Sometimes when you read through accommodation list, you're kinda like, I don't understand what that is.
The words are there, but you're like, I don't really understand what that would look like or what that means.
Hi, and welcome back to the smarter literacy podcast from a Send smarter intervention where we simplify effective literacy instruction so every student gets what they need and every educator gets breathed a little easier.
I'm Lindsey.
So And I'm Corey, and today we're talking about accommodations and modifications, both terms that come up a lot in education, but that can definitely be misunderstood.
Right.
And instead of giving you a dry definition, we thought we'd walk through it as a conversation.
We'll cover why these supports matter, what they actually are, how to choose the right ones, and what happens if we get it right.
Absolutely.
So let's start with the big question.
Why do we even need accommodations and modifications in the first place? The truth is some students process information differently, um, without that support, they can quickly fall behind.
And not because they can't learn, but because the way information is presented doesn't match how they learn best.
Absolutely.
And we were talking about this even in our last episode about how, you know, we all take in information differently.
We all share out what we know differently.
And so accommodations and modifications really are just meant to help align how we best naturally do that.
And when we don't have accommodations and modifications in place, what we see is frustration avoidance.
Sometimes they can look like behavior issues.
I know there, uh, was a student that I was actually working with recently, and his mom was saying that he is in high school, and he actually started leaving after, you know, he was supposed to be in his off period and then supposed to come back and just didn't come back to class And what we started to realize was that he really just needed some accommodations and modifications in place, super smart kid.
Um, but because he didn't have those accommodations in place, we started to see those type of behavioral issues.
I'm gonna put that in in air quotes.
But know, you can also even see things like that in lower grades too where kids will actually be, you know, trying to escape the classroom or just creating disruption.
A lot of times that's just communication with you in that way.
And so Again, it's really important that we have these in place because it's not that the students aren't capable, but it's that the playing field isn't quite level.
And so because of that, they're struggling and they're communicating in all these different ways.
Right.
Exactly.
And accommodations and modifications aren't these shortcuts.
They're the tools that make sure students can keep accessing the curriculum while we work on strengthening those underlying skills.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
So let's get practical.
What's the difference between an accommodation and a modification? So accommodations are changes in how a student learns or shows they're learning, things like extended time, audio books, voice to text, graphic organizers, etcetera.
The content stays the same, but the pathway shifts.
Okay.
Perfect.
That makes so much sense.
So what about modifications? Modifications change what the student is expected to learn.
That might mean fewer math problems or attacks at a simpler reading level.
You're adapting the curriculum itself.
Okay.
So one of the big concerns that comes up is that people be that teachers, parents, or even students themselves, feel like using accommodations or modifications is cheating.
It's not, but what are your thoughts on that? Oh my gosh.
I've experienced all three, one where, like, parents think it's cheating, teachers think it's and even the student themselves, like, I don't wanna I can't have that.
It feels like I'm cheating.
And it's it's not.
It's definitely not cheating.
So if we use glasses as an analogy, so when you're wearing glasses, glasses don't make life easier, for you than other people.
Right? It's not like super powers.
Um, it just makes vision possible.
And that's an accommodation.
Modocation is more like adjusting the text or simplifying the print.
Both can help but in different ways.
But again, wearing those glasses is not cheating.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
That makes so much sense.
And I think one of the things is even just the fact that we call them accommodations and modifications I really feel like we should just consider just saying something different altogether.
So just calling them opportunities or choices instead of accommodations or modifications.
And in that way, you could really provide those opportunities or choices for all students.
This is usually what we end up calling universal accommodations, but if we just remove the word accommodations and modifications altogether, that could maybe make a massive difference.
I think as soon as you call it an accommodation or you call it a modification, then people are like, well, I don't I don't wanna take that.
It's like, I think about, you know, if you're hiking up a mountain and you're like, oh, I'm gonna take a shortcut.
Okay.
All of a sudden, that makes it feel like you're cheating.
Right? But if you're like, oh, I'm gonna take this path.
This path is gonna be more effective for my climbing skills, then all of a sudden you're like, oh, that's just a choice.
