Adjustments

Adjustmentsaremeasuresoractionstakenin
relationtoteaching,learningandassessment
thatenableastudentwithspecialeducation
needstoaccesssyllabusoutcomesandcontent
onthesamebasisastheirpeers.Thetypesof
adjustmentsmadewillvaryaccordingtothe
needsoftheindividualstudent.

Adjustmentstoteachingand
learning

Astudentmayparticipateincommenting and
discussing by:

oralcontributiontoclassdiscussion

answeringclosedquestionsonatopic

Somestudentsmayrequire:

adjustmentstoclassroomorganisation
appropriatematerialsandresourcesthat
supportteachingandlearningactivities,eg
theuseoftechnology,alternateformatssuch
aslargeprint,diskorBraille,simplifiedtexts,
subtitledDVDs;oralsigninterpretersor
readersandscribes;modificationsto
equipmentorfurniture;andadjustmentsto
enableparticipationinfieldtripsand
excursions
adjustmentstotheamountofcontenttobe
coveredinaparticularlessonorunitofwork
orthetimeallocatedtocompletework

usingchangesinfacialexpression,nodor
gesturetorespondtoaclosedquestion,eg
Areyouplayinginasportsteamatschool?
selectingphotographs,picturesorsymbols
fromvisualaids,suchasadoubleitem
choiceboardorkeyringcluster,egthestudent
makesachoicebetweentwophotographsto
expressapreference(like/dontlike)
selectingsymbolsfromacommunication
boardtoexpressanopinion
usingacommunicationdevice,suchasa
voiceoutputcommunicationaid(VOCA),
eg thestudentleadsagroupdiscussionwith
prerecordedquestionsorapeerrecords
informationonacommunicationdevicefor
thestudenttopresenttotheclassduring
groupwork
usingassistivelisteningdevicestoparticipate
inandcontributetosmallgroupandwhole
classdiscussions.

considerationoftheirindividual
communicationstrategies,includingverbal
andnonverbalcommunicationsystems

Astudentmayparticipateinwriting orrecording by:

writingsimpleanswerstoquestions

additionaldemonstrationofkeyconceptsand
skillsbytheteacher,teachersaideorapeer

tickingprepreparedchecklists

arangeofappropriatelearningactivitieswith
structuredopportunitiesforguidedand
independentpractice,aswellaseffective
feedback
additionalsupportthroughgroupwork,
volunteerorpeertutoring.

Specificexamplesofadjustmentsareprovided
below.Someofthestrategiesmayrequire
additionalsupportfromtheteacher,teachers
aideorpeer.

usingphotographs,picturesorsymbols,eg
thestudentsequencespicturestotellastory,
combinessymbolstoconveymeaning,circles
aselectionofsymbolsonapagetocreatea
list
usingcomputersoftware,egthestudentuses
adrawingprogramandpicturestowrite,uses
scannedpicturesand/ordigitalphotographs
inamultimediapresentation,usesassistive
technologytoselecttextorpicturesfromthe
screen
usingelectroniccommunicationdevices,such
asspeechtotext.

Adjustments

Astudentmayparticipateinreading activitiesby:

readingsimplifiedtexts

readingtranscripts

followingatextbeingreadbyapeeroradult

followinganaudioormultimediapresentation
ofatext,orDVDwithcaptioning

Adjustmentstoassessment
Somestudentsmayrequire:

readingatextaccompaniedbyvisualimages
torepresentcharacters,settingsandevents
followingavisualsequenceofinstructions,
suchasavisualrecipeoravisualtimetable.

Astudentmayparticipateinlistening activitiesby:

listeningtoatextbeingreadbyapeeror
adult
listeningtoanaudiotext,multimedia
presentation,orDVDwithcaptioning
respondingtotoneofvoiceinconjunction
withfacialexpressions,gesturesand/or
physicalprompts
usingassistivelisteningdevices.

Astudentmayparticipateinviewing activitiesby:

viewingsubtitledDVDs
readingsummaries/descriptionsofthevisual
inputfromphotographs,multimedia
presentations,films,picturesandposters
listeningtoapeeroradultdescribethevisual
inputfromphotographs,multimedia
presentations,films,picturesandposters
whiletheyviewthevisualmediaor
multimediatogether
respondingtosensorystimuli,facial
expressions,gesturesorphysicalpromptsin
conjunctionwithtoneofvoice.

adjustmentstotheassessmentprocess,
eg additionaltime,restbreaks,quieter
conditions,ortheuseofareaderand/or
scribeorspecifictechnology
adjustmentstotheassessmentactivities,
eg rephrasingquestionsorusingsimplified
language,fewerquestionsoralternative
formatsforquestions
alternativeformatsforresponses,egwritten
pointformornotes,scaffoldedstructured
responses,shortobjectivequestions,or
multimediapresentations.

Decisionsaremadeatschoolleveltooffer
adjustmentstostudentswithspecialeducation
needsincourseworkandschoolbased
assessmentactivities,includingexaminations.

Additionalsupport
Somestudentsmayrequireadditionalsupport
beyondthatrequiredtodemonstrateachievement
onthesamebasisastheirpeers.
Thissupportmaybeaswellasorinsteadof
adjustments,andmayinvolve:

visualand/orverbalpromptswhen
undertakingclassworkand/orassessments
physicalpromptsand/orphysicalassistance
whenparticipatinginanactivity
provisionofpartialinformation/responses
to assistthestudenttodemonstrate
understandingofknowledge,skillor
concepts.