By: Carmen Willings teachingvisuallyimpaired.com Updated March 13, 2016
What is the difference between accommodations and modifications? A colleague of mine once shared an easy way to remember the difference: "a" comes before "m" in the alphabet. Likewise, accommodations happen before modifications. The following details what accommodations and modifications are:
Accommodations
Accommodations do not reduce grade level standards but rather help provide access to the course content. They do not alter the amount or complexity of the information taught to the student. Accommodations are changes in the program from a way things are typically done so that a student with a disability can have equal opportunity to participate and allow the student to be successful. These changes do not substantially or fundamentally lower or alter the standards.
The purpose of accommodations is to decrease or to eliminate the interference from the disability. These accommodations would be tied to district and state testing. Accommodations must be part of the student's ongoing instructional program and not introduced for the first time during state-required assessments. When choosing accommodations, they must:
Be based on current individualized needs;
Reduce the effect of the disability to access the current curriculum;
Be specific about where, when, who and how the accommodations will be provided;
Include current input from parents, teachers, student, and therapists;
Be based on current specific needs in each content area.
Select those that are appropriate and meet the students needs. Remember each state identifies acceptable or standard accommodations as well as conditional accommodations. Be sure to check with your state's allowable accommodations. Georgia, where I currently teach, has a list of standard accommodations on the Department of Education website. The following is a list of possible accommodations to include in the student's IEP to ensure the student with visual impairments can be successful in the school. Please remember that this should not serve as a checklist.The purpose of an accommodation is to level the playing field and NOT provide unfair advantage over others. Only identify accommodations that are required in order for the student to access his or her education. Provide teachers with a list of the student's Unique Visual Needs at the beginning of the school year and update should there be changes.
Changes in medium used:
braille
large print
audiotape
electronic text
oral testing/scribing
Changes made in the way materials are presented
Copies of overhead projector/smart board activities to be viewed at his/her desk as needed.
The teacher or presenter should verbalize all information as it is written on the board or overhead.
Information presented on the board should be in a high contrast color.
Use a slant-board to position papers appropriately for reduced visual strain and to avoid glare.
The computer screen should be eye level and tilted to avoid glare.
Use recorded text as needed.
Classroom recording of lectures/instruction by student.
Large Print textbooks/materials.
Braille textbooks/materials.
Clear, dark copies of worksheets.
Use of a reading guide to assist in keeping place while reading and completing worksheets.
Present materials against a plain background
Use a good contrast background and present on a contrasting tray or mat.
Time requirements:
Time and a half or double time
Consideration for the student's reading/writing speed
Consideration for time needed to use adaptive equipment
Consideration for eye fatigue and scanning ability
Changes in the way students demonstrate learning
Modified assignments (when appropriate and needed) to accommodate visual fatigue (extended time and/or shortened amount of assignments).
Eliminate clutter from the room, particularly in aisles and movement paths.
Place materials in consistent places so that students know where particular items are always located.
Preferential locker position and locks with keys vs. combination locks.
Use of task lighting as needed.
Modifications
Modifications lower the learning expectations and should only be used if this is the only way for the student to be successful. Parents must understand if modifications to grade level standards are being made, their child may be at risk for not meeting graduation requirements. When choosing to modify the curriculum be sure to make decisions:
Based on the student's current assessment results of the student's abilities;
Based on the student's current skills based on current assessments;
Based on the student's emotional well-being;
To help the student be successful; and
After trying the use of supplementary aids and services.
The following is a list of possible modifications to include in the student's IEP to ensure the student with visual impairments can be successful in the school. Select those that are appropriate and meet the students needs.
Reducing assignments so a student only completes the easiest problems;
Altering assignments to make them easier;
Requiring a student to learn less materials than are required by the State's academic content standards;
Providing help to a student via hints or clues to the correct answers on assignments and tests.
Test Taking
Students who plan to attend college will be required to take standardized tests as part of college admissions criteria. Accommodations for the ACT, PSAT, SAT and AP programs are overseen by Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), which is part of the College Board, the major nonprofit organization that sponsors pre-college and college admissions tests. College Board requires that requests for accommodations be submitted well in advance. A student must have a documented disability and the student and the school must complete the SSD Student Eligibility Form that must be signed by the parents or guardian. Family Connect, AFB's website for parents of children with visual impairments, provides more information on these accommodations.
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TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
$50.00
Written specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), this book consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level.
The core activities listed in the Activity section can be adapted to each thematic unit. These include:
Object Characteristic Activities
Quantity & Number Concepts
Time Concept Activities
Environment & Job Awareness Activities
Listening Skills Activities
Reading Foundation Activities
Reading Fluency Activities
Braille Basics Activities
Writing Activities
Tactual Efficiency Activities
Developing Skillful Hands Activities
Visual Efficiency Activities
Optical Device Instruction Activities
Recipe Activities
In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.
Unique Concepts within the Units include:
Self Advocacy Activities (e.g. advocating for safe classroom, presenting to class on visual impairment, requesting help and more)
Social Skills Activities (e.g. Being bullied or teased, giving and receiving compliments, body language, "I" messages when upset and more)
Recreation & Leisure Activities (e.g. exploring interest areas, getting involved in clubs and sports, playing games, and more)
O&M Support Activities (e.g. Suggestions for community based experiences, dog guide information, locations in the school, bioptics, ride sharing, traffic signs, and more)
Independent Living Skill Activities (e.g. chores, being responsible, using tools, recipe suggestions, hygiene, staying healthy, labeling foods and products, and more)
Sensory Efficiency Activities (e.g. unique sensory experiences related to the unit, unique optical device activities, and more)
Compensatory Activities (e.g. organizing materials, study habits, and many unique concepts related to the unit)
Career & Vocational Activities (e.g. job awareness, completing applications, job task suggestions, and more)
Although the intended audience of this resource is fellow Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, special education teachers may find these activities beneficial to the students in their classrooms as the activities are multisensory and include life skills and concepts needed by all students. This resource, however, is not intended to take the place of a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Readers are advised to consult their own TVI’s regarding instruction in the ECC and the unique visual needs of the student’s served in their programs.
Note: This curriculum is a digital pdf download. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number.
Each download is intended for single instructor use per copyright. Thank you for helping me preserve the content and not distributing copies to third parties.
Product details
Digital pdf download: 364 pages (11 pt font)
Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Visual Efficiency & Magnifier Fluency Grab & Go ECC Supplements
$20.00
This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a supplement to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.
Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:
Digital pdf download: 210 pages
Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
This form identifies possible recommendations for accommodations that can be beneficial for students with visual impairments or blindness that have multiple disabilities. Select those that are appropriate for the student.
Academic Unique Needs
This form identifies possible recommendations for accommodations that can be beneficial for students with visual impairments or blindness that is following the standard course of study. Select those that are appropriate for the student.
