Learning differences at school: support plans & speaking up

Many teachers will happily try simple changes, like a different seat, notes from the lesson, or extra time on a task. Asking early and kindly is often the fastest way to help.

Many schools offer extra teaching in small groups for students who are falling behind, and watch how they respond. Schools may call this Response to Intervention (RTI) or a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS).

The U.S. Department of Education has said a response-to-intervention process cannot be used to delay or deny an evaluation for special education. You can ask for an evaluation at any time.

Section 504 is a civil rights law. Public schools must give each qualified student with a disability a free appropriate public education: regular or special education, plus aids and services, designed to meet their needs as well as other students’ needs are met.

A student may qualify when a physical or mental condition substantially limits a major life activity, such as learning. This is decided case by case.

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) comes from a law called IDEA. It is for students who need specially designed teaching because of a disability. It includes measurable goals and, from age 16 at the latest, plans for life after school.

Specific learning disabilities are the most common reason U.S. students receive special education.

• Extra time for assignments or tests
• Splitting a long test over several days

Extra time helps when reading, writing or working with numbers takes longer, not because the student knows less.

• Working in a small group
• Working one-on-one with the teacher

• Books and lectures in audio
• Copies of the teacher’s lecture notes
• Large print, Braille or digital text

• Answering out loud or dictating answers
• Using a word processor
• Using sign language or a communication device

• Lowering the reading level
• Making assignments less difficult
• Using a peer tutor

Modifications can be the right choice for some students. It is worth asking how they might affect grades, credits or diplomas in your state.

Ideas to ask about

• Audio books and digital text
• Extra time for reading-heavy work and tests
• Having test questions read aloud, if allowed
• Not being asked to read aloud without warning

Ideas to ask about

• Copies of class notes
• Dictating answers
• Grading ideas, not handwriting, where possible
• Using a word processor

Ideas to ask about

• Extra time on math tests
• Fewer problems that practice the same skill
• Small-group or one-on-one teaching
• Splitting long tests into parts

Ideas to ask about

• Extra time for written work
• Using a word processor
• Working one-on-one or in a small group for new skills

ADHD often comes with other conditions, including learning disorders, anxiety and sleep problems.

• “Here’s what I’m noticing at home. What are you seeing in class?”
• “Homework that should take 20 minutes is taking over an hour. Can we look at that together?”
• “He knows the answers when he says them out loud. Could he show his learning that way sometimes?”
• “Her plan says she gets notes. Is that happening in every class?”

• “You’re not following the plan.” (Try: “Can we check how the plan is going?”)
• “She just needs to try harder.” (Effort is rarely the problem.)
• “He’s lazy at school.” (Hard tasks can look like not caring.)

• Talk about their learning difference in simple, kind words
• Practice one short sentence, like “Can you say that again, please?”
• Celebrate when they ask for help
• Name what they are good at, often

Federal rules say the child can be part of their own IEP team whenever appropriate. Even young children can share what they like and what is hard.

• Help them email a teacher themselves
• Invite them to part of the plan meeting
• Role-play asking for an accommodation
• Let them explain what helps in their own words

How much a student leads depends on their age, needs and abilities.

In a student-led IEP, the student takes a leadership role in decisions. This can improve school results and outcomes after high school.

• Ask to read your plan, in full
• List what is working and what isn’t
• Think about your goals after school
• Write down two things you want to ask for

• Ask questions if words or acronyms are confusing
• Bring notes, or ask someone to read them for you
• Say what helps you learn in your own words
• Share your strengths, not just your struggles

• Explaining what helps you in one or two sentences
• Keeping copies of your plan and evaluations
• Knowing who to ask when something isn’t working

Glasses don’t give someone an unfair advantage in reading. They let them see the page. Accommodations work the same way for learning differences.

An accommodation helps a student work around their disability while meeting the same expectations as everyone else.

• “My brain reads differently, so I get a bit more time.”
• “It’s like glasses, but for tests.”
• “Everyone needs different things. This is mine.”
• “I’d rather not talk about it.” (That’s OK too.)

Teasing about learning, reading aloud or getting help is not harmless. Tell a teacher, counselor or parent. Keep a note of what happened and when.

• Find activities where they shine, like art, sport, music or building
• Praise effort and problem-solving, not just grades
• Share stories of people who learn differently and thrive
• Talk openly about the learning difference, so it isn’t a secret

College students must register with the school’s disability services office to get accommodations. Each college sets its own documentation rules.

• Adapting how a course is taught
• Exams that measure what you know, not your disability (unless that skill is what is being tested)
• More time to finish a degree
• Swapping some required courses

A college does not have to change a requirement that is essential to the program.

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) gives free, expert, confidential guidance on workplace accommodations. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. Website: askjan.org. Phone: 800-526-7234.

U.S. Department of Education-funded Parent Centers work in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Pacific areas. They help families of children and young people with disabilities from birth to 26.

Find yours at parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center.

Local parent groups, school parent-teacher groups and online communities can help you learn the system, find advocates and feel less alone.

Having one adult at school a student can go to when something isn’t working makes speaking up much easier. Ask the student who that person could be.