Accommodations are they really that effective?
Every once in awhile I read back through my blog and look at the relevance and passion of my posts. I recently reread the post called “Are accommodations taking the place of specialized instruction”
Looking at some recent IEPs I would think the answer is yes. I know I still write a lot of accommodations. My reasons are because I know I either don’t have the time to follow up on every thing during the limited weekly sessions or there are things I want to address (and do address) that just can’t be measured easily. Now I know most of the accommodations are related to testing but I have to ask are those accommodations being followed every time a test is given. With 20-30 kids in a classroom I seriously doubt it. I actually worked in one school where they though the accommodations I presented were only suppose to be followed in PE and other specialists. I set them straight but the Harvard educated program manager did not believe me. I think the biggest problem with accommodations is that it gives the parent and student the false sense that all will be well with accommodations. I have never understood why we are not front loading kids with specialized services when they are little but that is a topic for another time.
So what are your go to accommodations for you speech and language students? Who follows up on if the accommodations are being used? How do you measure if the accommodation is helpful or not? Do teachers come to you looking for help implimenting accommodations? Does anyone feel the same way I do that accommodations are taking the place of specialized instruction?