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IEP Planning:
Accommodations & Modifications

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By Eve Kessler, Esq. and Michele Schneider, MS

The difference between success and failure for students with LD and ADHD often comes down to how effectively the curriculum is adapted to individual needs. Accommodations and modifications are the tools used by the IEP team to achieve that end.


Accommodations

Accommodations allow a student to complete the same tasks as their typical peers but with some variation in time, format, setting, and/or presentation. The purpose of an accommodation is to provide a student with equal access to learning and an equal opportunity to show what he knows and what he can do.

Accommodations are categorized in four ways

  1. Variations in time: adapting the time allotted for learning, task completion, or testing
  2. Variation of input: adapting the way instruction is delivered
  3. Variation of output: adapting how a student can respond to instruction
  4. Variation of size: adapting the number of items the student is expected to complete

Examples of accommodations

  • Additional time to complete assignments
  • Provision of notes or outlines
  • Untimed tests
  • Reduced number of test questions


Questions to Ask

When deciding what accommodations and modifications are appropriate
for your child, ask these questions:

Can your child participate in the activity in the same way as her peers?
If not, can she do the same activity with adapted materials?
If not, can she do the same activity with adapted expectations and materials?
If not, can she accomplish the goals of the lesson by working with a partner or small group?
If not, can she do the same activity with intermittent assistance from an adult?
If not, can she do the same activity with direct adult assistance?
If not, can she do a different, parallel activity?


Modifications

Unlike an accommodation, which does not change the instructional level, content or performance criteria, a modification is an alteration in one or more of those elements for any given assignment. Modifications are changes in what students are expected to learn, based on their individual abilities.

Examples of modifications include:

  • Use of alternate books
  • Pass/no pass option
  • Reworded questions in simpler language
  • Daily feedback to student

For an extensive list of accommodations and modifications see Examples of Accommodations & Modifications.