Interventions and Accommodations for School

Children with a learning disability, anxiety or ADHD may benefit from accommodations or interventions to improve their school performance. These can include ways to boost their academic, social-emotional or behavioral development. 

Below are examples of accommodations or interventions for students with a learning disability, anxiety, or ADHD. It is best to work with your school team to identify opportunities for your child.

Recommendations for Learning Disabilities

Schools are often the most comfortable and confident with resources for learning disabilities. These usually focus on specific reading, writing and math skills. Services for children with a learning disability may include extra instruction to practice:

• Letter sounds, fluency and reading comprehension
• Writing letters, spelling and forming complete sentences
• Counting, adding, subtracting and multiplying

Typically, students will work with their classroom teacher in small groups to practice reading, math or writing. This allows children with learning disabilities to get additional time with the teacher to practice the curriculum. This time also provides students opportunities to learn new material at a slower pace and with alternative strategies to match their learning level and style.

In addition to small group instruction with the classroom teacher, some children are pulled out of the classroom for additional help from a specialist. Depending on the school, the specialist may have a unique name, such as a reading coach, intervention specialist or behavioral interventionist. Regardless of the name, their job is to help your child meet academic expectations.

Recommendations for Anxiety

Children with significant anxiety may find it scary to interact with peers, eat in front of peers, ask or answer questions, speak in front of the class, or take a test in a general classroom. Services for children with significant anxiety may include:

• Individual or small group counseling with the mental health counselor or school psychologist to practice understanding warning signs of anxiety, changing negative thoughts into helpful ones (cognitive reframing), relaxation strategies, social skills and school-based exposures to scary situations.
• Allowing the child to have a small self-calming object in the class.
• Breaking down large assignments into smaller parts and providing alternative due dates for the sections. It may also be helpful to give the student noise-cancellation earbuds to minimize distractions while taking a high-stakes test or offer a quiet room free of distractions.
• Pairing the child with a trusted staff member to help build their support system at the school. One suggestion may be implementing scheduled check-ins, where the child meets with the staff member at the beginning and end of the school day.
• Implementing scheduled and time-limited breaks throughout the day, especially after a complex task. Provide options of what the child can do, such as relaxation strategies, writing positive affirmations or cognitive reframing exercises.

While in school, some students with anxiety tend to spend a lot of time in the principal’s office, school nurse clinic or with the guidance counselor due to their worries. However, to better address these concerns, it would be helpful to limit how long a child spends outside their general education classroom. 

If a student is having trouble managing their emotions in class and would benefit from a break, consider having a calm down area in the class for the student. They may also benefit from spending a few minutes in the hallway before returning to class.

In cases where a student leaves class, set a time limit for how long the child can remain there, provide options for what they can do during the break and consider only allowing the child to go home if they have a fever. If they have a fever, the family should schedule a primary care appointment. If they don’t, the child should be encouraged to return to class following their break.

Work closely with your school to identify recommendations for your child, including the possibility of a plan or accommodation. As your child becomes more confident with managing their worries, recommendations can be gradually reduced.

Recommendations for ADHD

Children with ADHD may need help paying attention to the curriculum, following directions, staying in their assigned seats, organizing their desk and backpack, remembering to complete or return homework, completing tasks quietly or keeping their hands and feet to themselves. Services for children with ADHD may include:

• Individual or small group counseling with a mental health counselor or school psychologist to practice skills, including organization, social skills, time management and emotional regulation.
• Providing the child a seat where distractions are limited, which may include the front of the classroom or near the teacher. It may also be helpful to place children away from windows and their friends to help encourage attentiveness.
• Using a daily behavior report card to improve a child’s classroom behavior.
• Providing directions in verbal and written format.
• Offering a visual timer to help students practice their time management skills.
• Breaking down large assignments into smaller parts and providing alternative due dates for the sections. It may also be helpful to give the student noise cancellation earbuds to minimize distractions while taking a high-stakes test or offer a quiet room free of distractions.
• Implementing scheduled and time-limited breaks throughout the day, especially after a complex task. Provide options of what the child can do, such as a quick exercise at their desk, a walk to the water fountain, a brief dance party or a small fun activity.

Schools are a fantastic place to help teach and practice academic, behavioral and social-emotional skills. The outlined recommendations may be helpful to students in the educational setting; however, this is only a guide! Be sure to speak with your child’s school team to identify strategies that will help your child do their best in school.