Dawn Torpey is a Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant (LDT-C) with over 25 years of experience as a Special Education Teacher, Child Study Team member, and private evaluator. She has earned an MA in Learning Disabilities and an Ed.S. in Education, Leadership, Management and Policy. She has received training in multi-sensory education. Dawn's testing clients have included children, adolescents, and adults
Accommodations that may be recommended for clients at different life stages:
School-age Children
Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Section 504 Plan: We may recommend asking the child's school to develop an IEP or Section 504 Plan. Both of these are legal documents for students with disabilities that outline the child's needs and the services or accommodations/modifications they will receive
Extended time for assignments and tests: This accommodation allows students to demonstrate their knowledge while working at their own speed
Preferential seating: Placing the child near the teacher or away from distractions
Organizational systems and visual aids: These may include digital apps, color-coded folders, graphic organizers, checklists, or locker/desk organizers
Multi-sensory learning strategies: These involve using a combination of visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile methods to help students learn and retain information. For example, Orton Gillingham is a multi-sensory, structured, and sequential approach to reading instruction
Technological Supports: Recommendations may include the use of audio books, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, screen-readers, or specialized technological tools such as sound field amplification systems, to support reading, writing, speech and language, attention, or organization.
Individual or small group instruction: Some students require more individualized learning experiences and teacher attention than typically offered in schoolÂ
Teens
Extended time for classroom and standardized assessments: This accommodation allows students to demonstrate their knowledge with diminished stress due to time constraints. Extended time may involve allowing the student to be tested over multiple days
Extended time for assignments: A teen may need this accommodation due to a diagnosed disability, such as dyslexia or ADHD which causes them to process information and complete tasks more slowly than would be expected
Assistance with planning, organization, and time-management: Explicit instruction and support in these areas can help teens better manage and prioritize assignments, projects, and deadlines
Note-takers: This accommodation may be needed due to disabilities affecting a teen's ability to listen, process, and write at the same time
Preferential or adaptive seating: Students may benefit from certain classroom seating options that improve focus, attentiveness, and engagement or that better support their physical needs
Technological supports: Recommendations may include the use of audio books, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, screen-readers, or specialized technology to support reading, writing, speech and language, or organization
Modified assignments: These may include, reducing the number of items on a page or worksheet or breaking longer assignments into shorter, manageable chunks
Alternative response methods: These may include allowing a verbal response instead of a written one
Adults
Workplace accommodations: In the workplace, supports may include modifications to schedules, tasks, equipment, or the work environment itself
College accommodations: These may include preferential seating, extended time for assignments and tests, teacher or student notes, or testing in a small group environment
Assistance with planning, organization, and time-management: Explicit instruction and support in these areas can help adults better manage and prioritize responsibilities and deadlines
Retention strategies: These may include the use of digital planners, calendars and reminders
Anxiety reduction strategies: Adults may benefit, whether at work or elsewhere, from techniques that help them diminish stress and maintain a calm emotional state