Reasonable adjustments are changes that your school or family makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage because of your neurodivergent needs around routine and change.  You can ask for reasonable adjustments to be made. 

Trying some of the following strategies might help the child to focus in class and improve their learning experience.

Learning

• Modelling or demonstrating activities alongside giving verbal information will support the child to learn.
• Ensure the child has time to complete a task before moving on.
• Give positive reinforcement through praise, attention and rewards after each step. 
• Provide a ‘time out card’, ‘toilet pass’ or other means to indicate that they may be feeling anxious and/or need out of class.
• Offer alternatives to handwriting, such as the use of IT
• Develop IT skills, including typing skills, word processing skills and voice recognition.
• Reduce the volume of handwritten content required by providing printouts/handouts,

Environment

• Consider where a child enters/exits the school environment
• Some children find the transitions moving through busy environments such as lining up or accessing stairs difficult to manage.  They may benefit from leaving lessons at quieter times to manage transitions to the next lesson.
• Try moving the child’s peg to one end of the cloakroom or allow them to organise themselves within the classroom.
• Lining up – if the student has difficulties with lining up consider where they may be in the line and when they may be asked to join the line.

The Classroom

• Consider positioning in the class.  Check that the student can access resources and areas in the class without barriers.  Sit the student so they are facing directly to the teacher /learning area.
• Consider routines and how these can support transitions within and out of the class.  Eg allow the student with motor skills difficulties to transition between activities in the class at a quieter time with a reduced number of students.
• Consider seating and comfort of the student.  Sitting on the carpet may not be appropriate for the student as maintaining posture and sitting may interfere with learning.

Organisation of the Classroom

• Limit number of personal belongings taken to and kept at school.
• Clear plastic pencil cases can assist organisation.
• Allocate a consistent place or clearly labelled container to store belongings e.g., file for homework sheets.  Ensure this place is accessible to the student.
• Use a colour coded system to label workbooks/files and to highlight work.
• Use a visual timetable/task list/list (pictures) to order the day’s activities to help organise child’s day.

Positioning within the Class

• Provide organised/un-cluttered workstations.  You may use privacy boards/partitions or reading/work areas.
• Consider the layout of the desks to reduce the chance of children being bumped or distracted by others walking past – if the child is left handed, sit them to the left of a peer to avoid bumping.
• Being aware of desk position, for example, sitting facing directly toward the teacher can improve focus.
• When floor sitting during lessons consider giving a child a visual cue about where to sit, for example spot/cushion/chair.  Where a child experiences difficulties with postural control, offer them something to lean against (eg wall or chair)