What accomodations should be made in an IEP for a child with OCD?

Question

What accomodations should be made in an IEP for a child with OCD?

Answer 1

The IEP should list some of the issues that the child has and specify how the school should respond.  So -- s/he is a compulsive handwasher:  the school doesn't punish the child for taking too long in the restroom.  If the student needs to be moving all the time, then the school agrees that silently wiggling fingers or feet under the desk is okay.  If your child freaks out when his backpack is out of sight, then the backpack always stays with him.  

If there are things that can't be reasonably accepted -- say, a child who is disruptive or cheats -- then you can construct appropriate responses and rewards to encourage better behavior.  Whatever the issues are, you need to make a list of your particular child's differences, and come up with a rational way of handling them.

Answer 2

There are no right/wrong answers to that question, it depends on the specific individual.  What does your student/child NEED from the school/teacher/support staff/environment to be successful in school?

Answer 3

It totally depends on what the child's areas of need are most.  It also depends on the environment that they are placed in.

Answer 4

Some accommodations that might help are:

*More time for assignments and tests

*Allow for late arrival at school if it is difficult to get the child to school.

*Establish acceptable cues for the teacher to use to help a student get unstuck.

*Allow the use of a tape recorder if they fear paper and pencil.

*Allow use of an interupter such as a rubber band on the wrist.

*Allow the child to vary the work sequence.

*Assist the child with establishing less disruptive compulsive behaviors.

*Use a timer to signal transitions.

*Allow student to use an alternate schedule when stuck.

*Establish and reward competing behaviors for the disruptive compulsive behavior.

*Allow use of a pen for children who erase compulsively, or the computer for written work.

These are just some of the alternatives to use. I hope it gets you started.

Only choose those you actually need, otherwise people tend to not implement any of them. In fact, you will have to check after a couple of weeks to make sure they ARE being implemented!