How Do I Get My Child to Use Their IEP or 504 Accommodations
Parents often fight very hard to get the IEP and 504 Accommodations their child needs, but there is a problem that is rarely discussed — how do you get your child to use their IEP or 5o4 Accommodations.
Test accommodations are the most difficult to get a child to use. Usually these IEP and 504 Accommodations call for some combination of:
- Extra time to complete the test
- Taking the test in a room where everyone is getting the accommodation and there are loss distractions
- Having graph paper with large boxes for math problems
- Having the questions and other information read to the student — where allowed. Note, it is often not allowed for reading passages to be read to a student, but instructions, questions and math questions and answers can often be read to the student
These accommodations can reduce the anxiety, improve test scores and reduce the risk for grade retention or having your child being required to take remedial courses, but …
There are some common challenges we hear from students including:
- I do not want to be singled out and perceived as different
- I do not think it is fair to get the accommodations
- No one gave me the accommodations, so I did not get them
Rich Lavoie, the author of the “Fat City Video and other articles and books, sums it up well in this article Fairness: To Each According to His Needs” where he wrote
“Fairness means that everyone gets what he or she needs.”
Why IEP and 504 Accommodations Should Be Used
We use an example
15 years ago, when computers were not as fast as they are today, it would take less than a second to download a Microsoft Word or similar document.
56k modem less than a second to download a word document
and severeal minutes to download a video because much more processing is needed
IEP and 504 Accommodations are Fair for Visual Learners who process more information
Most students with an IEP or 504 Plan are visual learners — who think in pictures. We explain to them that it often takes them longer to process the same information – because they are processing so much information. We explain that is is only fair to give them more time
We also discuss the consequences. We will often give a student a test and tell them they only have 20 minutes. Then we give them a similar test and give them 30 minutes.
Very often the scores are much higher on the test where they get the extra time We then asked a group of students why they think it is true. Their answers included:
- I feel much more anxious when I am under time pressure
- When I have extra time I,
- Have time to check my work
- Can go back and search for the answers, knowing I will have ample time
- I do not know — but I always do better with more time
Most students agree they do better with more time. Then we ask them about the consequences of using and not using their accommodations Here are some answers we got:
- When I do not use my accommodations, I often:
- Feel much worse when taking the test
- I feel terrible when I get back the results
- I hate being put in remedial classes or being retained, because I did not do well on a test
- When I use my accommodations, I feel
- A little guilty when I leave the room
- Much better
- By the end of test
- When I get back the results
- When I can stay in regular classes
IEP and 504 Accommodations Help Students Succeed
After we have explained
- The concept of fair as being giving every child what they need
- The difference between how a child processes information and their peers — where they are processing pictures and their peers are processing words, many students appreciate the time
- Consequences — students are often uncomfortable leaving the room, but they like the better scores and being in classes with their friend
- It is important for parents and then students, on the day of the test, to remind teachers they have IEP and 504 Accommodations
If you have any questions, call us at 561-361-7495. For help getting an IEP go to The RTI Trap
The post IEP and 504 Accommodations — How to Explain Them So Your Child Will Use Them appeared first on 3D Learner.