- Utilize hands-on activities.
- Make the material as interactive as possible even if that means having the ADD student holding up some of the graphics for the rest of the class to see.
- Have the ADD student be in charge of collecting the homework and putting it on your desk or appropriate place. This is a constructive way of allowing the ADD student to walk around the classroom.
- Maintain good eye contact.
- Give directions in small, distinct steps.
- Use written backup for oral instructions.
- When assigning a new project, show an example of a completed project so that the students really know what you are looking for.
- Break down assignment and long reports into pieces with intermediate due dates so that you know everyone is ”on top” of the report and not letting it go until the night before it is due.
- Teach note-taking skills with graphic organizers, giving daily practice so it becomes second nature to your students.
- Teach and give students daily practice with assignment notebooks or organizers.
Archive for November, 2008
10 Quick & Easy Accommodations for ADD & LD Within the Classroom
November 20th, 2008Suggested General Accommodations That Can Be Made Within the School System or at Home When Homeschooling.
1. Keep the walls of the classroom simple (Visually stimulating material can be distracting.) If the walls are simple and the visual material brought out for the lesson, the ADD & LD student is more apt to attend to the visual material connected with the lesson.
2. Preferential seating for the ADD & LD student. This is usually near where the teacher spends most of their time. Some teachers do most of their instruction from the front of the classroom. Others may have a “U” shaped arrangement of desks and spend their time in a different place. Other teachers do a lot of instruction using an overhead projector, where they stand or are seated next to it. So, depending on the practice of the teacher, your ADD student should have his desk space in close proximity to the teacher. At home you may need to sit with your child rather than working in the kitchen or laundry while your child is doing schoolwork.
3. Surround the ADD & LD student with “good role models.”
4. Adjust time for completion of projects.
5. Allow frequent breaks and vary the activities often.
6. Pause after asking a question and look at different students before calling on anyone to answer.
7. If the teacher sees the ADD & LD student’s attention wandering, instead of calling out his name where everyone realizes he isn’t attending, have a signal set up where the teacher might just walk by the ADD student’s desk and tap the desk or tap them on the shoulder.
8. Let the student get up and walk around the classroom. Studies have shown that when teachers allow ADD & LD kids to move around more freely, it helps them learn.
9. Have students record the time they started their work on the top of the page and the time they completed it at the bottom. This helps to keep the ADD & LD student on task because they are being held accountable as well as learning a self-monitoring technique.
10. Increase class participation in lectures. At home, be proactive about asking questions and expect participation rather than you telling your child all of the content.
More accomodations to come... Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET Board Certified Educational Therapist http://www.bonnieterrylearning.com For more information regarding Learning Disabilities, you may want to check out: http://www.ldonline.org/22 Services Available in the Regular Classroom For Section 504 Eligible Students
November 5th, 2008Here are a list of 22 recognized services that students with a Section 504 can access within the regular classroom. This list was compiled by Reed Martin,J.D. The list is from the Advocating for Your Child with AD/HD & LD Manual
Section 504 entitles students to a wide range of services – provisions of regular OR special education AND related aids and services [34 C.F.R. 104.33(b)(1)] That 1991 USDOE “Joint Policy Memorandum” suggests, as an example, twenty-two services that must be available in regular classrooms for Section 504 eligible students. The services are in a two-paragraph list of options in the memorandum, which we have broken out and listed separately:
(a) Providing a structured learning environment.
(b) Repeating and simplifying instructions about in-class assignments.
(c) Repeating and simplifying instructions about homework assignments.
(d) Supplementing verbal instructions with visual instructions.
(e) Using behavioral management techniques.
(f) Modifying test delivery.
(g) Using tape recorders.
(h) Computer aided instructions.
(i) Other audio-visual equipment.
(j) Selecting modified textbooks.
(k) Selecting modified workbooks.
(l) Tailoring Homework Assignments.
(m) Consultation with special education.
(n) Reducing class size.
(o) Use of one-on-one tutorials.
(p) Use of classroom aids.
(q) Use of classroom note takers.
(r) Involvement of a services coordinator to oversee implementation of special programs and services.
(s) Possible modification of nonacademic times such as lunchroom.
(t) Possible modification of nonacademic time such as recess.
(u) Possible modification of nonacademic time such as physical education.
The memorandum makes clear that this is not exclusive. There are obviously other examples of services that would have to be made available under section 504
This information is educational and is not intended to be legal advice.
Reed Martin is an attorney with 30 years experience in special education law. He can be reached through email at:
connie@westco.net or www.reedmartin.com
Posted by: Bonnie Terry, M. BCET; www.bonnieterrylearning.com