Classroom Modifications And Accommodations Explained For The Special Needs Mom
As your child with special needs enters elementary school you’re going to hear the IEP team discussing classroom modifications and accommodations.
Hey Mama Bears, full disclosure here. There are affiliate links in this post so if you click on the link and buy the product I will earn a small commission. Now that we’re clear on that let’s get back to rocking life with special needs!
Imagine this.
You are visiting France and you don’t speak French well. The group you’re with is deciding where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do. You definitely want to be involved in these decisions, but some of the group members are speaking French and it’s difficult for you to understand what’s going on.
This is how I felt when we entered the world of special education. Like a fish out of water, not exactly sure what the heck was going on but hoping it was good.
Lucky for you, you’ve got me Mama Bears!
I’m going to explain accommodations versus modifications so the next time you have a meeting with your kid’s IEP team you can speak with confidence.
Classroom Accommodations
Accommodations allow your child access to the same curriculum as his or her peers. Your child is still learning the same material as their peers, but supports are in place to help them learn the same stuff.
Examples Of Classroom Accommodations For Your Child With Down Syndrome
Some examples of accommodations are…
Preferential seating
Larger Print
Having a test read to the child
Using specialized keyboards
Test in alternative site
Visual schedule
Having breaks
Extra set of books at home
Books on tape
Slant board
Here’s an example of an accommodation Max’s team came up with for him.
In 4th grade there’s the “Wax Museum Project” where each child is assigned a famous Pennsylvanian. They have to research this person and from their research create an oral report and a costume.
For one day, during school, the 4th graders become a living “Famous Pennsylvanian Wax Museum” where they are dressed up like their famous Pennsylvanian with a red “button” on their shoulder.
Other students and parents are invited to walk around and “push” the button to learn about famous Pennsylvanians. When the button is “pushed” the 4th grader then “comes alive” and recites their oral report educating students and parents about that person.
For the unfamiliar listener Max can be difficult to understand. Quite honestly, he would likely descend into gibberish after the 3rd or 4th person pushing his button.
Rather than having Max launch into his verbal report when his button was pushed he recorded it on his NovaChat. The NovaChat is Max’s assistive speech device. He practiced his oral report including pronouncing the words and talking slowly. When he was ready he recorded it on the device.
During the day of the “Wax Museum” when his button was pushed he would simply hit play on his NovaChat and Max’s pre-recorded oral report would play.
He LOVED this project!
He was Mr. Rodgers by the way.
Here’s an example of an adaptive keyboard that may work better for your child than the standard ones.
Slant boards can be helpful for writing.
Classroom Modifications
With modifications your child is not learning the same exact stuff as his/her peers. Your child’s curriculum has been modified or changed compared to their peers' curriculum. Expectations have been changed for your child.
Examples Of Classroom Modifications For Your Child With Down Syndrome
Reducing the number of spelling words
Modified grades based on IEP
Allow outlining rather than paragraph
Your child may be learning the same subject material but is expected to learn the “highlights”. An example of this would be if the class is learning about the human body your child may be expected to know what the heart, lungs, brain, and stomach do while the rest of the class may be expected to know what every organ does
Simpler questions/less questions
Use of calculator when test measures memory of math facts. An example for this would be learning multiplication facts.
Examples of modifications we have used with Max are spelling tests. Max has fewer spelling words every week than his peers.
I feel it’s harder to list a bunch of modifications because there could be SO many. It really depends on your child, the curriculum, and the team. As Max has progressed through school we have definitely moved towards more modifications in order to have him meaningfully included.
Mama Bear, that’s ok.
I feel there are so many benefits to inclusion the fact that we have to, in some way, modify the majority of his stuff is okay with me.
Inclusion doesn’t mean your kid has to keep pace and do the same exact curriculum as his or her peers.
So, there you have it Mama Bears. A breakdown of the difference between modifications and accommodations.
If you enjoyed this post check out…
How To Talk To Your Child’s Class About Down Syndrome
6 Tips To Start The School Year As A Special Needs Mom Rock Star
Least Restrictive Environment or LRE: A Guide For The Special Needs Mom
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I hope this post helps you rock this special life.
