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BY PEGGY GISLER AND MARGE EBERTS

How Accommodations Can Help Adhd Students Investigating New Apps

QUESTION: My ADHD child in middle school has extended time and note taking accommodations. Is it likely that these accommodations have really been helping him this year? Is there anything that might work better? – Concerned.

ANSWER: Your child is either receiving his accommodations because of a school intervention plan, a 504 plan, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or a plan developed by a private school. All interventions are usually put in place by a team. You should have been present at the team meeting and been able to ask questions. When you left the meeting, you should have received a copy of the written plan.

At any time, you can request for the team to meet again to look at how the accommodations are working for your son. There are two easy ways to find out how well the accommodations are working. First, simply ask your son if they really help. Second, look at his grades and comments on papers and report cards.

Usually, extended time means that your son is taking his tests in another room with other students who are also receiving extra time. Note taking accommodations usually mean that he should be receiving a copy of the teacher’s notes. Both of these accommodations should definitely help him. He should use the notes he receives to correct and fill in any missing information from the notes he takes in class.

Other accommodations that could be added to his plan, if necessary, are having tests read to him, being able to use notes or study guides when taking his tests, or having shorter tests. Word banks are another accommodation that can be added when students who are answering an essay question would have trouble spelling or coming up with words needed to respond to a long-form question.

QUESTION: What pitfalls should you warn your children about when they start using a new app?

– Avoiding Dangers

ANSWER: Almost all children became more savvy users of electronic devices during the pandemic. You definitely want your children to enjoy using their electronic devices, but you also want to protect them from the drama of cyberbullying and oversharing. Keep in mind that most apps do build in features to disable things that could be a possible danger to young users.

You should personally use all apps that your children have to make sure the app employs appropriate language for the age of your child and the content is appropriate. Safety is all-important, too, especially when your child is using social media apps because your child’s location can be tracked to within a city block, and posts may include their location. Make sure to turn off location settings on the phone and in the app. Check to see whether previous posts include location information and delete them.