You can choose this path or that path.
It's not a shortcut.
It's not I don't know.
Yeah.
No.
And I like to think of there's a a cartoon that's, um, I see all the time And it's these four individuals and they're looking over a fence.
And the fence is, of course, pretty tall.
Well, one of the individuals is a tall person.
So they could just see over the fence with no help at all.
Meanwhile, you've got a very, very short person on the other end, and the people in the middle are shorter, but not quite as short.
And so the people who cannot see over the fence have different sized boxes underneath them, whatever is going to allow them to see over the fence.
Again, it's we can't think of it as cheating if that person is just born tall enough, right, they grow tall enough to be able to see over the fence, and the other ones didn't.
It's just we need to be able to give them the assistance they need to be able to see over that fence.
It's not cheating.
It's just modifying.
I I relate to that so much because I'm so short, and that's such a great point.
I, you know, often need a step stool to get even in my pantry to the things that I need from the top and often I'm asking, you know, my sons or my husband, like, hey, can you reach that for me? But I don't consider that cheating.
Like, I don't consider, like, me getting out the steps to all as cheating.
It's just allowing me to do what they were doing naturally.
So it's such a great point.
In fact, it's still harder for me because I still have to go and get the step stool and get it out and open it and put it back.
So anyway Yeah.
Or even like the car settings, like your seat settings in the car.
Right? I need to be able to drive and see.
So where I adjust the mirrors and my seat gonna be different than what my fiance says, because he's bothered me, but we both need to be able to see.
So we don't get in an accident.
Right? So it's just that.
It really is.
You're cheating.
You're cheating in the car.
It's not good.
It's unacceptable.
You should definitely not do that.
You should continue working on growing taller.
Yes.
Exactly.
I wish.
So, Corey, if I'm a teacher or a parent, how do I figure out which supports to actually use? Because There's so many lists out there, and it can feel really overwhelming.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And this really comes back to identifying what students actually need.
Things sometimes with these lists, they can be very overwhelming.
There's so many.
And so we really need to think about, well, what's actually going to be helpful? So, for example, having a step stool is not gonna be a helpful accommodation for somebody who's already tall.
Right? That's not going to do anything that's going to provide any value to them.
And in fact, it might just make things worse, actually.
And so we want to start with assessment data, be that standardized assessments or observational data, but you're really looking at data you're starting to think what are the actual skill breakdown? So, can, you can be looking at teacher and parent input here because parents see what happens with homework, teachers see what's happening in the classroom, you might also have, you know, a special educator who did some assessment or your assessment team might have some data and so they can look at standardized data.
And together, all those perspectives could help to narrow down which supports are going to matter the most.
Right.
And I know one big recommendation is to keep it simple, not 20 plus accommodations, right, but maybe two per area of need.
Absolutely.
I've definitely seen plans be that in a five zero four plan that is specifically an accommodation plan or in an IEP, an individualized education program where the accommodation list sometimes are spinning pages and pages.
And sometimes you read them and you're like, how on earth would any be be be able to provide all of this.
So I think that's such a great point is let's be reasonable with what are the most important things? We don't need to have a buffet of options here.
We really just need to be thought ful and strategic about what is it that it's gonna be the most helpful.
Yeah.
And I've definitely sat in those IEP meetings where we were getting students new to our school who who did have that buffet, and it was a very large buffet.
And we kinda had to sit down and look and like, They don't need this.
They're perfectly fine.
Why was this ed on here? Oh, well, we just kinda added everything just to be safe.
Okay.
I get that.
At the same time, this is putting more on the teacher's plate.
So try to do all these things.
In the meantime, it's not really helping.
Anyone is what's just taking time away from everyone.
Absolutely.
And and even from the students themselves, because how are the students supposed to know what's available to them? If they have this huge list of accommodations, then they can't begin to advocate for themselves or really understand how to utilize accommodations effectively.
So it's really not serving anybody.
No.
No.
And a lot of times, the kids will even say, oh, I don't need that.
Oh, uh, no.
I don't need that.
Oh, oh, okay.
Frank, alright.
Yeah.
