• Seating charts to sit near the teacher or particular peer may be appropriate
• Dividing work tasks into smaller chunks
• Earplugs to reduce noise
• Designated space to rest
• Physical disabilities need to be thought of in the arrangement of classroom- to learning stations, ability to get to bathroom, get food breaks if needed
• Be prepared for increased fatigue- give breaks
• Paraphrase and summarize often
• Use visual clues and modals when giving directions
• Repeat often

• Digital clocks (instead of standard ones with arms)
• Talking clock or talking calendar
• Checklists for academic and non academic tasks 
• Homemade labels with pictures
• Voice recorders with oral reminders 
• Handheld micro computers to save reminders, passwords, etc.

1. https://www.brainline.org/article/assistive-technology-individuals-traumatic-brain-injury, Accessed 8/5/2021
2. https://www.brainline.org/article/classroom-interventions-students-traumatic-brain-injuries, Accessed 8/5/2021.
3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20378557, Accessed 8/5/2021
4. https://www.ws.edu/student-services/disability/teaching/brain.shtm, accessed 8/5/2021
5. https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pubs/tbi_report_to_congress.html#:~:text=Traumatic%20brain%20injury%20(TBI)%20is,people%20are%20hospitalized%20and%20survive., accessed 8/5/2021

• improper use of words and their meanings,
• inability to express ideas,
• inappropriate grammatical patterns,
• reduced vocabulary, and
• inability to follow directions. 

1. LibGuides: Speech disorders: Common assistive technologies. Common Assistive Technologies - Speech Disorders - LibGuides at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (n.d.). https://guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=613892&p=4265891. 
2. Speech and language impairments. Center for Parent Information and Resources. (n.d.). https://www.parentcenterhub.org/speechlanguage/. 
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Assistive devices for people with hearing, voice, speech, or language disorders. National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/assistive-devices-people-hearing-voice-speech-or-language-disorders. 
4. A brighter future: Solar for schools. Performance Services. (n.d.). https://www.performanceservices.com/resources/a-brighter-future-solar-for-schools.
5. Speech and language impairments defined. Special Education Guide. (2013, August 10). https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/speech-and-language-impairments/. 
   
   

• Difficulty in developing social and communication skills
• Increased time needed for cognitive processing of tasks or new learning materials
• Difficulty in understanding new or different information
• Difficulty understanding or comprehending concepts that are abstract in nature
• Difficulty processing information sequentially

Sec. 300.8 (c)).

• (A) a visual or hearing impairment, or simultaneous visual and hearing impairments;
• (B) a significant cognitive impairment; or
• (C) any impairment for which a small number of personnel with highly specialized skills and knowledge are needed in order for children with that impairment to receive early intervention services or a free appropriate public education.

• Hearing aids (makes sounds louder) 
• Cochlear implants (electric stimulation to cochlear nerve in ear for better hearing)
• Telecoil (t-coil) (improves hearing aids and cochlear implants in public places)
• Streamer (sends sound from a device to hearing aid), 
• Hearing loop, FM, or infrared (IR) system (can send sound to a hearing aid or headphones in public places)
• Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) (hand held amplifiers with microphones)
• Hearing device Bluetooth technology (similar to streamer)
• Captioning (on-screen text of audio of a video or film) 
• Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) (verbatim text of spoken presentations provided for live events)
• Visual fire alarms

• Preparing staff to be qualified educational interpreters
• Assist children with low incidence disabilities, particularly deaf and hard of hearing children in school and school related activities 
• Early intervention and preschool programs 
• Voice articulation
• Sign language
• Note takers
• Be animated
• Speak with hands

• Adjusting to hearing loss
• Making the best use of hearing aids and cochlear implants
• Exploring hearing assistive technology systems that might help
• Learning to identify and distinguish sounds
• Enjoying the sounds of life

