organizing, aligning, and copying math problems down on paper. With the help of visual and/or audio support, users can better set up and calculate basic math problems.

Organization and memory

Assistive technology (AT) tools can help a person plan, organize, and keep track of his calendar, schedule, task list, contact information, and miscellaneous notes. These tools allow him to manage, store, and retrieve such information with the help of special software and hand-held devices.

Reading

There is a wide range of assistive technology (AT) tools available to help individuals who struggle with reading. While each type of tool works a little differently, all of these tools help by presenting text as speech. These tools help facilitate decoding, reading fluency, and comprehension.

Writing

There is a wide range of assistive technology (AT) tools available to help students who struggle with writing. Some of these tools help students circumvent the actual physical task of writing, while others facilitate proper spelling, punctuation, grammar, word usage, and organization.

What kinds of assistive technology tools are available?

The term "assistive technology" has usually been applied to computer hardware and software and electronic devices. However, many AT tools are now available on the Internet. AT tools that support kids with LD include:

Abbreviation expanders

Used with word processing, these software programs allow a user to create, store, and re-use abbreviations for frequently-used words or phrases. This can save the user keystrokes and ensure proper spelling of words and phrases he has coded as abbreviations.

Alternative keyboards

These programmable keyboards have special overlays that customize the appearance and function of a standard keyboard. Students who have LD or have trouble typing may benefit from customization that reduces input choices, groups keys by color/location, and adds graphics to aid comprehension.

Audiobooks and publications

Recorded books allow users to listen to text and are available in a variety of formats, such as audiocassettes, CDs, and MP3 downloads. Special playback units allow users to and search and bookmark pages and chapters. Subscription services offer extensive electronic library collections.

Electronic math work sheets

Electronic math worksheets are software programs that can help a user organize, align, and work through math problems on a computer screen. Numbers that appear onscreen can also be read aloud via a speech synthesizer. This may be helpful to people who have trouble aligning math problems with pencil and paper.

Freeform database software

Used in conjunction with word processing or other software, this tool allows the user to create and store electronic notes by "jotting down" relevant information of any length and on any subject. He can later retrieve the information by typing any fragment of the original note.

Graphic organizers and outlining

Graphic organizers and outlining programs help users who have trouble organizing and outlining information as they begin a writing project. This type of program lets a user "dump" information in an unstructured manner and later helps him organize the information into appropriate categories and order.

Information/data managers

This type of tool helps a person plan, organize, store, and retrieve his calendar, task list, contact data, and other information in electronic form. Personal data managers may be portable, hand-held devices, computer software, or a combination of those tools working together by "sharing" data.

Optical character recognition

This technology allows a user to scan printed material into a computer or handheld unit. The scanned text is then read aloud via a speech synthesis/screen reading system. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is available as stand-alone units, computer software, and as portable, pocket-sized devices.

Personal FM listening systems

A personal FM listening system transmits a speaker's voice directly to the user's ear. This may help the listener focus on what the speaker is saying. The unit consists of a wireless transmitter (with microphone) worn by the speaker and a receiver (with earphone) worn by the listener.

Portable word processors

A portable word processor is lightweight device that is easy to transport (e.g., from classroom to home). It can be helpful to kids who may have trouble writing by hand and prefer to use a keyboard. Word processing allows the user to edit and correct his written work more efficiently than doing so by hand.

Proofreading programs

Students who struggle with writing (e.g., spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage, and sentence structure) may benefit from software programs (included in many word processing systems) that scan word processing documents and alert the user to possible errors.

Speech-recognition programs

A speech recognition program works in conjunction with a word processor. The user "dictates" into a microphone, and his spoken words appear on the computer screen as text. This can help a user whose oral language ability is better than his writing skills.

Speech synthesizers/screen readers

These systems can display and read aloud text on a computer screen, including text that has been typed by the user, scanned in from printed pages (e.g., books, letters), or text appearing on the Internet.

Talking calculators

A talking calculator has a built-in speech synthesizer that reads aloud each number, symbol, or operation key a user presses; it also vocalizes the answer to the problem. This auditory feedback may help him check the accuracy of the keys he presses and verify the answer before he transfers it to paper.

Talking spell checkers and electronic dictionaries

Talking spell checkers and electronic dictionaries can help a poor speller select or identify appropriate words and correct spelling errors during the process of writing and proofreading. Talking devices "read aloud" and display the selected words onscreen, so the user can see and hear the words.

Variable-speed tape recorders

Tape recorders/players allow a user to listen to pre-recorded text or to capture spoken information (e.g., a classroom lecture) and play it back later. Variable speed control (VSC) tape recorders speed up or slow down the playback rate without distorting the "speaker's" voice.

Word-prediction programs

Word prediction software can help a user during word processing by "predicting" a word the user intends to type. Predictions are based on spelling, syntax, and frequent/recent use. This prompts kids who struggle with writing to use proper spelling, grammar, and word choices, with fewer keystrokes.

Your child's profile

Here are several factors to consider when evaluating AT products for your child:

What are her specific needs and challenges? In what academic skill areas does she struggle?

What are her strengths? AT should utilize your child's abilities to help compensate for her disability.

What is her interest, skill and experience in using technology? In what settings and situations will she use the AT tool? AT can help a child with LD function better at school as well as in other settings such as home, work, social gatherings and recreational events.

Other technology tools for learning

There are other forms of technology designed to help all students, including those with LD, improve their academic performance. These technologies differ somewhat from AT but are worth mentioning.

Instructional software is used to teach specific academic skills (like reading and writing) or subject matter content (such as history and science). It differs from AT in that it provides instruction rather than bypassing areas of difficulty.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a philosophy that encompasses learning models, methods and products to enhance the educational experience of diverse learners (whether or not they have learning disabilities). In this approach, AT is often built into educational materials and can be customized to help students with disabilities be successful with the general curriculum.

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Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities: An Overview

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If your child has a learning disability, he or she may benefit from assistive technology tools that play to their strengths and work around their challenges.

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How do I determine what type of AT a student needs to be successful? 

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How do I determine what type of AT a student needs to be successful? 

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Watch this short video that explains the SETT method used to determine what AT are best suited for SWDs

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 Numerous testing accommodations are available for SWDs

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 Numerous testing accommodations are available for SWDs

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"Students with disabilities receive instruction in regular
education classrooms more than ever. Legislation in most
states requires that students with disabilities also be tested
just as students without disabilities. Therefore, testing
accommodations and modifications must frequently be
made to meet these students’ special needs.", states
Wendy C. Ward, M.A.T.
The following article gives a list of commonly used testing accommodations in the classroom

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The NDE requires the following document to be completed for any testing accommodations made for SWDs

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The NDE requires the following document to be completed for any testing accommodations made for SWDs