Corey, can you give a few examples of what it would look like to tie accommodations specific areas of need.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
So we always, again, make accommodations based on the data.
Right? So we really wanna be thinking about what are those areas of need? So for example, If a student had slower processing speed, so be that slower math act fluency, be that slower reading fluency, if they had a cognitive assessment and had slower processing speed for those particular tasks, then we really wanna be considering additional time.
Right? Those students are going to benefit from having time and a half to two times the amount of time to be able to respond so that they can think through what it is that they need to process through.
That could also look like a student who has poor working memory, we may want to focus on providing information in prints on the board in step by step direction.
So here's what you need to do.
First, next, last, I know how frustrating it is as an educator to feel like I just went through the directions and they're literally like, wait, what am I supposed to do? It's so frustrating.
And also what we have to realize is that yes, sometimes were they just not listening? Sure.
But sometimes it really is that they actually couldn't hold on to everything that you said because their executive functioning or their working memory is not quite as well developed as ours is as adults.
And so that could just be a simple accommodation that also makes your life a little bit easier.
And then, you know, another might be if students are struggling with listening comprehension.
So that could be that they're not following your instructions or they're not listening to the directions, you again may want to consider providing that both out loud and in print so that they can refer back.
And that way you can just say, oh, go ahead and refer back to your notes or go ahead and refer back, you know, it's at this point in in the instructions.
Or providing a copy of class notes.
A lot of times, especially if students get older, they have a hard time with listening comprehension, and they're trying to take notes.
They're trying to summarize what it is that you said or what the most important information is, and then they're trying write that down at the same time, and that can just be really challenging for so many of our students.
So that might be something if they've shown specific difficulty with listening comprehension.
Right.
If you have a student who struggles with reading comprehension, that might be something like providing specific graphic organizers, which are, you know, basically mind maps so that they can visualize connections or they can visually think about what is it that I'm supposed to be attending to? Is it the five ws? Is it, you know, I'm trying to sequence what happened first next last? What is it that I'm trying to focus on here? And so graphic organizers could be an example of what to do if student struggles with reading comprehension.
Right.
Yeah.
And something I would just kinda add to this list that can help with a lot of these.
Right? Is kind of like those routine check ins for comprehension.
Like, make sure the students actually understand what they're supposed to be doing or even routine check ins on, like, do they understand the content? Even when I was a classroom teacher teaching seventh grade English, we'd be working on our writing, I would almost have independent writing workshop time to be able to go around and just check-in with all my students to make sure do they understand what they're doing? If not, Can I provide them that is the kind of list of what you do first you do this, next you do this? So just kind of like those those check ins that you can kind of build in, not just with one student, but all of your students.
Absolutely.
And it's such a great point.
And I think that's where some of those things like teacher observation would come in super helpful to see like, oh, they're often off task.
Okay.
Well, what would be specific accommodations that could help to support that? And so you're really, again, looking at your data, whether that be hard assessment data or just observational data, or what are you seeing and what are you noticing and what are the specific things that could help with that versus a a huge list of accommodations, which Again, the list can be good.
It's almost like having a menu.
Mhmm.
But then from that menu, you need to really be thinking about.
Alright.
What's most important here? Or what are the things that are actually going to make a difference for this particular child? Exactly.
So because it's dyslexia awareness month, what are the right accommodations for students with dyslexia? That's such a great question.
And I think it's another one that can be a little bit nuanced as well because every student with dyslexia can still look a little bit different.
And so we still wanna use that data to help drive their accommodations too.
That being said, one of the common ones that we recommend for students with dyslexia is text to speech.
So audiobooks or, again, being able to listen to podcasts, things like just being able to hear the information instead of having to look at the visual print to take that in can make a massive difference.
And there's so many options now for what you can do to create that accommodation that it's relatively easy to make sure that you have that available.
I do think it's important if you are choosing books or things like that that you are going to be asking students to read class, making sure that there are audio versions available for those books can make a massive, massive difference for them.
Other things might be things like not being counted off for spelling in their writing.
So a lot of times students with dyslexia have a very difficult time with spelling.
