C = Concepts
A =Accommodations
M = Modifications
P = Peers
E = Evening
R = The Three "R's"

Step #1 - Concepts: During the summer before each school year Mike's parents review the teachers class curriculum for the upcoming year. From the curriculum we identify Key Concepts from each class, each subject and each section that we would like for Mike to learn. Just prior to the start of school in August we meet with all of Mike's teachers, intervention staff, aides and the principal at what we call a planning party. This is a brief 90 to 120 minute party where we quickly read through the Key Concepts and we discuss strategies, class schedules and changes. This meeting also doubles as a pep rally. Note that many of the Key Concepts are identified in class or at home, at the spur of the moment, throughout the year.

Step #2 -  Accommodations: Mike has always and continues to receive additional time for tasks. Mike is always seated next to a compassionate peer in class. The peer is sometimes one that also needs additional help. In this way Mike and the peer can help each other. In grade school Mike has had an individual aide. The aide makes every effort to make Mike more independent.  The aide will jump into help Mike when it is apparent that he is uncertain about what to do next. In the Middle school Social Studies class and sometimes science this has become more of an issue. Mike is sometimes called on by the teachers just to keep him involved in the classroom discussions. This is especially effective when Mike actually knows the answer. In classroom assignments are typically worked on with help from a peer or the aide.

Step #3 - Modifications: Homework assignments are greatly modified to match the Key Concepts. The number of questions completed are reduced. The actual questions themselves are re-worded and modified.
Making modifications prior to classes, during class and prior to testing is the bulk of an aide, teacher or Intervention Specialists work.

Step #4 - Peers: When in elementary school consider utilizing peers quite a bit. Target compassionate children that like that will be patient with your loved one and perhaps like helping him or her. A child that also needs some extra help may make a good peer partner for your loved one. Having a peer mentor on occasion is a great break for your loved one that is often shadowed by an adult aide or teacher. 

Step #6 - Evenings: Your loved one should be included in school with only a few exceptions. Some of the work discussed during the school day will need to reinforced every evening at HOME. Nearly every evening you should be working on math, reading and sometimes writing. Vocabulary should be reinforced at home in the evening. Other homework will need to completed when it's assigned. Make sure that your loved one is not doing twice as much work as a typical child... but it is necessary to push your child and this includes homework, nearly every evening.

Step #7 - The Three R's: The school Mike has been attending has always has Math and Reading classes held at the same time throughout the school. In this way kids can move to their appropriate instructional level for these classes. Mike has typically gone to work one on one with an aide during these two periods. On some occasions Mike moved to a lower grade for reading class. During Writing class Mike has typically stayed in his grade and worked on a slightly modified assignment. 

This is the method we've been using. It's simple but it's work... sometimes a lot of work. Sometimes we don't know what we're doing. But we always know we're going to do something.

Communication between the parents and the teachers is important. Regular meetings are valuable to discuss how things are going.