11d (edited) • Toolkits & Templates ✏️
Special Education Accommodations Cheat Sheet
💛 What Are Accommodations?
Accommodations do NOT change what your child is expected to learn — they change how they access learning so they can show what they truly know.
Academic Accommodations
Reading
- Text read aloud
- Audiobooks or Read&Write support
- Chunked text
- Simplified vocabulary
- Enlarged print
- Decodable readers
- Preview of vocabulary before the lesson
Writing
- Speech-to-text
- Sentence starters/writing templates
- Reduced writing load
- Scribe
- Typing instead of handwriting
- Graphic organizers
- Word banks
Math
- Calculator access
- Number lines, counters, manipulatives
- Step-by-step checklists
- Formula sheets
- Visual models
- Reduced number of problems
- Re-teaching using concrete examples
Executive Functioning Accommodations
- Extended time on assignments/tests
- Daily check-ins with teacher or case manager
- Breaking tasks into small, manageable steps
- Visual schedules
- Color-coded materials
- Extra processing time
- Clear written directions + verbal directions
- Frequent check-for-understanding
- Teacher-initiated prompting
Behavioral & Emotional Support Accommodations
- Sensory breaks
- Movement breaks
- Calm-down corner or quiet space
- Token system or positive reinforcement
- Check-in/check-out system
- Social stories
- Visual behavior expectations
- Access to preferred items for regulation
- Reduced transitions
- Predictable routines
- Counseling minutes (SEL, school counselor, social worker)
Communication Accommodations
- AAC device
- Core boards
- Picture Exchange (PECS)
- Visual supports paired with verbal instructions
- Opportunities to use gestures/signs
- Model language at the child’s level
- Processing time before expecting a response
- Communication breakdown scripts (“show me,” “tell me again,” “yes/no choices”)
Classroom Environment Accommodations
- Preferential seating (front, side, near teacher)
- Reduced distractions
- Small-group instruction
- Noise-canceling headphones
- Flexible seating
- Access to sensory tools (fidgets, weighted lap pad)
- Ability to stand, pace, or use movement
Testing Accommodations
- Extended time
- Quiet/individual testing area
- Test read aloud
- Breaks during testing
- Multiple sessions over multiple days
- Scribe
- Calculator
- Reduced answer choices
- Chunked tests
Transition & Routine Supports
- First/then visual cards
- Transition warnings (2-minute, 1-minute)
- Visual schedule
- Adult support during transitions
- Reinforcement for smooth transitions
- Practice routines in advance
Social Skills Supports
- Social skills groups
- Peer buddies
- Structured playtime
- Role-play practice
- Visuals for social expectations
- Explicit teaching of turn-taking, sharing, problem-solving
Sensory/Regulation Accommodations
- Weighted blanket/lap pad
- Compression vest
- Sensory diet
- Access to fidgets
- Movement breaks
- Deep pressure breaks
- Low-stim workstation
- Dimmed lighting
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Special Education Accommodations Cheat Sheet
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