And so if the idea is content and content based, especially for handwritten work, you can absolutely just go ahead and ignore the spelling and focus on, you know, their content and how are they explaining what it is that they know.
Another option, especially for older students might be looking at a foreign language accommodation.
So this could be something like having passfail grading for that particular class or being able to take an alternative global or cultural awareness class.
And the reason that that could be important is because students with dyslexia, come back to that literacy processing triangle.
They have a hard time with the orthography, the visual print, and pulling that into the phonological processing, the sound structure, and then mapping all of that onto meaning, when you learn another language, you're layering an entire new triangle on top of the the previous language, right, the original language that they learned, l one, we would call it their primary language, when you have another language, it can be very challenging.
And so just being aware of that too, that that class may be harder for students who have dyslexia.
Yeah.
I know in my past school, because students had to start taking a foreign language starting seventh grade.
Sometimes our students with various Lexi would actually be able to, you know, they're, like, the school would say we have enough information.
We have enough data that shows that, like, we're gonna let you instead of taking a foreign language, like have a study hall or an elective or something.
Right? So they got exempt from that class.
But again, that was that was with a lot of this is gonna be hard for them to learn because they're still trying to kind of master even their own language in a sense Yeah.
In a lot of schools, what they have actually done when they provide those type of exemptions is that's when they're providing a lot of the other accommodations that we're talking about, uh, because that's important to think about too.
When you do provide accommodations like additional time and things like that, you also have to factor in where does that additional time? Come from.
Right? Because you shouldn't be pulling them from recess or keeping them late or things like that.
That's not necessarily an accommodation that is appropriate.
And so we have to think about that.
And so a lot of times, that's where we have to start to be creative.
So how can we make sure that students are actually receiving your accommodations? Yeah.
This is such a great question.
And I think the most important thing here is having true clarity on those accommodations.
So like to use the five ws for literally everything, including accommodations.
But one of the things that we like to think about when we're putting accommodations in place or recommending accommodations is first, who is implementing the accommodations? So is this coming from the classroom teacher? Is this coming from the interventionist? Is this who who is doing this? Who's providing the accommodation? Next, what? So what is the accommodation specifically? So being really clear in our language Sometimes when you read through accommodation lists, you're kind of like, I don't understand what that is.
Uh, no.
That sounds really silly.
Right? Like, the words are there, but you're like, I don't really understand what that would look like or what that means.
And so you need to make sure you're really clear and what is the specific accommodation? And then three, when can the accommodation be accessed? So again, thinking about additional time, when is that additional time happening? Or if they're getting access to graphic organizers, when are they gonna get the graphic organizers.
If they get class notes, do they get class notes before or after when does that happen? Where is the accommodation being delivered? So is that being delivered again in the classroom? Is that something where it's gonna be a pullout into an intervention setting? So I know, for example, one of my sons has an accommodation of small group testing.
And so he knows, okay, I'm gonna be pulled out, and I'm gonna work in a small group for this particular assessment Then the last one is so important.
So why? So why is this accommodation being selected over other alternatives? And I think that's where that laundry list that you're talking about with, you know, these super 20 plus accommodations and things like that.
Think that's ultimately just a lack of going through.
Why are we selecting this and maybe not something else? Because there might be a lot of almost like duplicates.
Yeah.
Or, you know, this is kind of serving the same purpose and so which ones act actually going to work best for that particular student.
So I think those are things that we need to be really aware of, and then we need the students to have clarity on this too.
So they need to know these are my accommodations, and this is the who, what, when, where, why, of each.
Which again is why we don't wanna have 30 some accommodations because how would you possibly keep track of all of that? Right.
Absolutely.
Another option might be having a sticky note or paper that you can clip to a student test or assignment to provide clarity on which accommodations were used, which is great in communicating what the student needs and is using.
Absolutely.
I think a lot of times with, you know, the accommodations, just having that visual reminder of, oh, yeah, they are supposed to have this or, oh, yes, I did do that.
I think a lot of times we are providing those accommodations or things in the classroom, but parents might not know.
