"Fair" doesn't mean "the same" (part 5: making the right decisions)

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Wow! This series was supposed to only be two posts, but it turned out that I had enough useful tips for five. This is the final one, but please check out the other four if you missed them:
In this post, I'll be sharing largely from the research of Bryant, Smith, and Bryant, as shared in Teaching Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Classrooms (2008). They recommend this framework for making decisions about modifications and accommodations, which creates the acronym ADAPT.

ASK "What am I requiring the student to do?"

DETERMINE the prerequisite skills of the task.

ANALYZE the student's strengths and struggles.

PROPOSE and implement adaptations from among the four categories:
  1. instructional content
  2. instructional materials
  3. instructional delivery
  4. instructional activity
TEST to determine if the adaptations helped the student accomplish the task. [If not, go back to the beginning and repeat the process! And, remember, a "test" can simply be a checklist or an observation.]

This framework has been more beneficial to me than any other. However, it was not designed for ministry settings, so please do not forget that every step, every conversation, and every interaction needs to be bathed in prayer. God is the One guiding it, and He's the One who knows what each person needs. He made them to have those needs, just as He made you to have certain needs. Don't let anything related to accommodations and modifications or any other aspect of ministry (special needs related or not) become dry; let it be overflowing with the living water that only comes from Christ.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" {Christ, in John 7:38}

I hope it (and this entire series) has been helpful to you and your ministry!