• Camps
• Communication service for one-time events
• Consumer education
• Finding an interpreter
• Hearing aid information
• Resource specialist
• Telephone access
• Tuition waivers 

• Speech and Language Impairment
• Learning Disabilities
• Emotional Disturbance
• Mild Intellectual Disabilities

• Mental Retardation
• Hearing Impairments
• Orthopedic Impairments
• Visual Impairments including Blindness
• Deaf-Blindness
• Deafness
• Other Health Impairments
• Developmental Delay
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Moderate to Severe Intellectual Disabilities
• Multiple Disabilities

1. American Foundation for the Blind. (2020, September). Statistics About Children and Youth with Vision Loss. https://www.afb.org/research-and-initiatives/statistics/statistics-blind-children
2. Kozarsky, A. (2020, October), What Does It Mean to Be Legally Blind?. Webmd.  What Does It Mean to Be Legally Blind? (webmd.com). 
3. Tebo, L. A Resource Guide to Assistive Technology for Students with Visual Impairment. Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services. TEBO_VI_Resource_Guide.pdf (qiat.org).

• Strong, pervasive interests in specific topics 
• Executive dysfunction struggles (i.e. organization, time management, etc.) 
• Routines are very important, and can become when they are disrupted without notice 
• Sensitive to stimulus, i.e. bright lights, loud sounds 
• Interoception - may not feel sensations such as hunger or needing to go to the bathroom 
• Engaging in stimming behavior as a means of self-regulation - e.g. rocking back and forth, bouncing, playing with hands 
• May have difficulty with coordination and movement - including speech 
• May have difficulty controlling the volume of their speech and may speak very loudly or very quietly 
• Some may be nonverbal and use communication means other than speech 
• May engage in echolalia (repetition of phrases and questions previously heard) 
• Different methods of communication styles - autistic people have a tendency to be more straightforward and direct 
• May have difficulty understanding neurotypical forms of communication and social cues 
• May have trouble reading tone and facial expressions to understand subtlety (i.e. difficult to read emotions if it is not made explicitly clear) 
• Difficulty making eye contact

• Having a sensory corner or room can help autistic students to decompress when experiencing a meltdown or feel overstimulated. 
• Nonverbal autistic students can use alternative forms of communication, such as an AAC board (low-tech) or an iPad (high-tech). An AAC board is essentially a board with several pictures that the autistic user can point at to demonstrate a specific need or question. Some nonverbal students may even type on computers to communicate, while still having difficulty verbally forming words. 
• While each autistic student will stim differently, provide or allow materials based on their specific stim. A student with a bouncing stim may find it beneficial to sit on an exercise ball rather than a chair. A student with a chew stim would be best served with chewelry (rubber materials designed to chew on) rather than chewing on fingers, pencil caps, etc. Allowing autistic students to stim is important, as it is a self-regulatory behavior. 
• Most autistic people find communication through technology (i.e. email, text message, etc.) to be easier to understand without the nuances of in-person communication (tone, facial expressions, body language, etc.) 

• Avoid whole-body learning. Whole-body learning is a theory implemented in several schools across the nation, with an emphasis on aspects such as quiet hands and eyes on the teacher. For autistic students with a need to stim and to who eye contact can be very stressful, forcing eye contact and stillness requires most of their attention - meaning they will, ironically, be unable to focus on the lesson. 
• Teach social skills (such as sharing, taking turns, etc.) through modeling, drama, and roleplay activities. 
• Behaviorism (rewarding positive behavior and punishing negative behavior through external rewards) has historically been the predominant method of managing autistic students. Instead, what generally will serve the student best is observing the child's existing behaviors and folding them into the classroom (i.e. normalizing their stims to the other students, incorporating their special interests into the lessons). 
• Follow a daily routine, and give warning if you're going to deviate from it. 
• Teach organizational skills: priority, sequencing, breaking assignments down into segments, how to start and how to ask for help when stuck
• Modify the specific assignments and amount of work assigned as needed.