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Accommodations for Students with Attention Deficit Disorder – Working DRAFT  Dec 2010

From School Transformation: Character Through The Arts Project

Holly Ward, Project Special Education Consultant

Richard Benjamin, Project Director

Cluster

Characteristic

Accommodation

Arts Integration*      

Understanding by Design & Learning Focused Schools

Hyperactivity

 

Inappropriate activity level during unstructured tasks

 

 

Provide structure

 

Give classroom job for student to be responsible for completing

 

 

 

Alternate/varied activities allow for movement, prevent “desk fatigue.”

 

Alternate/varied activities allow for movement, prevent “desk fatigue”

 

 

Inappropriate activity level during structured tasks

 

Proximity control

 

Hands-on manipulatives

 

Frequent movement

 

Structured class

 

Allow standing during work

 

Break assignments into short sections, provide feedback, then assign next section

 

Teach self-monitoring techniques

 

Teacher is facilitator of learning, allowing

for movement of the teacher to assist students with prescribed interventions.

 

Inquiry Centers permit more movement of the teacher so as to provide appropriate proximity.

 

 

Teacher is facilitator of learning and guides the inquiry process, making him or her free to implement prescribed interventions

 

 

Appears driven by motor

 

Provide physical outlets that

do not distract classmates

 

Do not take away recess or gym time

 

Physical outlets for ADD students are

easily incorporated into each of the 4 phases of instruction

(experience, inquire, create, reflect)

Alternate/varied activities allow for movement, prevent “desk fatigue”

 

 

Learning tasks are hands on, varied and active

 

 

 

Talks excessively

 

Provide non-verbal cues to

stop talking

 

Self-monitoring strategy

 

 

 

Teacher as facilitator, group work and peer helpers easily incorporated without distraction of the other students prescribed interventions

 

 

Teacher as facilitator, group work and peer helpers easily incorporated without distraction of the other students prescribed interventions

 

Impulsivity

 

 Blurts out verbalizations

 

Provide non-verbal cues for when to respond

 

Self-monitoring strategy

 

Instruct and reinforce social routines

 

Use teaching techniques that encourage active responding

 

 

 

 

Teacher as facilitator rather than provider

of direct instruction, is free to be available

to provide ADD student with reminders of prescribed accommodations

 

Emphasis is placed on metacognitive reflection which helps ADD students learn to analyze their own thinking and promotes self discipline

 

 

 

Intrusive

 

Role-play social talk situations

 

 

 

High levels of engagement and personal experience with subject matter can reduce impulsive tendencies

 

Six facets of authentic education:  empathy phase:  ADD student becomes aware of how his actions impact the learning environment of others

 

 

 

Accident-prone

 

STAR technique

 

Varied tasks can place the ADD student in

a role of importance which can reinforce social routines in the classroom

 

UBD instruction allows for student choice with respect for required tasks

 

 

 

Explosive

 

Provide cool-down time

 

Learning activities can be viewed by the ADD student as a reward in itself

 

 

 

Attention

 

Daydreams

 

Establish eye contact

 

Use teaching techniques that encourage active responding

 

Encourage note-taking

 

Give child something to hold in hands for stimulation

 

Arts Integration and Arts Strategies provide for high interest, stimulating and active curriculum linked to high levels of student engagement. 

 

 

Learning activities are based on “mysteries” or “problems” to be solved. Students are challenged and engaged.

Big ideas (desired learning outcomes) are framed around provocative, interesting questions that evoke the inherent curiosity of the learners

 

 

 

Short attention span

 

Provide short tasks

 

 

 

Arts Integration can work on both ends – shorter ‘lessons’ and at the same time lengthening the attention span with high engagement and high 

 

Instruction is geared to address individual student readiness, interest and learning profiles.

Time variance for learning, exploring and assessment tasks are designed to provide for student uniqueness, differences, needs

 

 

 

Difficulty following directions

 

Provide visual cues and have student check off steps

 

Use prompt cards with auditory directions

 

Color, circle, or underline written directions

 

Have child underline or rewrite directions before beginning

 

Provide an example of correct format and completed sample problem

 

Have students verbalize content, directions, and techniques. Detect errors or misunderstandings.

 

 

 

Arts Integration provides for a variety of tasks with flexibility for task completion

This type of instructional practice lends

itself to the use of computers and technology in all of the learning phases

The use of art as a vehicle for instruction provides for the visual presentation of materials

Visual and verbal instructions are incorporated in this methodology

 

 

Students know what is expected of them and they are often given the rubric that will be used to assess them prior to the beginning of the task.  For ADD students, these rubrics serve as reminders as to what they are to be doing and how they should be doing it.

