Thinking Outside the Box: Making Accommodations for Students with Special Needs

In special education, no two students are the same. Some learners require constant redirection and support from a one-to-one paraprofessional, while others simply need a daily check-in to stay grounded. The reasons behind these needs can vary greatly—intrusive thoughts, trauma histories, emotional dysregulation, or even ongoing environmental stressors. As educators, our job is not just to teach content—it’s to create pathways that allow every student to access learning in a way that works for them.

The Power of Flexibility

Making accommodations is not about following a script—it’s about observing, listening, and being flexible enough to adapt when something stops working.

For one of my students, self-regulation comes through music. When she listens to her favorite playlist, she can focus, block out intrusive thoughts, and stay calm enough to complete her work. For another student, focus came through movement—he needed to pace. So, we designated a section of the room where he could walk back and forth during lessons.

These may seem unconventional, but they worked. That’s the essence of accommodations: meeting the student where they are, even if it looks different from what we’re used to seeing in a classroom. Sometimes a strategy will stop working, and that’s okay. Students grow, situations change, and so must we.

But sometimes—nothing works. There are students whose internal worlds are so turbulent that every strategy feels like it fails. In these moments, our most powerful tool isn’t the accommodation itself—it’s consistency.

I have a student with ADHD who is not intrinsically motivated. After completing his work, he often feels he has to do something else—he can’t just stay in the classroom. He’ll leave, wander, or seek out stimulation elsewhere. Rather than fight this pattern endlessly, I made an agreement with him: before he walks out, he gives a simple signal—a thumb pointed toward the door. This signal doesn’t prevent him from leaving, but it does create a bridge of understanding. It tells me he’s aware of his impulse, and it gives us a way to communicate nonverbally in the moment.

This may not seem like progress in the traditional sense, but it is progress. He’s showing awareness, communicating, and trusting me enough to signal what he’s feeling internally. As special educators, we must learn to recognize and honor progress in its smallest, most incremental forms.

Reframing How We See Our Students

One of the most meaningful shifts I’ve made as a special educator is in how I view my students. I often think of my most challenging learners as clients rather than traditional students. Seeing them this way helps me maintain perspective—it allows me to be empathetic but professional, compassionate but structured. It creates a healthy boundary where I can focus on progress without getting emotionally overwhelmed by setbacks.

Here’s another lens educators and caregivers might use to better serve students with complex needs:

See Them as Treatment Collaborators

Students with special needs—especially those with emotional or behavioral challenges—are active participants in their own treatment. When we see them as treatment collaborators, we invite them into the process of understanding their triggers, needs, and progress. Asking questions like “What helps you stay calm?” or “What do you notice when you start to get frustrated?” allows them to co-design their own supports.

This not only builds trust but also strengthens self-awareness. It shifts the student from being a passive recipient of interventions to a partner in developing coping strategies.

Seeing Ourselves as Treatment Facilitators

In special education, especially when working with students with emotional disabilities, we must remember that we treat—we do not cure.

It’s natural for educators to carry high expectations for their students; that’s part of our passion and purpose. But sometimes, those expectations can unintentionally become unrealistic if they aren’t aligned with where the student actually is in their emotional or developmental journey.

When we see ourselves as treatment facilitators, we shift from trying to fix students to helping them stabilize and grow within their own reality. We focus less on forcing outcomes and more on creating consistent, structured opportunities for progress.

This mindset also protects our own emotional well-being as educators. It reminds us that success in this field is not about achieving perfection or “curing” behavior—it’s about being a reliable, compassionate presence in the ongoing process of healing and learning.

By embracing the role of facilitator rather than fixer, we respect the complexity of our students’ inner worlds while maintaining the steadiness they need from us.

Staying Adaptive and Human

Accommodations aren’t just technical adjustments—they’re acts of understanding. They remind us that behavior is communication and that every student is doing the best they can within their circumstances.

Sometimes, there will be no quick fix—no strategy that magically turns things around. But our consistency in how we respond, how we set limits, and how we maintain connection can become the very structure a student needs to grow.

As educators, we must remain flexible, curious, and willing to rethink what support looks like. Sometimes the best accommodation isn’t written in an IEP. It’s in how we respond to the student in front of us—how we listen, how we adapt, and how we keep believing that progress, even when it’s slow, is still progress. Charles Mathison is a special needs educator and school administrator in New York City.  1. Fuchs, Lynn S., and Douglas Fuchs. “Educational Accommodations for Students With Disabilities.” Frontiers in Education, vol. 6, 2021, [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.795266/full ]

2. Migliorati, Marco. “Rethinking ‘Cure’ and ‘Accommodation.’” Disability and Political Theory, edited by Barbara Arneil and Nancy J. Hirschmann, Cambridge University Press, 2017, [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/disability-and-political-theory/rethinking-cure-and-accommodation/1170787C499882D01A6C44EE240E99D7 ]

3. “Trauma-Informed Practices.” National Education Association, 2024, [https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/trauma-informed-practices ]

4. “Why Consistency is Important in Behavior Management.” HMH Blog, 2024, [https://www.hmhco.com/blog/why-is-consistency-important-in-behavior-management?srsltid=AfmBOoo08VitI-KrmBPg37-U-nV7LLJTe ]

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