504 plan accommodations to support school anxiety

504 plan accommodations to support school anxiety update#

She still benefits from this plan and we update it yearly based on her continued needs. This was, unfortunately, the case for my daughter and she truly needed the extra support laid out in the plan. This can include learning, reading, communicating, and thinking… … a disability must substantially limit one or more basic life activities. As far as the definition of disability under the 504 plan, explains it this way: What is a 504 plan?Ī 504 plan is a short document that lists accommodations/supports for the student and who is responsible for carrying these out. According to the Arizona Department of Education, “Section 504 (part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973)… is a civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities.”įor a child to be eligible for a 504 plan, they must have a diagnosed disability and it must be interfering with the child’s ability to learn in the school setting.

There are many options for accommodations and every child is unique in the accommodations that would best support them in a school setting. Some of these included (and still include): frequent movement breaks, preferential seating, the ability to stand if she needs to, the use of calming tools (stress balls, sensory items or fidget tools), extended time limits for testing, etc. They asked for my input, as well as my daughter’s input, on accommodations that would support her in school. The psychologist gave recommendations to the school psychologist and then we met with the teacher, the principal, and the school nurse. I was somewhat familiar with this as an SLP but didn’t realize how much the plan would support her in school. My daughter was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder a few years ago and her psychologist recommended a 504 plan. I recently posted on an amazing organization called Kid in the Corner that is working to connect at risk children in Arizona with mental health resources. This is a critical issue as more and more children are being diagnosed with mental health disorders. The school psychologists I’ve worked with have been great but were so busy with testing and meetings, often working at multiple schools, that it was impossible to provide support for every child who needed it. Many of the students I’ve worked with have struggled with mental health issues, and it was often tricky to get them the help they needed due to a lack of resources. I have observed a huge gap in mental health services in all settings, which is unfortunate and often a reflection of the state legislature’s educational priorities. There are school psychologists in public school districts, but they are often placed at multiple schools and usually have untenable caseloads.Īs a speech pathologist, I have worked in many school settings, including private, public and charter. Unfortunately, most schools are not equipped with enough mental health support. Does your child have anxiety or other mental health issues? Has this led to struggles in the school setting? My kids both have anxiety and this has made it challenging to navigate school at times.

504 plan accommodations to support school anxiety