Explain what it means to adapt the environment for those with special needs.

There are two categories of adaptations:

Table of Contents Show

Make the Abstract More Concrete
Check the Mode of Instruction
Making Adaptations to Include Children with Special Needs
General Modifications to Accommodate Children with Special Needs
Modifications for Children with Specific Disabilities

1. Accommodations

Accommodations is a type of adaptation that creates a personal learning environment for a child by altering instruction, classroom environment, assessment and/or other materials and attributes in order to provide a student with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in class activities and demonstrate knowledge and skills.

Accommodations do not fundamentally change the instructional level, content or learning expectations of the course, standard, or assessment. They are intended to help students overcome or work around their disability and fully access the general education curriculum, without changing the instructional content.

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Source: About.com

While teaching social-emotional learning (SEL) is important for all students, it is especially important for students with learning, attention, and social differences who may show lagging SEL skills.

Accessing SEL and mindfulness in traditional ways may be challenging for students with special needs. Hence, the need for educators to take steps to ensure that all students are benefiting from these lessons. Here are some general guidelines for adapting practices with students with learning challenges.

Make the Abstract More Concrete

SEL and mindfulness often require abstract thinking, such as inferring what another person is feeling or understanding the nuances of what it means to “listen” or “pay attention.” This can be challenging for students with learning disabilities who are more concrete or literal thinkers and have trouble with abstract reasoning. Students with intellectual disabilities are also likely to struggle with understanding the purpose of a mindfulness or SEL lesson without instructional supports.

Therefore, before starting any lesson on a social-emotional concept (e.g., respect, kindness, empathy, trustworthiness), educators need to break down the concept in ways that make it less abstract.

An educator wants to teach her class about respect, but knows that students struggling with verbal reasoning may have trouble grasping the meaning of “respect” in a definitive way. To help her students, she brings in stories, visual aids, and role-playing scenarios that provide examples of what respect and disrespect look like in action.

A teacher wants to infuse mindfulness as a habit of mind in his classroom and prompts students to “pay attention” during activities. Knowing that the direction “pay attention” is abstract, he thinks through what paying attention actually entails. He breaks down the concept into a whole-body listening mode where students can see that “paying attention” is not just about listening with ears, but also involves not talking, trying to keep the body still, and thinking about what you’re supposed to be thinking about. He creates a visual aid and models what “paying attention” does and does not look like before beginning a mindfulness practice.

Before teaching a lesson on “filling up each other’s buckets with kindness,” an educator makes an adaptation to the lesson to help one of her mainstreamed students with an intellectual disability understand the lesson better. Before the lesson, she asks another student to be a buddy to the student with a disability. She teaches the buddy student to help her peer sort pictures of children doing kind or not-kind behaviors into buckets marked “kind” and “not kind.” This makes the task more concrete and visual for the mainstreamed peer—and also gives the buddy peer a chance to practice kindness by helping teach the lesson.

Check the Mode of Instruction

Many SEL practices involve reading, writing, and sharing verbally. For a student with a language-based learning disability (e.g., Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, or Receptive/Expressive Language Disorder), these practices can pose a challenge.

A student with a verbal or written expression disability may struggle with practices that involve reflection and expression. A teacher with a student who has a writing disability notices that journaling is difficult for this student, so he provides sentence starters as scaffolds. For instance, instead of “write down three things you are grateful for and why,” the teacher gives the student a pre-printed prompt that reads, “I am grateful for ________ because _________.” The teacher also lets the student sometimes draw what they’re grateful for—or tell a peer.

A teacher leads a morning circle activity where students discuss a prompt. A student with verbal expression challenges needs “priming” for the prompt (i.e., extra “think time” before sharing his thoughts). With this in mind, the teacher provides a written prompt on the board before the morning circle and then has a quick chat with the student to spark his thinking. The student also has a “cue card” ready with his written answer before beginning the activity, so he doesn’t feel pressured or put “on the spot.”

A high school teacher assigns a novel for the whole class to read, asking students to respond to the text using a prosocial lens; she plans to use character analysis to teach a deeper social-emotional concept of compassion. The text chosen is beyond the reading level of one of her students. The teacher conferences with the student before the assignment and collaboratively problem solves by giving the student a few options, including: 1) allowing the student to listen to the book on audio before the class discussions, 2) assigning the text early so the student can read it with the Resource Specialist or tutor—in advance, or 3) selecting an alternative text.

Your job is to make sure staff members can meet the needs of all the children in their care, including children with identified special needs. This lesson will focus on ensuring the learning environment is adapted so all children can participate fully.