And so sometimes that can be fresh trading verbal teachers and parents because the parents are saying, oh, my child didn't get this because I know my own kids when I ask them about the accommodations, they're like, oh, yeah.
No.
I didn't do that.
And then as soon as I follow-up, it's like, no, but you did have access to that.
And so it's just a way to communicate without having to have this constant back and forth.
So I love that.
Just clip something on there.
Have a little sticky note so that that communication is so clear.
So, Lindsey, how can we help teachers to implement accommodations effectively? We know they're so busy trying to manage so much.
So what might this look like for them? That is a great question because I do know so many teachers struggle with meeting accommodations on top of everything else they have to do.
So when I was a literacy specialist in the middle school, I taught a I actually had the privilege to push into a special education ELA classroom.
So not every student in that class had dyslexia, but every student did have different learning needs, and everyone did have an IEP.
So what happened is the classroom teacher and I often sat down to think about how we can modify the curriculum to best meet any needs that we could all at once.
Right? And I know this might seem daunting, uh, but the great news is that so many of the accommodations we put in place for our dyslexic students also work for other students as well.
So we made sure to implement accommodations like listening to audiobooks.
That was huge, right, as a class while at the same time making sure that the kids had access to the print book in front of them.
So they could follow along and the students who maybe didn't like the listening piece could do the the reading piece.
Right? So they had access to both.
We previewed vocabulary all the time.
And what we would actually do is we would break down our vocab words as class filling in that vocabulary framework and including images that would help solidify the meaning of the word in the student's mind so they could kinda hold on to a little bit more.
They would also have access to all the vocabulary framework that we filled in so they could go back to it at any time.
Visuals were central, right, to our lessons.
Sometimes this was a YouTube video to help break down information or images that we could use to help students grasp a concept.
As we're actually teaching that concept.
Graph organizers were a must use as well.
Again, this was an ELA classroom.
So we did do a lot of writing, and those graphic organizers were great to help students break down their thinking.
And to be able to work on what details do I wanna include? You know, how do I wanna structure this? And we could go around and help them too and kind of check-in and like, oh, are they getting it? Like, are they actually doing what we're asking them to do? And if not, how can we support them more? Specifically even showing how students how to use the graphic organizers, especially at the beginning of the year.
Right? If they hadn't really used a lot of graphic organizers in the past, or they just didn't feel like they were good at them, we've worked a lot together to fill those out.
And we also had this was really great too, especially for dyslexic students, but anyone could use it.
We had a corner of the room set up so that any student who was using that voice text, right, when they were doing their writing pieces, could go over to that corner and they could have some privacy, but also they won't be disrupted by their peers and they won't be disrupting their peers so that way they can actually just get their thoughts out and be able to just write down exactly what they were kinda thinking and and going through.
So that way, they felt like they had that time, that space that was available to them.
And so we just really worked hard to make these accommodations a daily part of our classroom routine so that students never had to guess.
At what we were doing or how they could be more successful.
They could ask us, can I use the can I go write this out? Can I use my voice to text? They all had computers as well.
So they had their chromebooks, so they were able to type and write things out.
And so it was just about creating a classroom where these accommodations, again, we never used the word accommodations, but these were strategies more so for students to be successful.
And so not only was it helping them to do well in LA, it was helping them to be just more successful students overall.
I think that makes so much sense.
And I think just having that classroom environment where that is normal.
I hate to use that as a word, but that that is just part of every day.
It helps so much of, hey, this is just a choice that you have, and and it's open to anybody can make a massive difference.
I think specifically about the voice typing, and I know that's an accommodation that my son has and, you know, he's in eighth grade, and he's basically like, there's no chance I am going to use that accommodation.
And so we keep it on his plan because essentially the where for that accommodation becomes at home, he'll use that accommodation, but he doesn't feel comfortable doing that in a classroom environment because it's not necessarily a part of.
It's not built into.
It's not like, oh, any student could do this.
Would be so easy to set that up in a space, like you said, just in the classroom, and in fact even making it like, hey, it's like you're a YouTuber.
It's like you're a podcaster.
Right? I mean, some of these things, these kids are like into anyway.
