As a parent, what is my role, and what can I do to best support my child’s education?

Many students, not just those with attention issues, are reporting that it is hard to pay attention while learning at home. To support your child, you can:

Eliminate distractions. Move him away from the window, turn off the TV, and clear the counter, table, or desk.

Break an assignment into smaller pieces. Ask her to read two or three paragraphs at a time instead of a complete chapter. Let her do four math problems then take a brief break before doing more.

Build in frequent breaks. Even a short 90-second break can help your child recharge and reset.

Adjust the length of time. Divide a long learning session into smaller pieces. If your child is supposed to read for 30 minutes, let him take a break every 10 minutes—it doesn’t have to be completed all at once.

Change the schedule. If your child has more trouble focusing in the afternoon, schedule harder subjects in the morning and easier activities in the afternoon. Keep in mind that older kids might be able to focus better in the afternoon.

Reading is a challenge for many children with disabilities. If your child struggles with reading, you can:

Ask a family member for help. You might be used to helping your child with her reading. If you are busy, other family members can read assignments, books, or instructions to your child. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

For online learning:

Turn on the accessibility features on your tablet, computer, or phone. Many devices have built-in text-to-speech. For most devices, you can turn these on in “Preferences” or “Settings.”

Turn on the speech functions in the apps that your child uses. Some apps, like Microsoft Word ™, now have setting options to read highlighted text out loud.

Sign up for a Bookshare account. Bookshare provides free digital access to thousands of books in formats like audio, audio + highlighted text, braille, and large font. Bookshare is free for students with a qualifying reading barrier, including dyslexia, blindness, low vision, and cerebral palsy. Before signing up, check to see if your child already has an account through her school.

Whether you’re reading with your child or she is working independently, there are some simple things you can do to help her make sense of what she’s read.

Connect to what she knows. Find ways to link her past experiences to what she’s reading about now. These connections will help her make sense of what she’s reading.

Ask questions about what she read. Vary the types of questions you ask:

• Factual. “What was the dog barking at?”
• Make connections between events or information. “Why was Beth the only sister who got sick?”
• Make predictions. “The two countries could not agree to peace terms. What do you think will happen next?”

Try a reading activity. There are several very good activities listed on Page 4 that can help your child improve her understanding.

Some kids might have trouble following directions because they can’t remember what they’ve been asked to do. There might be too many steps for them to remember. Others have difficulty following written instructions. Maybe they have trouble making sense of what they just heard because they process information slowly. Here are some things you can do to help.

For written directions. Ask your child to:

• Read the directions and tell you what they mean.
• Identify important words in the directions.
• Make a checklist of what to do.

For real-time virtual classes. Show your child how to:

• Unmute the microphone and ask the teacher to repeat instructions she might not have understood the first time.
• Use the “chat” feature to type a question to the teacher.
• “Chat” with a classmate for help. Before the class, ask the teacher whether this is OK and also ask a classmate so that he or she is ready to help.
• Record the lesson and play it back later.

For pre-recorded classes or video lessons. Your child can:

• Rewind and play back the instructions as many times as needed.
• Hit “pause” and write down the instructions.

Because schools and districts closed down so quickly, many of them did not have time to make certain their virtual platforms were accessible for children with disabilities. The good news is that most school districts are aware of this issue and are working hard to fix it.

The accommodations that some children receive at school can be changed a bit and used for learning at home. Consider a child who has an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. As long as she can see her interpreter in a virtual environment, this accommodation can still work just fine. The teacher, family, and interpreter should plan and test ahead of time to work out any problems that might occur.

Sometimes you might need to use a different accommodation. In the case of the child in the example above, she might need captions when a live video feed is not an option.

If your child’s school is using accessibility features that are not working for your child, let the school know. Be specific. Explain why the feature is not working and how it could be improved. If something doesn’t work, don’t give up. Sometimes it only takes a small change to get things on the right track. Other times you might need to try something else.

The centers below are funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. These centers all have new resources to support the learning of children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic that might be helpful:

• Bookshare
• National Center on Accessible Educational Materials
• National Center on Deaf-Blindness
• National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes. Note: Although the center focuses on the transition from high school to life beyond, it has many resources that are also relevant for younger students learning at home.