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Accommodations vs. Modifications? The United States clumps accommodations and modifications under the term reasonable accommodations, but other countries, such as Canada make a distinction between the two. An accommodation describes an alteration of the environment, curriculum format, or equipment that allows an individual with a disability to gain access to content and/or complete assigned tasks. Since accommodations do not alter what is being taught, instructors should be able to implement the same grading scale.  Some examples of accommodations include: preferential seating, audiobooks, and speech to text technology. A modification describes a change in the curriculum. Modifications are made for students with disabilities who are unable to comprehend the content. For example, assignments might be simplified, or a student might receive a foreign language exemption. Some reasonable accommodations are difficult to discriminate and teeter between an accommodation and modification. For

The brain is much like the body.  If we exercise areas that are weak or underdeveloped, we can overcome significant difficulties.  In fact, we may even be able to turn a weakness into a strength. Just like a personal trainer or physical therapist can strengthen an underdeveloped bicep or repair a sprained ankle, a learning specialist or educational therapist can remediate troublesome cognitive processing areas like visual processing or auditory memory.  In fact, I often tell my students that I'm a personal trainer for the brain. What is Cognitive Remedial Therapy? Cognitive remedial therapy involves activities that improve mental abilities such as attention, working memory, reasoning, visual and auditory processing, cognitive flexibility, processing speed, stamina, organizational skills, time management and more.  In addition, educational therapists and learning specialists can use activities to strengthen other areas of weak cognition such as language, as well as visual and audito

This post shares my most recent video blog. Stan Gloss joins me again for a demonstration of Voice Dream Reader as well as a discussion about the many benefits of this text to voice technology for individuals with dyslexia. Resources mentioned in the video podcast: Voice Dream Reader: http://www.voicedream.com/reader/ Bookshare: https://www.bookshare.org/cms Learning Alley: https://www.learningally.org/  URL: https://youtu.be/5cdVCQoiTqU A Breakdown of the Video: 01:29 Downloading Voice Dream Reader from iTunes 02:26 A document that reviews what’s new on Voice Dream Reader 03:17 How to adjust the speech rate 04:30 Managing and downloading voices 05:45 Learning Ally audiobook option 06:48 Adjust text size, spacing, and margins 09:07 Syncing iCloud with Audiobooks in Voice Dream Reader 11:05 Text sources for Voice Dream Reader 11:48 Using Bookshare with Voice Dream Reader 14:32 Using Bookshare and Voice Dream Reader as a reasonable accommodation for students with dyslexia 16:16 Adjusting

As much as we would like to think that the public school system will accommodate the individual needs of our kids, many administrators don’t like to dip from the general education fund for a single student. As a result, parents often have to fight to obtain reasonable accommodations for their children that have learning disabilities as well as other disabilities that impact learning. The key to navigating this rocky river is to understand the laws and lingo that offers mandated accommodations so that you can be the best possible advocate for your situation. This blog will compare and contrast the mandates required for both 504 and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) designations. What are the Laws that Mandate 504 Accommodations? 1) Rehabilitation Act 1973, 1993, 1998 This 1973 Act bans discrimination against students with learning disabilities by any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, including schools. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act "No otherwise

This blog shares my most recent video podcast featuring artist, videographer and dyslexia advocate Mike Juggins. This is third of many free video podcasts and vlogs for Go Dyslexia! Mike is passionate about raising a greater understanding and appreciation of dyslexia and other learning differences. Joining me from Devon, England, for a video podcast, Mike takes us on a tour of his free website, Dyslexic DaDa, that celebrates the strengthens of dyslexia. In addition, he offers stories, strategies, technology tips and more. Resources mentioned: 1 Dyslexia: What it is all About: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDUfVCo6ito 2 The Gift Dyslexia – Mike Juggins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDDP9Oeag3g 3 Dyslexic Dada: http://www.dyslexicdada.com/ 4 Inspiration: http://www.inspiration.com/ 5 Zoom Video Conferencing: http://www.zoom.us/ 6 Irlen Colored Glasses: http://irlen.com/ 7 Mike Juggins Art: http://www.mikejuggins.co.uk/ URL https://youtu.be/_XozsnO9kbs A Breakdown of the Video: 01:1