School and teacher accommodations
I recently had a phone call from a distressed parent who has a young school age child and the school is concerned because the child is falling further behind. This parent called me for advice which I will repeat here:
It is the schools legal and ethical responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations for your child.
Speak to your OT, speechie or learning difficulties specialist for a list of accommodations the school could implement. This is because, some school may not have the best disability and inclusion policy, to come up with suitable ideas. While, accommodations do take time, money and resources, it is the schools responsibility to appropriately cater to children with special needs.
Accommodations in school:
Allow students to begin projects early.
Allow ear protection for noisy classrooms.
Allow students with writing difficulties to have more time for writing tasks, including note taking, copying and tests.
Allow students with writing difficulties to complete tests verbally.
Remove timers from small mental math or spelling tests to reduce test anxiety.
Remove neatness and spelling as grading criteria.
Allow teachers to grade individual stages of the writing process.
Encourage keyboard use to increase speed and legibility of written work.
Provide students with a template for assignment including headings.
Teachers should:
Explicitly teach writing into writing phases, e.g. brainstorming, drafting, editing, proofreading.
Colour code steps when explaining a new concept and allow students to have a photograph or physical copy on their desk.
Strategically seat the student closest to the teacher.
Pre-teaching new or unfamiliar words.
Record lessons for later review.
Websites for more strategies:
Other accommodations can include creating sensory safe spaces for students who are over stimulated and ensuring the school policies are keeping up with the changing world we now live in. Remember what works for one child, may not work for another. Also, individual children may need a variety of accommodations and resources to succeed in school. This means a variety of resources and strategies need to be available for parents and guardians as well as classroom teachers and education assistants.
(Disability Discrimination Act 1992; Disability Standards for Education 2005)
