Environmental Accommodations
- Provide preferential seating
- Moving student’s desk closer to teacher
- Seat near positive role model(s)
- Stand near student when giving directions or presenting lessons
- Place student near tolerant peer who will be helpful and understanding
- Reduce/minimize distractions (visual, auditory, spatial, movement)
- Increase distance between desks
- Provide study carrel/office area for student
- Provide privacy boards/other partitions
- Allow student to stand up at desk
- Allow student to reverse and straddle chair
- Plan student seating (bus, classroom, cafeteria, auditorium)
- Provide student with cooling off options (time and space to regroup)
- Post key rules
- Use of visual/graphic depictions of routines, procedures, steps
- Reduce auditory distractions through use of tools (e.g., earphones)
- Reduce noise level in room
- Experiment with background music at different times of the day and for various activities/purposes
- Reduce clutter in environment – especially in direct visual field
- Seat away from windows, doors, high traffic areas
- Provide student with 2 options of seating (e.g., desk a or b)
- Add color to increase focus on work (i.e., colored poster board under student’s work on desk)
- Define child’s work space and boundaries (e.g., colored masking tape)
- Use eye contact and voice modulation to maintain attention
- Avoid interruptions in classroom routine
- Establish calm, predictable environment
- Increase the structure of the environment
- Increase the monitoring and supervision
- Increase use of signals to alert students of approaching transitions
- Use discreet private signals with the student
- Personalize the environment and increase student ownership of environment