From another perspective: Attention Deficit Disorder
As the parent of a child my only child, a daughter who also had Attention Deficit Disorder, but a very high IQ, as well, I can remember helping her with her homework and studying for tests, especially in grades 9 through 12, many times. I can also remember having to fight very hard on too many occasions with teachers and the school system all of whom wanted to pigeon hole her in a special education curriculum. One teacher even told me “If I here ADD as an excuse again, I think I’ll scream.” After all was said and done, though, she graduated with an academic degree and went away to college where she had a solid B average all by herself. This article and the one to follow next week are, accordingly, primarily intended for school systems and teachers, while also being helpful to parents, as well.
As before, I want to thank information available from the Job Accommodation Network and the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md. for much of the data in these articles. Their information was certainly helpful and I would encourage all readers to check their Web sites for additional insights.
Accommodations are alterations in the way tasks are presented that allow children with learning disabilities to complete the same assignments as other students. Accommodations do not alter the content of assignments, give students an unfair advantage or in the case of assessments, change what a test measures. They do make it possible for students with LD to show what they know without being impeded by their disability.
Once a child has been formally identified with a learning disability, the child or parent may request accommodations for that child’s specific needs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act a federal act and law – states that a child’s IEP (Individualized Education Program) team, which both parents and the child are a part of must decide which accommodations are appropriate for him or her. Any appropriate accommodations should be written into a student’s IEP.
Here are some examples of possible teaching and classroom accommodations for an IEP team to consider. They are broken into six categories:
Presentation for the child with a learning disability: Provide on audio tape; Provide in large print; Reduce number of items per page or line; Provide a designated reader; Present instructions orally.
Response: Allow for verbal responses; Allow for answers to be dictated to a scribe;Allow the use of a tape recorder to capture responses; Permit responses to be given via computer; Permit answers to be recorded directly into a test booklet.
Timing: Allow frequent breaks; Extend allotted time for a test.
Setting: Provide preferential seating; Provide special lighting or acoustics; Provide a space with minimal distractions; Administer a test in a small group setting; Administer a test in a private room or at an alternative test site.
Test Scheduling: Administer a test in several timed sessions or over several days; Allow subtests to be taken in a different order; Administer a test at a specific time of day.
Other suggestions that may be appropriate: Provide special test preparation; Provide on-task/focusing prompts; Provide any reasonable accommodation that a student needs that does not fit under the existing categories.
Many teachers have also asked whether accommodations given should have an impact on the grade given. The answer is “No.” School assignments and tests completed with accommodations should be graded the same way as those completed without accommodations. After all, accommodations are meant to “level the playing field,” provide equal and ready access to that task, and not meant to provide an undue advantage to the user.
Next week, we’ll provide some real world examples that can used by teachers when they are interacting with their LD students. Stay tuned.
Paul Rendine is Chair of the Disability Advocates of Delmarva, Inc. group. He can be contacted at quoteman3@aol.com with any comments or questions.