Sharon Hohlfeld
Students with special needs can fall into a number of different categories in terms of assistance in the classroom. Some examples of disabilities and recommendations so every child has the potential to learn at their best ability are listed below.
Vision Impairment-
3 different causes
-structural impairment
-refractive errors
-cortical visual
impairment
accommodations include glasses or contacts,
magnifiers, monocular device, Braille, cane, and extra time for assignments
Hearing Impairment-
causes
-aging
-accident
-disease
or illness
-excessive
exposure to loud noises
accommodations include collaboration with teacher,
outlines of lessons, vary teaching methods, interpreter, assistive listening
device, note takers
Speech Disorders- difficulty with
the verbal means of communication
Articulation
disorders
Fluency
disorders
Voice
disorders
Modifications:
1. Lessons and instructions should be short
in time with breaks
2. When
having student work on project, give small directions one at a time instead of
all at once
3. Give
directions verbally as well as written
4. Only
use websites with little animation or pictures. Those with little distraction
are fare more appealing
5. Allow
students more time if necessary to complete the task or assignment (time and a
half)
6. Offer a
tutor or peer in the class to work with student for clarification
7. Supply
the student a computer in the corner of the room where distractions are less
frequent
8. Supply
the student a check sheet of tasks to get done so they are able to see the
progress and better allot time for other tasks
9. Give
student opportunity to work outside of class hours at the computer to eliminate
noise
10. Teachers lending hand to assist in
questions/concerns the student has
Visual/Hearing Impairments-
Modifications:
1. have students partner up and work with another student who is capable of not only the work involved but including others as part of the learning process
2. pictures or icons to relate ideas back and forth; similar to a Boardmaker (graphic database containing over 3,000 picture communication symbols)
3. allow material to be presented audoritially
4. give extra time to student to work on computer outside of classroom time
5. if available, allow student to work on assignment at home to allow assistance from a parent or guardian
6. allow student to present material orally or record information onto a computer
7. provide handouts to visually see of all requirements as well as step by step instructions on how to do them
8. allow word processors available from school to be used as a resource
9. information on computer may/should be typed to large font for easier reading, (word documents-ex)
10. make sure teacher is available to assist in any questions or concerns the student has at anytime