As a teacher, you know how important it is to plan teaching strategies and activities that match young children's developmental needs and characteristics. Children with a learning disability, speech or language disorder, hearing or visual impairment, physical disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or other type of impairment may need special accommodations or modifications in the classroom. One of the best ways you can support children with special needs is by changing the classroom environment to increase children's participation in activities. The authors of Themes for Inclusive Classrooms offer the following examples of ways you can adapt your classroom environment for young children with special needs:

Offering alternative seating arrangements is a great way to support children with disabilities. Depending on the needs of the individual child, you can have them sit near you or a peer buddy, in a quiet area of the classroom, or provide an alternative seating option (such as a K'Motion Stools) that will help them focus in class.
Rearranging the layout of the classroom, especially in regards to classroom furniture, can also help children with special needs move more easily around the classroom.
Limiting visual clutter on walls can help reduce distractions for children with autism or ADHD.
Play soft music or provide white noise throughout the day to help with sensory stimulation.
Reducing the noise level in the classroom can help children with a visual or hearing impairment.
Changing the amount of lighting or brightening or dimming lights can help children with autism or a visual impairment.
Adapting furniture by lowering chairs or securing desks and creating slant boards throughout the classroom for writing support can help children with a physical disability or orthopedic impairment.
For children with a cognitive and/or developmental delay or an orthopedic impairment, consider using pegs to adapt handles on doors, shelving, coat racks, backpack areas, and puzzles.

Accommodating and modifying your classroom environment can help children be successful learners and be an active participant in classroom activities, but remember that deciding which accommodations or modifications you should use will be mostly dependent on the individual child and your teaching objectives. For more information about adapting classroom environments for children with special needs, read Themes for Inclusive Classrooms and browse our special needs and inclusion materials.

Many child care providers work with children who have disabilities or special needs. Remember that children with special needs are children first, and have more similarities than differences from children without disabilities. Every child has a unique personality and special skills. Keep your primary focus on each child’s strengths and abilities as you work to make modifications and adjustments.

Making Adaptations to Include Children with Special Needs

Each child is different, and each delay or disability will require different modifications. Child care providers should gather as much information as you can about the child and the disability, and learn about typical modifications that can be made. The child’s parents and professionals who work with the child can be a tremendous resource. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or make suggestions.

Many of the adaptations that you make to your child care program will be simple. Often, the modifications will also benefit the other children in your child care program.

General Modifications to Accommodate Children with Special Needs

Plan together. Parents, consultants, and caregivers need to set goals together. Ask to be a part of the team that develops and tracks the child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) so you can discuss activities, exercises, and supports needed to reach goals. Goals should be simple and should match the abilities of the child. Always discuss your ideas and plans with the family.
Modify toys and equipment. Simple changes often can be made to regular toys. For example, you can help a child who has difficulty with stacking rings by simply removing every other ring. For a child who has difficulty holding a bottle, cover the bottle with a cloth sock so little hands can grasp it better.
Make small changes in your child care environment. Slight adjustments in your child care environment may make the time that a child with special needs spends with you easier and more enjoyable for everyone. A quiet, private space for play may help an overactive child. A child with poor vision may benefit from an extra lamp in the play area. Removing a rug that slips will help a child who has trouble walking.
Model appropriate behaviors. Children with special needs are sometimes timid about playing with others. You can show them how by being a play partner yourself. You might play a game with the child or pretend to go shopping together. As the child becomes more comfortable, you can invite other children to join your play activity.
Teach specific words and skills that will show how to find a playmate and how to be a playmate. Learning how to look directly at another child when speaking or to say “May I play?” are big steps for some children.
Teach typically developing children how to talk and play with children who have a disability. Talk to the children about what to do. For instance, gently touching the shoulder of a child with a hearing impairment or looking directly at him while talking are effective ways of getting that child’s attention.
Look for strengths as well as needs. Avoid becoming too focused on a child’s disability. Treat each child as a whole person. Provide activities that will support a child’s strong points. Every child needs to feel successful and capable.
Consult with parents, health care professionals, and early childhood specialists. Parents and specialists can provide specific information and suggestions for working with a child who has a disability. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Parents sometimes take it for granted that caregivers will know what to do.

Modifications for Children with Specific Disabilities

The following links can give you specific information on adapting the child care environment to meet the needs of children with certain types of disabilities. When you read this information, remember that every child and every disability are different.

More information about supporting children with special needs is also available in the eXtension Alliance for Better Child care section on Child Care for Children with Special Needs.

Photo by Pam Cleverley, Perry Bisman / CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en