Accommodations vs. a Root Cause Approach in Learning Interventions
When your child struggles in school, learning interventions become a necessary part of your life. Learning just doesn’t come naturally to some kids, and supporting them where they are is critical to build up their confidence, excitement for learning, and ability to thrive in school. However, not all learning interventions are long-term solutions to actually address the underlying learning issues that are going on.
What You May Not Know About IEPs:
What is the Goal of an Accommodation?
The first level of learning interventions is typically an accommodation of some sort. Extra time on tests. Retakes or the ability to re-submit assignments. Taking tests orally. Doing tasks in a quiet room. All of these things are beneficial to get your child through the school year and to pass a class, but are they really “fixing” the learning struggle? Rates of accommodations have increased, yet performance on assessments continues to tank in American schools, so it’s important to look deeper.
Let’s look at it this way. If you break your leg, do you just stop using it for the rest of your life? Of course not. For a time you give it a break and let it rest, but then you do physical therapy and build your strength back up to get back optimal function.
The same goes for learning struggles. Accommodations should be that “rest period” while you dig in and find the reason for your child’s struggles—not the end-all be-all solution.
Accommodations Shouldn’t Last Forever
If your child has been given accommodations in school, it typically creates a cycle that they may never break out of. Without other learning interventions, they will probably continue to need these accommodations and adjustments because we are doing nothing to grow the actual skill that is weak.
And this is where a root-cause approach becomes so important.
A Root Cause Approach to Learning Interventions Digs Deeper
Instead of just saying the child needs extra time on tests, a root cause approach asks the question: “Why?”
Why is it hard for THIS child to learn in this environment? Why does their brain require extra time, and where is that hangup happening?
Or in the case of reading, what is the real reason for their struggle? (Because there are a wide range of possibilities, and if you just accommodate by doing audiobooks and oral assessments, you’ll never find out what it is.)
If you’re frustrated by the endless cycles of tutors and accommodations without seeing any measurable difference in your child’s independent learning skills, maybe it’s time for a different approach.
At LearningRx, we base all of our learning interventions on a cognitive skills assessment that shows us exactly where your child is struggling—and what we can do to make learning faster and easier!
Kids who have completed brain training programs have gained an average of over three and a half skill years in all key learning skills—in only about 24 weeks. This amount of momentum is a game-changer for kids where nothing else seems to be working, or who are frustrated and worn down by the accommodations they’re dealing with.
