Distance Learning when Your Child has an IEP or 504 Plan

Online learning is our children’s reality for the foreseeable future.  If your student normally has a special education teacher, case manager, paraeducator, or aide in the classroom with him or her, the idea of doing it all from home is especially daunting.  How can we possibly give our children what someone with specialized training can?  We reached out to a Special Educator in Montgomery County Public Schools and asked her what she does routinely that parents might not think of.   This was her advice:

Keep the expectations reasonable.

It’s not the time to expect your child to learn new material.  It is a time to fill in the gaps.   Master basic math facts.  Practice reading.    Often students receiving special education services in a mainstream classroom have to move forward with the class whether they are ready or not.  This can leave gaps in their skills.  If you aren’t sure which skills still need to be mastered, email your child’s special education teacher or case manager to find out.   Try asking “What is the one academic skill that my child really needs to work on?”

Prepare your child to be in a learning mode.

Talk about the assignment before asking them to start working on it.  Ask what they think the book will be about.  “Do you know anything about that topic already?”  Look at any pictures.  Ask “What do you see?”  It can also be helpful to read it aloud together and talk about the material throughout.  ‘What just happened there?” or “What do you think will happen next?”

Consider your child’s particular needs.

When starting an assignment, ask yourself “What skills are missing in order to do this assignment?   What part of it will be hard for this child?”   Offer support that will help bridge those gaps.  Go back and look at your child’s 504 plan or IEP to see what accommodations happen in school setting, and try to offer them at home.  For example, if your child uses a “scribe” for writing work, offer to write what she dictates.  Use technology to have materials read to your child if needed.

For math assignments (grade 3 and up), provide a multiplication table as a resource.

Even a child who doesn’t understand multiplication can look it up on a chart, and it keeps them from getting stuck on this step in more complex problems.  For students whose work doesn’t involve multiplying yet, an addition or subtraction facts chart can serve the same purpose.

Break the work into more steps, and make it tangible.

Multiplying 12×3 involves first imagining 12 groups of 3.  Taking the time to gather beans, paperclips, or other small objects into 12 groups of 3 can make this concept clearer.

We would add one more piece of our own advice.  Keep the expectations reasonable for yourself and your family too!   If your 6th grader can’t work independently at homework time, she won’t suddenly start being able to work independently now.  If working from home only leaves you 30 minutes a day to support your child’s studies, choose what to prioritize during those 30 minutes and don’t expect more of yourself or your child.   The constraints on your time are real, and so are your child’s needs!

Special Thanks to Kristin McNavage, M.Ed. in Special Education and General Education, for serving as our consultant for this post!