List of Accommodations

On the IEP  (2000 version):

page  IEP 2 - 'A: General Curriculum'

Accommodation
Defined as a support or service that is provided to help a student fully access the general education curriculum or subject matter. An accommodation does not change the content of what is being taught.

Modification is defined as a change to the general education curriculum or other material being taught. The teaching strategies are modified so the material is presented differently and/or the expectations of what the student will master are changed.

Here are some examples of modifications, taken from Margaret McLaughlin's book, Accessing the General Curriculum.

Modifications
1. The student is taught something different from the rest of the class
2. The student is taught the same information, but at a different level of complexity
3. The student has a reduced assignment (for example, has fewer questions to answer)
4. Use a lower level reading text book, which covers similar subject content
5. Expectations of what the student learns will vary based on modifications agreed to on the IEP (Individualized Education Program) 

From the Federation for Children with Special Needs, Spring 2002 Newsletter, p. 2 by Julie Sinclair, Director of FCSN -Western region

This page has two sets of examples of accommodations.  We like the way they have grouped/categorized them. 

What is an accommodation?  An accommodation is defined as a support or service that is provided to help a student fully access the general education curriculum or subject matter.  An accommodation does not change the content of what is being taught.  

Examples of different kinds of accommodations, take form DOE Resource Guide:

 Scheduling

• Changing the time of day for a subject or activity
• Adjusting he length of time allowed for a task
• Checking the student's understanding of the subject

 Setting

• Working in a small group
• Providing an individual work area
• Reducing extraneous noise
• Allowing movement to increase physical comfort

 Equipment

• Provide carbon copies of class notes
• Allow use of tape recorder
• Allow use of a calculator
• Allow use of a computer or Alpha Smart

 Responding

• Allow student to tape record responses for homework, test, etc.
• Give the student credit for oral participation in class
• Avoid pressure of speed and accuracy
• Provide a scribe for written responses

Materials

• Simplify complex directions
• Provide the same content with a lower reading level (this can be consider a modification)
• Reduced homework assignments
• Write due date in corner of assignments

 In Instruction

• Provide study skills training
• Use study guides
• Provide concrete examples
• Pre-tech vocabulary

  Test taking

• Open books exams
• Oral exams
• Allow extra time for exam
• Read test items to student

 Organization

•  Assign a homework buddy
• Provide daily or weekly progress reports to parent
• Provide a homework assignment note, and ensure assign are logged
• Use a checklist to help student keep organized

 Behavior

•  Reward system for in-school work and homework completion
• Natural consequences for behavior
• Allow breaks between assignments
• Give the student an opportunity to verbalize his feelings

Groups and Peers

• Have a cooperative learning groups
• Provide a peer tutor
• Ask a peer to take dictation
• Peer modeling of appropriate responses

Adapted from the Federation for Children with Special Needs, Spring 2002 Newsletter, p. 2 by Julie Sinclair, Director of FCSN -Western region

Accommodations

Physical Arrangement of the Classroom

• Seat student near teacher
• Stand near student when giving instructions
• Provide a structured routine in written form
• Provide organizational strategies such as charts, timelines, and compensatory strategies
• Use materials that address the students' learning style (visual, tactile, etc.)

Communication

• Develop a daily/weekly journal
• Schedule periodic parent/teacher meetings
• Provide parents and students with a duplicate set of texts that they can use at home for the school year
• Develop weekly progress reports
• Mail a schedule of class and work assignments to the student's parents

In Instruction

• Allow typewritten or word-processed assignments
• Provide a written outline
• Provide printed copy of board work and oral instruction so student may refer to it later

Testing

• Allow open book tests
• Provide practice questions for study
• Give multiple choice instead of short answer questions
• Allow use of dictionary or calculator during test
• Provide extra time to finish

Homework

• Evaluate homework by amount of time the student's parent agrees he spent on it
• Allow student to work on homework while at school
• Give frequent reminders about due dates
• Give short assignments
• Allow extra credit assignments
• Develop reward system for in-school work and homework completed

Memory Deficits

Is the problems with the storage and retrieval of information or memory?
Does it involve information still in the process of being learned (short-term memory) or
material that has been learned but not retained (long-term memory) or both short-term and long-term memory issues?

• To avoid memory storage overload, homework assignments are reduce to include manageable amounts of practice work, as skills are learned.
• Build retention by providing review within a day or two of the initial learning of difficult skills.
• Reduce processing demands by preteaching component skills.
• Provide supervised practice to prevent students from practicing misconceptions and miss learn rules and facts.
  
• Assist the student with creating mnemonic strategies to aid memory formation and retrieval, across all subject areas.
• Build retention by providing review sessions within a day or two of the initial learning of difficult skills.
• Provide class notes to student, a copy of the class lesson, and study guides.
  
• Allow the student to tape record the class.
• Use of a pocket digital recorder instead of an agenda book
  

• Provide written instructions of the assignment as reinforcement of oral instruction.
• Use of visual with lectures (i.e. Write on the overhead).
• Provide written instruction to look back on.
• Provide basic outlines of what is being presented, contain fewer steps to process.
• Tape recorder homework and record projects.
• Written lectures to follow, discussion at a slower pace.
• Using an index card or marker when reading (to blot out distraction of other words).
• Provide less visually overwhelmed pages (i.e. few words/numbers on a page)
• Provide "teacher check-ins" with the child after class work starts (to be sure that he has understood what and how they are doing.)

• Student to be seated close to the point of instruction
• Read directions aloud.
• Have students repeat directions back to you for understanding.
• Give one task at a time.

• Color code what is written down. (i.e. When writing questions on the board, change color every other question.)
• Provide handouts that are clearly written.
• Provide "note checks" or provide teacher notes.

• No penalty for missed spelled words.
• Tests to be given orally.

• Allow use of word processing for written work over x paragraphs.
• Substitute oral reports.
• math or science: require answers only for calculations, provide graph paper.

The most common classroom accommodations for Processing and Memory Deficits

• Extra time on tests, quizzes, and final exams (to eliminate test pressure)
• Extra time for students to process (visual or oral) information.

A list of accommodations and interventions for students with ADD - by Becky Booth   (no longer posted on the www.ADD.org website.
  (we thank R.F. for finding this list).

School Accommodations and Modifications, from PACER Organization .

Please note: That PDF files  require a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader

Accommodations for middle school & high school

Changing Classes 

• An extra set of books at home

• End of the day 5-6 minute early release for time at his locker without distraction

• Use of a pocket digital recorder instead of an agenda book

• A place in resource room to leave materials,  to help lessen what is lugged around 

• Allowed to go to locker before & after resource room ( in addition to regular times)

• An aide to walk student to classes a few minutes before the bell rang. (May only needed this help for first week of school, then the rest of the year maneuvering thru the halls on his own.)

(thanks to J.L. and T.K. of the IEP_Guide yahoo group, for sharing these 'Changing Classes'  accommodations)