What are examples of science lab accommodations for students with disabilities that impact learning and/or attention?

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Since each student's accommodation needs are unique and the student is often most knowledgeable about effective accommodations, be sure to talk with the student about what accommodations he/she might need.

Some specific accommodations that might be useful to a student with disabilities that impact learning and/or attention in a science lab include the following:

• Provide a lab partner.
• Allow extra time for set up and completion of lab work.
• Use a combination of written, verbal, and pictorial instructions with scaffolding.
• Demonstrate procedures and allow students to practice.
• Build-in frequent brief breaks.
• Give preferential seating to avoid distractions and minimize extraneous stimuli.
• Allow students to use a scanning and speaking 'pen' to scan and read written materials.

This list is from the DO-IT publication Making Science Labs Accessible to Students with Disabilities.

For more examples of accommodations that can be made in science labs consult the DO-IT Knowledge Base article What are examples of accommodations in science laboratories?

Last update or review: June 13, 2007