Accommodations Menu

FAIR ISNT EVERYBODY GETTING THE SAME THING. FAIR IS

EVERYBODY GETTING WHAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BE
SUCCESSFUL

ALEXANDRA HUSS
Intellectual Disability
IDEA Definition: Intellectual disability means a significantly sub-average general intellectual
functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the
developmental period that adversely affects a childs educational performance.

Characteristics
Limited cognitive functioning
General weakness in basic learning abilities
Low achievement in all academic areas
Weak social skills and sometimes challenging behavior
Deficits in daily living skills
Often fail to notice relevant features of what is being taught
Difficulty demonstrating learned skills spontaneously
Difficulty learning complex skills and abstract concepts
Difficulty making generalizations
Difficulty with memory (either remembering incorrectly or nor remembering
automatically)
Communication challenges in areas such as comprehension, expressing what they have
learned, or describing individual needs
Difficulty developing friendships

Accommodations
Use play activities to teach cognitive skills
Use concrete items and examples to explain new concepts
Put all skills into context so there is a purpose for learning certain tasks
Provide hands-on materials and experiences
Break tasks into smaller steps and teach these steps in a sequential manner
Use visual supports when verbally relaying new information
Teach decision-making rules
Be explicit about what you expect the student to do
Give students a reason to communicate. Work on communication skills during everyday
activities and create situations that motivate students to communicate
Pair students with peer buddies and peer tutors to provide academic and social support
Accept varied learning goals
Create cooperative learning situations
Promote an attitude of I can do it and I did it to help students develop a sense of
personal responsibility and accomplishment
Specific Learning Disability
IDEA Definition: Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that
may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do
mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury,
minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

Characteristics
Difficulty with academic and learning tasks
Academic achievement significantly below grade level in one or more academic areas
Cognitive skill deficits
Motivational problems
Social skill deficits
Discrepancy between expected and actual achievement that can be documented
through low response to intervention
Disorder in basic psychological processing
Ineffective or inefficient information-processing or learning strategies
Consistent errors in reading and writing
Difficulty remembering newly learned information
Rely heavily on memorization
Difficulty learning new skills
Poor coordination
Difficulty learning spelling strategies

Accommodations
Control task difficulty
Teach in small interactive groups of six or fewer students
Use graphic organizers and other visual displays to illustrate key ideas and concepts
Use a combination of direct instruction and cognitive strategy instruction
Provide modeling and think-alouds to demonstrate strategies and learning practices
Teach students how to self-regulate and self-motivate their learning
Provide opportunities for extended practice with feedback
Allow the student to provide verbal responses to tests and worksheets
Allow answers to be recorded directly into a test booklet
Allow the student to take short but frequent breaks
Provide additional time to complete a test
Create a space with minimal distractions
Administer a tests in a small group setting
Allow the student to take tests in a private room or alternative test site
Use assistive technology that best meets the individual students needs
Emotional Disturbance
IDEA Definition: Emotional disturbance means a condition exhibiting one or more of the
following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely
affects a childs educational performance: (a) an inability to learn that cannot be explained by
intellectual, sensory, or health factors; (b) an inability to build or maintain satisfactory
interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; (c) inappropriate types of behaviors or
feelings under normal circumstances; (d) a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or
depression; and (e) a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal
or school problems.

Characteristics
Hyperactivity (short attention span, impulsiveness)
Aggression or self-injurious behavior
Withdrawal
Excessive fear or anxiety
Immaturity (inappropriate crying, temper tantrums)
Poor coping skills
Learning difficulties
Inappropriate social skills
Occasionally inappropriately attribute behaviors or social problems to causes outside of
themselves
May function two or more years below grade level in reading, math, writing, and
spelling
Severe deficiencies in metacognitive skills, memory skills, and attention

Accommodations
Prepare the class by setting up models for tolerance and acceptance
Adapt the physical environment by considering seating arrangements and by keeping
potentially harmful objects or substances out of reach
Illustrate classroom rules with clear examples and specify rewards for following rules as
well as consequences for when rules are broken
Emphasize positive behaviors and programs for success
Teach social skills
Teach self-control, self-monitoring, and conflict resolution
Have alternative activities available
Design activity checklists
Use carefully selected peers as assistants
Use behavioral contracts
Be aware of the specific fears and anxieties of each student
Orthopedic Impairment
IDEA Definition: Orthopedic impairment means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely
affects a childs educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a
congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and
impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that
cause contractures).

