The chart below provides a starting place for your school team when you want to provide additional educational support for a child who needs help, even if there has been no medical or genetic diagnosis. It is not an exhaustive list, and is not intended to be a diagnostic tool. Rather, we offer this chart as a guide to spark ideas! Highlights of the chart include:
- “General Guiding Principles” (see big yellow box on the chart, and bullet below) encourage high expectations and positive assumptions.
- Topic areas (small yellow boxes) address classroom challenges and lead to strategies and suggestions (blue boxes).
- Look for a comparison of IFSP, IEP and 504 Plans. This may be helpful when discussing which plan is best for a particular student.
- Learn about specific conditions- knowledge is power!
- Attend to the child's need to belong socially in classroom and be a full participant and contributor in classroom
- Make positive assumptions
- Assume competence
- Have high expectations
- Possible accommodations categories
- Presentation of information
- Timing
- Setting
- Worksheet testing
- Behavior
- Seating arrangement
- Be sensitive about disclosing information in front of classmates that might make the student stand out
- Consider incorporating transition plans wherever needed
- Response
- Test scheduling
- Classroom assignment
- Organization
- Volume of work
Support typical routines as much as possible.
Students learn the typical curriculum but, if necessary, consider:
- Organizational supports
- Shorter assignments - focus on key ideas
- Expand curriculum
- Allow student to have reduced material load
- Access to materials in alternative modes
- Change in setting
- Provide encouragement
- Extended time in testing
- Use of assistive devices, such as calculator, voice output computer
- Get copies of notes
- Extra time between classrooms
- Shortened day
- Support typical when possible/if needed
- Allow snacks/food in class
- Check on snacks brought in
- Allowed to go to office
- Determine who is allowed to administer medications - what training do they need?
- Determine where locked medications are stored
- Needs water bottle
- Bathroom break
- Involve school nurse
Support participation in regular curriculum as much as possible. When necessary:
- Allow video/skyping
- Change in workload
- Get copies of notes
- Peer tutoring
- Second set of books at home
- Substitute alternatives for assignments
- Home tutor
- Seek a Functional Behavioral Assessment - identify triggers, new skills to teach and adult response
- Does the child have an effective way to communicate?
- Does the school have a school-wide positive supports effort?
- Incorporate sensory supports in classroom (i.e. rocking chair for reading)
- Have a signal for when student needs to leave for home or nurse
- Assignments/testing may need adjusting
- Consult OT, nurse, teachers, PT
- Consider self-monitoring & calming technique (i.e. Alert Program)
- Frequent screens for vision/hearing changes in child
- Watch for new/different learning needs
- Watch for changes at transitions, procedures, puberty, etc.
- Consider additional accommodations if condition declines
- Read on specific conditions/syndrome to be aware of possible changes due to decline
- Consider change in seating
- What accommodations for sensory, physical, and communication needs are necessary?
- What assistance do they need to be successful?
What supports does student need to make event successful?
- Supervision
- Role of volunteers
- Transportation
- Medicine
- Accessibility
- Temperature regulation
- Bathroom facilities
- Snacks, food
- Peer support
- Work with child's medical home and family to develop a school plan for emergency
- Obtain copy of medical home's care plan/emergency plan
- What training for staff is needed
- Who needs to know the plan
- Any supports for fie drills and evacuations?
- Medical management plan
- Medical equipment must go with student
- Involve school nurse in developing plan