Considerations-ADD/ADHD

    * It is your legal responsibility to provide the student anonymity from the other students (e.g., avoid pointing out the student or explicitly mentioning their accommodation need to the class).

    * Those with ADD/ADHD cannot voluntarily pay attention and suppress interfering activity that is going on around them.

Instructional Strategies-ADD/ADHD

    * Include a statement in your course syllabus regarding accommodation issues for students with disabilities. See the Suggested Disability Statement for course syllabi.

    * Students who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD often find it helpful when the course syllabus is written with clearly defined assignment deadlines as organization may be challenging for them.

    * If a student appears to be distracted, it might be appropriate to recommend to the student that they sit in the front of the classroom, away from windows, doorways, heating/cooling systems, or any other sources of potential distraction.

    * Break information into small steps while instructing on new tasks.

    * Students with ADD/ADHD frequently find it difficult to stay on task for long periods of time. If a class is longer than the traditional, 50-60 minute session, then offering a break after 45 minutes would be helpful.

    * Keep instructions brief and uncomplicated as much as possible. When repeating instructions, repeat exactly without paraphrasing.

    * Encourage the usage of spell-check and grammar-assistive devices.

    * For students needing other academic assistance, remind them of campus services such as the Writing Center, Tutoring Services, and the Academic Support Center.

    * Providing review or study sheets for exams is helpful.

 

Accommodations Commonly Used by Students with ADD/ADHD.

 

The following list includes examples of accommodations that are commonly used by students with ADD / ADHD. Not all students with ADD / ADHD are eligible to receive all of following listed accommodations, nor are they limited to those listed when receiving accommodations. Eligibility for receiving any kind of accommodation depends upon factors specific to the nature of the student's disability and the nature of the course in which the accommodations are to be used. The accommodations included on the SAAR form are approved by Disability Services and are considered to be both appropriate and required for that particular student.

 

    * Taped lectures

    * Extensions on papers/projects on a case-by-case basis (as negotiated with the faculty member)

    * Extended time (exams)

    * Distraction free room (exams)

    * Note taker / scribe

http://my.simmons.edu/services/disability/faculty/add-adhd.shtml

Modifications for Hearing Impaired Students

Various methods exist to help a student succeed. Some of the more common means of accommodation include the following:

    Note Taking

            Some schools facilitate the taking of notes for deaf or hearing impaired students. This allows the students to view a classmate's notes to fill in the “gaps” missed by the lecture. The difficulty, of course, is that note taking remains a subjective science, and not everyone agrees on what constitutes comprehensive note taking. This means of accommodation also further removes the deaf student from the dynamic of classroom participation.

    Sign Language

            Perhaps the most traditional form of accommodation is the use of a sign language interpreter. A difficulty with this system is that many hearing-impaired students are not fluent with American Sign Language. As growing numbers of deaf students grow up in non-signing homes and are educated in mainstream schools, it is increasingly common for individuals with significant hearing loss to lack a fluency in signing.

    Lip Reading

            Certainly the most cost efficient system for accommodation is to have the students lip read the professor. Difficulties with this system include the reality that some of the professor’s comments will likely be lost due to poor articulation and the speaker’s movements during class. Certainly, many of the student comments and the group interaction through the Socratic Method are at risk with this system.

    Lip Reading through an interpreter

            Some accommodations have been provided through the use of a lip interpreter who mouths/repeats everything said in class in a pronounced manner, aiding the ability to follow the class through lip reading. This person mouths in a whispering fashion what the professor and students say, but in a more exaggerated way. Of course, while some students are excellent lip readers, others lack this skill. In the end, the same difficulties can exist that arise from the use of sign language. Success is very dependant upon the fluency of the student in the method of accommodation provided.

    T-Coil

            This is a special digital device available on many hearing aids. Often used to tune in to the frequency of telephone calls, it can be adapted to pick up the microphone frequency of a professor. Of course, it creates the obvious problem of failing to pick up the interaction of classmates and class discussions. This is no small concern. The authors of this article had the pleasure of interviewing John Machiorlatti, a law student diagnosed with significant hearing loss. During our interview, he indicated that he recently used a stopwatch to track the amount of time in a class where the professor was talking vs. the amount of time where students were speaking. Not surprisingly, about 55 percent of the class was spent in student discussion.

    CART Computer Assisted Real Time Translation

            CART seems to be the preference of students such as the aforementioned Mr. Machiorlatti, as it is all-encompassing in its ability to capture whatever is said in class. The system uses a specially equipped stenographer, who transcribes the class in shorthand, generating an instant and complete transcript onto a student’s laptop computer. The inherent problems of fluency with other accommodation systems and the difficulty of dropped portions of classes are solved through the use of this form of transcription. The primary drawback to this system is that it is potentially cost prohibitive as it necessitates the hiring of a properly trained stenographer. An added benefit of the system is the ability to preserve an entire transcript of each lecture. The existence of a transcript could benefit other members of the student body who are absent due to an unforeseen circumstance such as illness.

http://www.michbar.org/programs/Disabilities_news_10.html