So I don't know.
But honestly, that's what we did.
We put up the the big kind of folders you use when you're, like, trying to separate kids from tests.
And so it kind of creates your own little space and no one can see around you or no one can, like, you can't see around it and everything.
And kids would just kinda go behind that fold up.
I'm not even sure what their calls.
Like, try fold.
Try fold.
Yeah.
And then they would be able to use the mic on their computer or, like, sometimes they had their headphones, which had a mic in it too, and they could speak into that.
And then it it really was.
And it was just normal for everyone.
But I know what you mean.
I have a student right now who can use the C pen at school, but doesn't feel like she can use it in the classroom.
She feels like it's very disruptive, but she uses it at home.
Right? So that's her where Um, we're working on getting her to use it more in school.
But for right now, just because of the the little bit of judgment that comes around that, she's using it more at home.
And I think that's why that piece is so important of making sure that we do have these conversations in the class room and just making that a inclusive environment so that students do feel more confident.
But even if not, I think all that to say, it's important that if that is an accommodation that's still helpful, that we still include that.
We just know that the where on that one might be in the home environment because that's what feels the safest at this point.
And so again, it is what it is.
We hope we get to a point where I always tell my my own kids, but my students as well.
Pick your hard.
Right? Like, you have to choose your hard.
It's hard to use an accommodation and to feel like you're different than someone else.
And it's also hard to get a bad grade because you weren't able to demonstrate something in a way that made sense.
So coming back to your analogy, It's hard to have to go get the step stool to go and see over the fence, but it's also hard not to see what everyone else is looking at.
Right.
So pick your heart.
And I think that's sometimes a conversation that we have to be able to have with our students as well.
Absolutely.
Okay.
So, Lindsey, last question, what changes when we actually get accommodations and modifications right? I know you mentioned this was a part of your classroom environment.
What what changes? Students feel so successful, which I really think is the whole point.
Right? They stay engaged.
They participate.
They don't burn out.
They're actually excited about school, you know, when kids were in our class or even when I had them kinda one on one in my own class.
When I was in more of a tier three setting, my kids felt so confident and they felt successful, and they felt like they were the same as their peers who could do this without accommodations.
But again, remembering those peers don't have dyslexia.
So they they were finally feeling like I can do this.
So instead of that homework ending in tears, it becomes something manageable.
And instead of shutting down crafts, they can show what they know.
And I think also importantly, we kinda mentioned they start learning how to advocate for themselves.
So as they grow older, and they turn into young adults and they go off to college or they go off to a job, they know what works for them and what doesn't work for them, and they know how to be successful, and they can start saying, This is what I need in life, and I don't have to be ashamed of that.
Absolutely.
It's one of the most important lessons that we can probably learn in all of our education outside of memorizing, you know, the different history facts and the different parts of speech and all of those things, I think, able to, like you said, understand what works for you and being able to advocate for yourself is so important.
And for teachers and parents, this really provides clarity.
You have a targeted plan to, hey, here's the struggles that we know that exist, and here's how we are going to support that.
Again, coming back to those five w's of who, what, when, where, and why are these accommodations or modifications going to be implemented and put in place? And it's worth saying again these supports do not lower expectations.
They are making the expectations accessible.
So today, we walk through why accommodations and modifications matter.
What they are, how to choose them, and what happens when they're implemented well.
Yes.
And if you want a ready to use resource, we do have a principal accommodations and modifications guide that is broken down by student needs.
So it can feel a little bit like a huge list.
The idea is not that you're implementing all of these, but you're really thinking about which ones are going to make the biggest impact.
And then, you know, just choosing the ones that are most appropriate and then working through those five ws who, what, when, where, why.
So you can go grab that in the show notes.
And if you're curious to learn more about accommodations and modifications, specifically for students with dyslexia, join us in our spotlight PD.
What dyslexia really looks like from identification to intervention? Yes.
We absolutely love that training.
It has so much helpful information.
And thank you for joining us.
Remember the right support at the right time can completely change a student's learning experience.
So if accommodations and modifications are going to help make that more accessible, we should absolutely be implementing them.
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