Special Education Accommodations: 7 Types to Know

Special education accommodations are changes in how students access learning material and demonstrate their understanding of the material or the environment where they learn. These changes give students an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

Accommodations vary according to the student's needs and abilities. For example, some children may benefit from less distraction in the classroom, while others may require rewritten assignments or slideshows of lectures to absorb the new material. These accommodations are often life-changing, allowing each special education student access to knowledge and possibilities.

Example of Accommodations

Let's use the fictitious example of Sarah, an 8th-grade student who has been diagnosed with learning disabilities in mathematics and has difficulty reading. She attends an on level 8th-grade class co-taught by a general education teacher and a special education teacher. To ensure success for Sarah, modifications and accommodations have been provided to help her excel in her daily school routine, and any state or district-wide tests.

Her reading and writing assignments are modified to be shorter than those of other students. Additionally, the textbook for Sarah is based on the 8th-grade curriculum but at her independent reading level (4th grade). If Sarah needs help understanding test questions, she can have the accommodation where questions are read to her when asked. To answer essay-type questions, she gives her responses orally rather than writing them down.

These accommodations have given Sarah more confidence while taking tests and other assessments since they allow her to feel better prepared when tackling complex tasks.

Examples of Common Accommodations

Some examples of common accommodations include:

• Assistive technology, such as computers with adapted keyboards, voice recognition software, and specialized devices, helps students communicate more effectively.
• Changes in seating arrangements. For example, a desk close to the teacher or giving easily distracted students a seat away from the window.
• Changes to the testing environment such as additional time, allowing students to take breaks during tests, or providing a quiet area away from distractions. They also could include individually structured reminders.

Some common modifications include:

• Providing simplified instructions, extra practice time, or breaking tasks into smaller steps. This is commonly referred to as chunking.
• Modifications to assignments, such as allowing verbal responses instead of writing them down, shortening assignments, and providing written instructions with visuals.

Types of Accommodations

Schools and other education stakeholders can implement accommodations in a variety of ways, including:

1. Presentation Accommodations

Presentation accommodations ensure teachers present material in a modality where the child can understand. These could include:

• Using visuals (like bright colors and simple drawings) to supplement auditory presentations
• Offering presentations in both audio and visual formats
• Providing written summaries after verbal instructions
• Using multimedia tools like videos and audio clips as part of instruction

2. Response Accommodations

Response accommodations allow students with disabilities more time to answer questions or process information presented during lessons. Response accommodations could include:

• Offering alternative response methods like pointing or gesturing instead of writing an answer down on paper
• Providing multiple-choice options instead of a longer written response (Graphical and in-line choice can also be used.

3. Setting Accommodations

Setting accommodations refer to creating an environment that supports the unique needs of special education students. For example, this could include:

• Seating students near the front of the class so they can access their teacher easily
• Assigning a mentor who can provide additional support and guidance when needed
• Adjusting the classroom temperature if overheating affects concentration levels
• Arranging desks in groups so students can work collaboratively with their peers
• A defined safe place or comfort area in the classroom for a particular special needs student.
• Letting them finish tasks at home if needed (for example, letting them take a test over several days rather than completing it all at once)

4. Timing Accommodations

Timing accommodations involve allowing extra time for activities such as tests or assignments that require extended periods of concentration. These accommodations may include:

• Giving students extra time to finish tests or assignments
• Allowing students more time on exams (for example, granting an additional hour for test-taking)
• Offering flexible deadlines for submitting assignments

5. Organization Skills Accommodations

Organization skills accommodations provide students with structure and help them stay on task. These can include:

• Using calendar schedules to keep track of due dates
• Color-coding important information or notes in textbooks (like highlighting keywords in different colors)
• Breaking down large tasks into smaller steps and creating checklists for each step
• Creating a daily routine that includes regular study times and breaks
• Prioritizing tasks by importance so students understand which assignments must be completed first
• Providing organizational tools such as folders and notebooks to help keep track of assignments

6. Scheduling Accommodations

Scheduling accommodations allow special education students to focus on their academic strengths without the added pressure of keeping up with peers in other classes. These can include:

• Taking tests at a specific time of day
• Having separate English or Math classes one on one with a teacher
• Having more time to finish a reading assignment or write a paper

7. Behavior Accommodations

Behavior accommodations involve creating a positive learning environment where students feel supported and accepted. These can include:

• Using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage good behaviors
• Implementing behavior plans that outline expectations and consequences
• Providing incentives for appropriate behavior
• Giving frequent reminders of classroom rules and expectations
• Offering choices in assignments or activities to increase motivation

The Difference Between Accommodations and Modifications

Special education accommodations are essential in helping each student receive the proper instruction and support needed to succeed in school. Accommodations assist students with disabilities, allowing them access to general education instruction that mainstream students receive. Modifications, on the other hand, alter the existing standards or curriculum and are designed for students who need extended time or additional instruction.

For example, students receiving special education accommodations may get more time on tests. A student receiving modifications may have materials provided at the reading level critical for their success in understanding the material. Ultimately, teachers and families must understand the subtle differences between accommodations and modifications to give each student exactly what they need to succeed. Good summarization in these two paragraphs.

Conclusion

Accommodations for special education students are essential for helping these students reach their full potential and succeed academically. With the right combination of presentation, response, setting, timing, organization skills, scheduling, and behavior accommodations explicitly tailored to each student's unique needs, teachers can create an environment where all learners have equal opportunity for success.

How TestHound Can Help

For students in special education, having access to the proper accommodations makes all the difference. Accommodations don't interfere with test scores but instead change the environment so that children can access the content of the test according to their individual needs.

Tools like TestHound ensure that each student has access to the appropriate accommodations so they have an equal chance to succeed and thrive.

If your school is interested in new ways to improve the learning experience for children, you may also be interested in automating tasks and streamlining processes so that your teachers have more time to teach. Education Advanced offers a suite of tools that may be able to help. For example, four of our most popular and effective tools are:

• Cardonex, our master schedule software, helps schools save time on building master schedules. Many schools used to spend weeks using whiteboards to organize the right students, teachers, and classrooms in the right order so students could graduate on time and get their preferred classes. However, it can now be used to automate this task and, within a couple of days, deliver 90% of students' first-choice classes.
• Evaluation is a solution for documenting every step of the staff evaluation process, including walk-throughs, self-evaluations, supporting evidence, reporting and performance analytics.
• Pathways is a graduation tracking tool that allows administrators and counselors to create, track, and analyze graduation pathways to ensure secondary students are on track to graduate.
• Testhound, our test accommodation software, helps schools coordinate thousands of students across all state and local K-12 school assessments while taking into account dozens of accommodations (reading disabilities, physical disabilities, translations, etc.) for students.