Characteristics
*children with orthopedic impairments have a wide range of characteristics that are specific to
the underlying diagnosis, making it difficult to generalize about characteristics of the students in
this category*
Difficulty using hands, arms, and/or legs
Problems with motor skills (difficulty using standard writing tools, turning pages in
books, participating in typical classroom activities, etc.)
May have associated speech impairments or multiple disabilities that affect particular
academic areas
Lack of common experiences and knowledge of common places, items, and activities as
compared with other students
Limited self-help and self-care skills
Poor self-concept and self-advocacy skills
May experience pain and discomfort
May experience trouble sleeping which may cause fatigue during the school day
May feel helpless or depressed

Accommodations
Understand the specific needs of the student in order to set up appropriate placement,
services, and environment
Secure papers to a students work area with tape, clipboards, or magnets
Place rubber strips or pads on work tools such as rulers and calculators to keep them
from slipping during use
Provide writing instruments that require less pressure to produce a mark
Use communication technology
Create special seating arrangements to develop useful posture and movements
Focus some instruction on development of gross and fine motor skills
Provide extended time to complete assignments
Communicate often with the students physical and/or orthopedic therapists
Autism
IDEA Definition: Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and
nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that
adversely affects a childs educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with
autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to
environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory
experiences.

Characteristics
Significant limitations in expressive and receptive language
Impairments in social interactions (poor eye contact, lack of responsiveness)
Difficulty understanding body language and tone of voice
Lack core skills to properly initiate, respond to, and maintain social interactions
May talk at people, rather than to them, and may seem oblivious to other peoples
attempts at conversation
Repetitive, stereotypical, and ritualistic behaviors (body rocking, hand flapping)
Typically demand a strict routine and consistency in the surrounding environment
Struggle with a change in daily routines
Often get intensely preoccupied with things of interest
Difficulty regulating emotions
Struggle to see things from a perspective different from their own

Accommodations
Be aware of the characteristics of autism
Teach communication and choice-making skills
Allow the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices
Demonstrate and model expected skills
Provide visual schedules with words and pictures
Maintain consistency and develop routines
Explain any changes that may be occurring in the daily routine
Give the student a reinforcer (an object or activity he/she likes) after a positive behavior
to increase the frequency of that behavior
Read social stories stories written from a childs perspective that describe appropriate
behavior in particular social situations
Use peers to help redirect the students behavior
Pair students with peers who can serve as positive role models
Collaborate with special education staff to modify the curriculum and supports as
necessary
Visual Impairment
IDEA Definition: Visual impairment including blindness means an impairment in vision that, even
with correction, adversely affects a childs educational performance. The term includes both
partial sight and blindness.

Characteristics
Total or partial vision loss (vision loss must interfere with the students learning ability in
order for the student to qualify for special education)
Physical characteristics: excessive blinking, itchy eyes, extreme sensitivity to light,
squinting, headaches, fatigue or dizziness after doing close work
Difficulty moving around independently
May have difficulty knowing when individuals are speaking to them
Increased isolation compared to sighted peers
Difficulty using and understanding non-verbal communication
Limited development in communication through written word
Underdeveloped conceptual understanding of content areas that the student has not
had direct experience with
Delayed gross and fine motor skill development
Limited self-help skills

Accommodations
Use assistive technologies (enlarged keyboard, video magnifier, refreshable braille
display, braillewriter, slate and stylus, audiobooks, etc.)
Use braille/large print worksheets
Provide wide-ruled paper to help the student form letters in the right space
Darken or highlight lines and margins on paper
Use highlighting or sticky-note flags to draw attention to important information on
worksheets and tests
Draw bold, black borders around math problems to help the student focus on one item
at a time
Keep materials (crayons, glue sticks, paper, etc.), desks, and other objects in the
classroom in consistent locations
Seat children with low vision closer to the board
Use verbal cues often
Explain daily routines in greater detail
Provide access to educational materials in the appropriate media and at the same time
as their sighted peers
Allow the student to provide answers and reports orally rather than in writing
Provide hands-on opportunities in order to make experiences more meaningful
Encourage independence as often as possible