Your Child’s Accommodation History is More Important Than You Might Think

A few years ago, a friend called me in a panic.  Her child had been diagnosed with ADHD in the sixth grade, went to a small private school that had accommodated him, but the school did not create a formal accommodation plan.  He was now a junior in high school and had applied for SAT accommodations but was denied because there was no written history of accommodations having been needed or given.  His grades were above average, and he could not produce an official accommodation plan.  Everyone was stunned but should not have been because the standardized testing groups are very clear that students need to demonstrate a history of need.

If you are thinking, “oh no, I’m in the same boat,” don’t worry yet.  You can create a history that will prove that your child is accommodated but it will take effort and organization on your part.  It’s much easier to build the history as it happens, than to try to find the information well after the fact. 

So, how do you build the history if your school doesn’t write accommodation plans?  You do it by keeping a chronology of emails, meeting notes, teacher’s notes, and report cards.  You will want to start by dedicating a binder to this effort when your child is tested and receives accommodations.  You will put the original testing in the first section with the notes from the meeting with the school.  Follow up with an email…”just wanting to confirm,” and put that email and its response from the school in that first section.  Section two of the binder will be all interactions and correspondences dealing with accommodations from the remainder of that school year.  Each subsequent year will have its own section in the binder.  If your child has retesting prior to applying for standardized testing, you will create a section that is exactly like section one and begin the process again with grade level sections following the testing section. 

Now you understand why you will want to build the binder as you go; trying to find all of the information after the fact is doable (my friend won her appeal) but its quite a task to produce.  Even if you have accommodation plans, these binders can be invaluable if you are caught in an appeal or if colleges question an accommodation.  Being prepared to demonstrate need is the best plan of action.  Being able to produce your child’s accommodation history help you rewrite smart.