Practical Classroom Supports

Actual accommodations and adaptations that help neurodiverse students thrive

Paperwork versus real life

A lot of times, when a child has an IEP, or has classroom supports or accommodations for a disability, it goes a little something like this.

A student is identified as needing additional support at school. Parents and school staff have a meeting to discuss that child. Together they outline the student’s strengths and the areas in which they are struggling, and develop a plan for supporting the student in those areas.

It sometimes takes a while for the case manager to type up the document, then send a draft to the parents. Depending on which type of support plan it is, the parents may need to review it, request changes, and then sign it and return it to the school.

Note to parents: You do not have to sign the first draft if you do not agree with it. You can request changes and send it back for revisions, you don’t have to sign it unless and until you are fully comfortable doing so.

Once the final draft is signed, a copy is sent to each relevant person (for example, the classroom teacher, resource teacher, guidance counsellor, and principal). Staff are expected to review the document, understand it, and follow the recommendations therein.

If there are certain programs, equipment, or other products or services that need to be implemented, then a funding request has to be sent to the division for approval. This also takes time. If and when the funding is approved, it takes time to order products, arrange outside services, or train staff to carry out particular programming.

If there are certain classroom accommodations needed, it may take time for the teacher to adjust and adapt to the new directions provided.

Then finally, the recommendations are in place, and the support plan is being followed.

Maybe.

Note: I am not in any way blaming teachers for times when it is difficult to follow a student’s support plan. Often times a teacher has multiple students with IEPs in their class, or multiple students who require additional support and may not have a support plan.

There is also inconsistency with how much support teachers receive from their colleagues, administrators, division, and provincial government. Teachers cannot be everything for their students, as much as they may try, they need support from parents and everyone else mentioned above.

Then it’s Spring break, or Winter break, and everyone has a week or two off school. Upon return, it takes time to get back into routine, and people have already drifted away from the recommendations outlined in the support plan.

During report card time or parent-teacher interviews, it comes to light that many recommendations have not been followed, or supports have not been put into place. Another meeting is called to discuss these concerns, discuss the student’s progress, and help everyone get back on track.

How can we avoid this?

Firstly, support documents need to have practical, realistic, useful goals and accommodations outlined. The document may be really well-written, but if staff can’t understand it or don’t have the resources to follow it, then it becomes part of a dusty file, representing a waste of time. Worse, a child is left receiving little to no support.

While every child’s needs are different, and some accommodations or supports may be complex, there are some that can be implemented right away, or at least fairy quickly and without great expense.

Fidgets and sensory tools

Hold on, I’m not talking about the fidget spinner fad, I’m talking about actual sensory tools. ADHD and Autistic children have sensory processing differences.

Some neurodivergent people are hypo- (under) responsive and some are hyper- (over) responsive; most people are a combination of the two, depending on the sensory input.

For example, my son is primarily a sensory-seeker because he is under-responsive to most forms of sensory input (touch, taste, vestibular), but over-responsive to aural input.

I am over-responsive to most sensory input and am primarily a sensory-avoider. I very much dislike loud noises, however I am a sensory-seeker when it comes to music I enjoy, and love to turn it up very loud.

A person is not usually strictly one or the other, we can alternate between being sensory seekers or avoiders depending on the sensory input, the environment, and our stress levels, among other factors.

Alternatives for sensory avoiders

Students who are distracted easily, or are sensory avoiders, will benefit from different tools. Some suggestions:

• Noise cancelling headphones
• Preferential seating in the classroom to suit the child’s needs (not the staff’s needs)
• A small desk partition for children who feel visually overstimulated or distracted.
• An alternative location where the student can choose to go if they need to leave the classroom — again, this must be when the child chooses, and never used as a punishment.

Weighted tools and flexible seating

Lap desks and weighted vests can be very helpful for many children, especially those who are physically hyperactive and have difficulty focusing in class.

A 2014 study showed that weighted vests significantly improved students’ ability to maintain attention. Weighted vests, blankets, and lap desks have also been shown to reduce anxiety.

There are also various options that can help fidgety children fidget while still paying attention, such as:

• A stand desk
• A rocking chair
• Wiggle cushions
• Wobble chairs
• Bouncy leg bands

Sticky notes

A lot of school staff forget this one. Neurodivergent students often struggle with working memory, making copying notes off the board difficult, even strenuous.

“Working memory is holding information in mind and mentally working with it.” — Dr. Adele Diamond

For example, I cannot copy a phone number from one page to another in the same book in one go. I have to write the first 3 or 4 digits, flip back to the previous page, then write the remaining digits.

My son can copy his homework down from the board into his agenda, but he is so focused on remembering each word he’s writing, he has no recollection of what he wrote or what it means. So when he gets home and I ask “what do you have to do for homework?” he doesn’t know, and the words written in his agenda have no context for him.

If something needs to be copied off the board, it may be very helpful for students who struggle with working memory to have a copy at their desk to reference. It’s a lot easier to place the sheet of paper beside your notebook and copy from that, rather than repeatedly looking up at the board, and back to your notebook.

Exercise and movement breaks

Last but probably most important: kids need to move their bodies to learn. Everyone needs movement breaks, but particularly young children and neurodivergent children.

There is extensive evidence demonstrating the mental health benefits, such as reduced anxiety and depression. Exercise also improves physical health, motor skills, attention, and cognitive performance. More specifically, exercise has been shown to improve executive functions such as impulse control and cognitive flexibility.

There is significant inconsistency with whether, and how, this movement breaks are being utilized in classrooms. Some teachers include them in their daily schedules while others see them as a “luxury” only to be used when there is extra time, or when the class is particularly rowdy.

Given the extensive research highlighting the need for exercise, play, and movement, it should be prioritized for all children. A 2019 study concluded the following:

“Children in a kindergarten curriculum that emphasized play, improving self-regulation, working together and helping one another, and hands-on learning performed better academically, showed less bullying and peer ostracism and more kindness and helping behaviour than students in more traditional classes, and teacher enthusiasm for teaching soared.” — Dr. Adele Diamond

Improved regulation, and more cooperation and kindness. Happier, healthier children are really the goals our schools should be striving for.

What about you, your child, or your students? What supports and accommodations are most helpful to you and to them?

What supports and accommodations are most helpful to your child?

© Jillian Enright, Neurodiversity MB

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References

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