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Things Your Mothers Want You to Know

Ways to Adapt Curriculum

 

If you have a child that does not qualify for special education but has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, including learning, that child may qualify for special help in a regular classroom setting under section 504 of IDEA.

The following is a list of accommodations that may help your child succeed in the classroom. The list can be used as a reference for parents and school personnel.

PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT OF ROOM

  • seating student near the teacher
  • seating student near a positive role model
  • standing near the student when giving directions or presenting lessons
  • avoiding distracting stimuli (air conditioner, high traffic area, etc.)
  • increasing distance between desks

    • LESSON PRESENTATION:

    ASSIGNMENTS/WORKSHEETS

    TEST TAKING

    ORGANIZATION

    BEHAVIORS

    OTHER

    A NOTE FROM ONE OF YOUR MOTHERS

    These suggestions listed here are not solutions for a child with a learning disability or ADHD. My child has both and I see that when a teacher lessens his load only reinstates in the child that he is not as smart as the rest of his class. I insist that my son have the same homework as his classmates.

    I also believe it is important for his education, his ability to stay encouraged. He has a disability which means he must work harder not have less to do. This makes it more difficult on me as a result because he does need constant attention while doing his homework so I have to schedule that time into my schedule to help him succeed. I also work fulltime and go to school two nights a week, but we get it done. It's a shame that quality time available to spend with the family has to be blocked off in homework with one of the family - but that's how we manage it. I am a single parent also but we are doing well.

    The most important thing I believe is to keep a high positive attitude, show no anger or frustration toward your child but display an attitude of service and an honest desire to help and your child will want to succeed and do the work to achieve success. Pick out the 3 main points of the topic being studied and focus on those instead of trying to include every little detail. i.e. : when studying the parts of a flower/plant instead of going into stamen , pistol etc concentrate on flower , stem and roots. In other words Keep It Simple Stu... This helps not only the student stay focused but the teacher/aide as well.

    A NOTE FROM ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR MOTHERS

    Color - Try changing the background color of the text.  I'm not sure how it works, but this little trick raised my daughter's reading comprehension from middle of the seventh grade to middle of the eleventh grade in ONE semester!  Something happens neurologically that makes text easier to understand.  Go to the office supply store and buy a variety of different colored dividers (the kind that go into binders). Get light and dark colors... try having your child read text using the different colors over the book.  Some colors won't make any difference, some will make it worse, and one just might make the words pop out of the book and make it easier to understand.  My daughter is 31 and she still uses her light lavender sheet when she reads.  She even reads for pleasure now.

    Lighting - Some kids are better able to understand what they are reading with the light over their head lighting up the book. Some kids do better with the light under their eyes lighting the book.  Some read better with fluorescent light and some read better with incandescent (light bulb) lighting.  Just playing with those four variables (above/below the head;  fluorescent/incandescent) can improve a child's comprehension.

    Magic magnifiers - These two little magnifiers are not very helpful for people who are visually impaired because they don't magnify much.  But they have proven to be pretty neat for some students with reading comprehension issues.  In Illinois, you can borrow them for up to six weeks for free at the Illinois Assistive Technology Program, 800-852-5110 v/tty, IL only.