Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Kari Rangel, Rachael Cederlof, Cora Houston, Tina Collins

Accommodations for Children with ADD/ADHD

CLASSROOM ACCOMMODATIONS
SEATING
- Place student away from windows and doors by avoiding constant distraction.
- Place student near to the teacher's desk.
Create rows of desks facing the teacher (usually works better than students
facing each other.

INFORMATION DELIVERY
- Work on the most difficult lesson of the day early in the day.
- Use visual charts, pictures, and color coding
- Create outlines for note taking that organizes info as teacher delivers it.

STUDENT WORK
-Create quiet work area fir test taking & quiet study.
- Create worksheets & tests with fewer problems. AND give frequent short quizzes VS longer
tests.
- Reduce the number of timed tests.
- Test student in the way they test best (Orally or filling in the blanks).
- Divide long term projects into segments & assign a completion goal for each segment.
-Allow student to do as much work on the computer as possible.
PROPS Poster of a typical agenda (elementary) Poster of Lesson plan (secondary)

ORGANIZATION
-Help create a master notebook with 3-ring binder with separate sections for each subject,
constantly reminding student to use it.
-Provide a 3 pocket folder for homework, completed homework and parent mail
-color code assignments/subjects
-allow student to get organized before leaving for the day. Post steps on how to get ready to
leave.
-Constantly verify with your student they have an effective system for writing assignments down.

TRUST
-Frequently meet with students to communicate their needs, and what they can expect from
you, the teacher. Example if they take medication and it makes them sleepy, they may need to
get up and get involved, so in that case student should tell the teacher what his/her needs are at
that moment (taking a quick walk. Helping teacher pass out materials. Help their peers. Doodle
in a notebook). By respecting students needs, student may start to trust teacher, and their
performance may be better.
-Unobtrusive Cues to help student stay on task. Blank Sticky note on desk from teacher (telling
student without using words that student needs to stay on task). Blank Sticky note from student
delivered to the teacher (student may be telling teacher without words that he/she needs
movement, interaction, etc
-Create a reward system involving the whole class.
Elementary- if the daily tasks are well performed (cleanliness. Homework folders brought back
daily. Kind words. Sharing. Helping others. Etc) then a sticker each day goes on a chart. At the
end of the week if they have all stickers accounted for, then they choose a class prize.
Secondary- Everyone brings homework when its required to for the whole week, then the class
chooses its prize. Keep a chart for each week (easy fast chart that can be printed off, stays on
designated clipboard at the front of classroom), and have students in charge of keeping track.
PROPS- blank notebook & adult color books with colored pencils. Sticky notepad. Chart with
clipboard. Reward charts. Prizes (educational movie, candy)

STARTING A LESSON
-Signal start of lesson with a cow bell or timer.
-List activities on the board.
-Open the lesson with an explanation of what the students will learn, what materials they need,
and whats expected of them.
-Have Eye contact with your students.
PROPS cow bell. Timer.

CONDUCTING A LESSON
-Keep instructions simple and structured.
-Vary the pace and include different activities. Competitive games, rapid/intense activities.
-Props, charts, visual aides.
-Unobtrusive Cue with student reminding them to stay on task (sticky note on desk).
-frequent breaks
-Squeezing stress ball.
-Try to avoid asking student to performs or answer questions in public.
PROPS- Charts, Photos and Visual aides for mock lesson. Sticky note, for task reminder. Stress
ball. White boards, and dry erase markers.

END OF LESSON
-Summarize key points.
-If given an assignment, have 3 different students repeat what assignment it is. Write the
assignment on board.
-Be specific on what to take home.

Extra Teaching Strategy for parents asking what they can do at home
-create task charts (tasks that are especially difficult for their child). There may be multiple
charts.
-create a reward system for the child to be in charge of, parent supervising (the point is to get
the child to work on responsibility and to feel an accomplishment)
-designate a certain space in their home for their child to do homework, or quiet study.
-tutor? Like a family member or friend other than mom or dad to sit and root on child with
homework.
-give student a plan for their weekend. Find educational movies, activity books, get outside and
explore. Play, interact with others.
-Assign jobs around the house. Walk the dog. Clean out a drawer, and organize it. Help prepare
and make a meal.
PROPS- Charts
Resources:
www.helpguide.org

Accommodations for Children with Anxiety

Seating ArrangementClassroom/Assemblies, etc.
Sometimes a child might feel less anxious sitting near the door (because it allows them to feel
like they can escape easily, if necessary.

Signaling class before giving directions

This can help alleviate anxiety by letting the child know they arent missing any directions.

Cool Down Pass

The teacher and student both have a pass. If the child is feeling anxious, they can set their pass
on the teachers desk and go get a drink, etc. If the teacher can see that the child is feeling

anxious, the teacher can set their pass on the childs desk, giving the child permission to step
out for a moment.

Homework Expectations
The teacher can help alleviate anxiety for the child by giving the students time estimates/limits.
Ex: this section should take about ___ long, do not spend longer than ___ minutes, etc.