 

 

Difficulty with transitions

 

Provide signals before transitions

 

Establish clear routines, model and practice with role-play

 

Use music or timer during transitions

 

The use of Visual / Graphic Organizers helps students keep track of facts and knowledge they still need to acquire.  This is especially helpful for the ADD student who needs to “keep his/her place.”

 

 

The use of Graphic Organizers helps students keep track of facts and knowledge they still need to acquire.  This is especially helpful for the ADD student who needs to “keep his/her place.”

 

 

 

 

 

Organization

 

 

Difficulty with time management

 

 

Use day-timer, schedules

 

Agenda with daily checks by teacher and parent

 

Daily home-school checklist

 

Break down project into steps and check each step

 

Teach goal setting for test and assignments

 

Create backward timeline to estimate time to complete each part of work or project

 

 

Group activities or paired inquiries make it easy to provide for peer helpers to remind student of prescribed maintenance tasks and assist the student with prescribed interventions already in place in the classroom.

 

 

 

Cooperative learning inherent in the units of instruction provide for a means by which the ADD student can be assisted with maintenance by peers in an unobtrusive way.

 

 

Loses materials, homework, etc.

 

Color code folders for organization of materials

 

3-hole punch in folders to use immediately

 

Develop buddy system to assist

 

Attach items (pencils, rulers, eraser) with Velcro to desk

 

Send a copy of homework to parents by email, etc.

 

Have students check in and out unnecessary books and notebooks at the door

 

 

 

 

 

Teacher as facilitator is free to assist or remind ADD students with organizational tasks

 

 

Teacher as facilitator is free to assist or remind ADD students with organizational tasks

 

 

 

Sloppy work area, products

 

Limit amount of materials available

 

Use pencil boxes of different shapes to organize materials and have them labeled

 

Teacher as facilitator is free to assist or remind ADD students with organizational tasks

 

 

Teacher as facilitator is free to assist or remind ADD students with organizational tasks

 

 

 

Disorganized notebooks, lockers

 

 

Train student in organizational strategies

 

 

Portable 3-hole punch in notebook and file papers immediately

 

3-holed zippered notebook with dividers for each class

 

Keep a class sample of organized notebook: table of contents, number each page

 

Set up locker structure with labels, visuals for objects, etc.

 

Teacher as facilitator is free to assist or remind ADD students with organizational tasks

 

 

Teacher as facilitator is free to assist or remind ADD students with organizational tasks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory

 

 

Difficulty following directions

 

 

Provide visual cues and have student check off steps

 

Prompt child for verbal directions:

  • Call child’s name, touch child, use a private signal word, move closer to child
  • Use prompt cards (written directions in addition to verbal)
  • Cue child about upcoming difficult times or tasks where extra control will be needed

 

 

 

By emphasizing the design or creation aspects of the learning

Arts Integration allows for authentic

assessment which allows ADD students

to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge acquisition naturally, reducing the need for worksheets or excessive written assignments. This allows the ADD student to shine, positively impacting self esteem.

 

Concepts/info are repeated throughout the phases of learning; insights and ideas of classmates are presented with regularity, exposing ADD student with a variety of ways to think about content.

 

Group discussions and activities lend themselves to peer support for and collaboration with the ADD student.

 

 

Students work to answer essential questions.  Their knowledge acquisition is assessed authentically and in a variety of ways: artistic products or forms, theatrical renditions, the building of models, etc. The ADD student is given a method by which skills and knowledge can be demonstrated in ways other than the written word or the taking of a test.

 

Units are interdisciplinary, helping the ADD student to see connections and to apply strengths and prior knowledge to the task at hand

 

Assessments are formative, and give the ADD student the immediate feedback that they so often need.

 

 

 

Repeat offender

 

 

 

Review cause-effect

 

 

Use “cause and effect” as the concept

Early on in lesson planning to illustrate the

concept in global terms for a deeper

understanding so that it may be

applied locally in the classroom.  Use

the reflect phase to give students the

opportunity to discuss and write about

cause and effect, giving examples in

their own lives.

 

 

 

Units are interdisciplinary, helping the ADD student to see connections and to apply strengths and prior knowledge to the task at hand

 

Assessments are formative, and give the ADD student the immediate feedback that they so often need.

 

 

 

Forgets materials

 

 

 

Provide visual cues

 

 

All Arts Integration approaches use visual, audio, and kinesthetic methods to engage studentson a deeper, more authentic level of learning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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