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Making accommodations in youth development programs

By Darcy Cole

Young girl wearing noise canceling headphones
Youth development professionals need to ensure accessibility to youth of all abilities. Many times, our programs have a disproportional under-representation of participants with disabilities. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2020 - 2021, the number of students ages 3 - 21 who received special education services was about 15 percent of all public school students. Here in Minnesota, that number is 16.9% of students. Given these statistics, one would assume that our youth development programs would have a similar percentage of participants with disabilities, but this is generally not true. One possible reason could be that families may not feel that our programs can make the necessary accommodations needed for participation. 

The Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act requires that people with disabilities be provided “reasonable” accommodations and prohibits discrimination based on a disability. Accommodations minimize the barriers to individuals so that they can participate and are generally considered reasonable if they do not change the overall nature of the program or alter the essential components. For example:
  • A youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder was easily distracted and had trouble focusing. To help them be as successful as possible, we reduced clutter, background noise, and distractions. We also encouraged them to use fidgets, noise canceling headphones, their choice of seating/standing options, fluorescent light covers, and provided a space to take needed sensory breaks.
  • A young person had difficulties with fine motor tasks such as handwriting or handling items, so we provided cups with handles to make holding easier, deep bowls/plates to make scooping easier, mounted scissors to make cutting easier, raised-line paper, pencil grips and grip tape on items such as markers. We also allowed them the opportunity to share their thoughts verbally to a partner, rather than in writing. 

Three types of common accommodations include:

  1. Environmental - Arranging spaces intentionally for specific purposes and easy access.
  2. Materials and supplies - Adapting materials and supplies to make them accessible, providing a variety of materials, creating visual interest, using assistive equipment, and providing fine and gross motor supports.
  3. Teaching methods - Simplifying what you say and do, using a variety of communication methods, and using visual supports and cues.

Here are some simple examples of each type of accommodation:

Table of accomodations: Environmental, Materials and Supplies, and Teaching Methods

As a youth development professional, what types of accommodations requests have you received and made? How comfortable are you in navigating requests? How do we ensure that volunteers who need to support accommodation requests are comfortable and able to assist? How are we communicating our willingness to make accommodations?

-- Darcy Cole, Extension educator

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Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing these specific ideas to try. I can see many of these ideas being helpful for youth without disabilities too! I think it's always helpful to ask: What could help you be successful?

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    1. Yes, Sarah, many times the accommodations that we make benefit everyone regardless of whether or not they have a disability. That's part of the beauty of making accommodations because they're about providing more support, which everyone would value from. Yes, the question of "What could help you be successful?" is so important and leaves a great opening for families to really tell you what they need.

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  2. Thank you Darcy for the great examples of accommodations! It can be simpler than we think at times. Communicating with parents and caregivers that we are supportive of offering accommodations is important. Creating a culture of open communication can go a long way for families to share what they may need to be successful in our programs.

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    1. Anna, you are so right that accommodations don't have to be complicated. Communicating our support is so important to building trust with our families, which in turn leads to them being more open to really telling us what they need to be successful.

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  3. What a wonderful, thought-provoking topic, Darcy--I especially appreciate you raising the issue of parity because it really is striking how far off we are from that. Or, alternatively, we may indeed have that many youth with disabilities, and we may not even know it sometimes. But that means we are not providing the accommodations that could help set them up for success. I have found the most common needs for accommodations I have encountered recently are around ASD and mental health needs, especially anxiety. Some of the accommodations you list make me realize how many options exist that I don't even know about! Thanks for raising our awareness and helping challenge and support us to do better.

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    1. Kathryn, I'm glad that you found this post useful. The question of parity is an important one because we're just not there yet as far as representation in our programs. There most certainly are youth in our programs that receive extra supports at school, but we don't know about since it's a family's choice if and what they disclose to us. As we know, some tell us everyone and some nothing. I think we've all be in situations where we know that there's something going on even though the health information doesn't list any needs. Thanks for sharing your recent experiences! I think that needs around ASD and mental health will only continue to increase in our programs.

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  4. Thank you for sharing this Darcy. This is really interesting to read some of the ways we can change our way of delivery to help best serve our audience. I have learned that it is best to be open and ask families the best way to serve their young person. It creates an open line of communication and allows for both parties to learn best.

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    1. Abby, as you mention, open lines of communication with our families is so important since they're the ones who best know their child and what they need.

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  5. Thank-you for sharing your insights via this blog post, Darcy! Your passion for inclusion and equity shines through as you continue to challenge youth workers to think about what "welcoming all" really means. I love the chart you provided with examples of accommodations. As others have addressed in their comments, those individual relationships with youth and families is key in understanding how we can set-up our spaces so each person can thrive. And the thing about accommodations is that what benefits one individual might actually benefit the larger group as a whole!

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    1. Jenny, I'm glad that you found the chart valuable. Yes, relationships are so important in all youth development, but especially this work. As you mentioned, the beauty of making accommodations is that often times the changes benefit everyone and not just the individual that we're making the accommodations for.

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