Clearly Stated/Posted Expectations/Consequences

Children with anxiety function best in clear, organized settings. Having clearly posted
expectations/rules helps alleviate anxiety for children who are worried about what they
can/cant/should/shouldnt do.

Deep Breathing Exercises: Darth Vader Breathing/Smelling the Cookies

Darth Vader Breathing: Breathe deeply/slowly, in and out, through your teeth.
Smelling the Cookies: Bring the plate of fresh baked cookies to your face and breathe in, then
push the plate away and blow out, cooling off the hot cookies.

Mindfulness
An activity to help refocus an anxious mind. It helps the child to become more aware of their
surroundings and gives them a little reset.
Modifications for Children with Anxiety

Test Format/Substitute Assignments

For children with anxiety, sometimes multiple choice tests help make them a little less anxious.
If a child has extreme oral anxiety, they could give a presentation to the teacher alone, or do a
recording at their house and bring that into the teacher. If a child has a lot of anxiety surrounding
tests, they could do a report instead, etc, etc, etc.

Resource:
http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/1443/162371/suggestions-accommodations/

Accommodations for Students with

Schizophrenia Disorder

Trust
Relieving stress from the environment
1. Quiet secluded place to finish assignments and tests
2. Internet Course

Organization
Structure and Routines
1. Be prepared to set behavioral expectations for all students in your class.
2. Place class schedules where every student can see it.
(Class schedule can be found under schedule cards {The First Grade Parade} at
teacherspayteachers.com)

Classroom Accommodations
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Preferential seating, especially near the door to allow leaving class for breaks.
Assigned classmate as volunteer assistant.
Beverages permitted in class.
Prearranged or frequent breaks.
Allow tape recorder use.
Notetaker or photocopy of another students notes.
Early availability of syllabus and textbooks.
Availability of course materials (lectures, handouts) on disk or email.
Private feedback on academic performance.

Start a Lesson
1. Use graphic organizers for comprehension
- first teach the students how to use
- practice using it with a lesson or assignment
2. Use mnemonic devices to aid memory recall.
(Graphic Organizer)

Conduct a Lesson

1. Address a variety of learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, experiential,

or a combination of styles)
2. Incorporate experiential learning activities

End a Lesson
Assignment Accommodations
1. Substitute assignments in specific circumstances.
2. Advance notice of assignments.
3. Permission to submit assignments handwritten rather than typed.
4. Written assignments in lieu of oral presentations or vice versa.
5. Assignments completed in dramatic formats (e.g., demonstration, role-play,
and sculpture).
6. Assignment assistance during hospitalization.
7. Extended time to complete assignments.
Examination Accommodations
1. Exams in alternate format (e.g. written, oral, presentation, roleplay, or portfolio)
2. Use of assistive computer software (e.g. Optical Character
Recognition, allowing scanned test to be read aloud by the computers sound
card, or speech recognition for converting the spoken word to printed word on the
computer screen.)
3. Extended time for test taking.
4. Exams individually proctored, including in the hospital.
5. Exams in a separate, quiet, and non-distracting room.
6. Increased frequency of exams.

Resources
Teaching and Understanding Students with Schizophrenia:
http://www.articlesforeducators.com/article.asp?aid=93#.Vgr2lSDBwXA

Academic Accommodations for Students with Psychiatric Disabilities:

http://www.washington.edu/doit/academic-accommodations-students-psychiatric-disabilities

Tic Disorders

Materials:
Stress ball or Play Dough- These can be given to the kids and a release. It allows them to
physically work out stress or anxiety they have built up, and can also help with focusing.

Trust:
Provide time for private expression of tics, talk about feelings 1:1 or in small groups- This can be
done during or after class hours, the child can discretely be removed from any situation and
placed in a setting where they can privately and comfortably express their tics.

Organization:
consistency between home and school- This requires communication between parents and
students. Figure out what is expected of the students (punishment and reward systems) and
keep it the same at home and school.

Classroom accommodations:
Tape recorder, Peer scribe, oral reports- During lectures the student can record and listen to the
lecture later on, the recorder can also be used for the student to record their own thoughts when
writing is a barrier. Peer scribes can be used during group activities to help the student gather
their thoughts. Oral reports can go along side written work to give the student opportunities to
write but still gage how much the student is comprehending whether or not they can write it
down.

Start lesson:
Sing a song- Begin they day with a song to get the kids in gear and their minds ready to focus
on the days tasks.

End lesson:
Give student personal praise for even minor accomplishments- This is very important. You can
pull to students aside and go over accomplishments or simply mention in passing how very well
they did.

Conduct lesson:
Break up their independent work into small discrete sections, provide opportunities to move
(dance time)- Breaking up homework can be done by dividing assignments like math into clear

parts. When they see small groups of similar problems its much easier to tackle than a full page
of various math problems. Kids also need wiggle time, this can be a quick, head, shoulders,
knees, and toes. or any other dancing or stretching. Just let them move!

Resources:
Tic Disorders and Tourette School Care Plan, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Education Plan. March 1987. Web 1 October 2015