What are Accommodations and How Do I Know Which Ones I Might Need?
Read each question carefully and think about how it applies to you. Keep in mind that you are thinking about learning new, difficult information. On the line next to the question, put the NUMBER of the response that you choose:
1 - NEVER APPLIES
2 - SOMETIMES APPLIES
3 - OFTEN APPLIES
___ 01. It is better for me to get work done in a quiet place.
___ 02. I am not skilled at giving VERBAL explanations for directions.
___ 03. I have trouble reading if the print is small, blurry, or smudged.
___ 04. It is hard for me to read other people’s handwriting.
___ 05. I cannot study sitting at a desk.
___ 06. If I can’t think of a word I wave my hands and call it a ‘thingee’.
___ 07. I remember something better if I write it down.
___ 08. My eyes get tired fast although the eye doctor says they are OK.
___ 09. It is hard for me to understand what a person is saying when there are other people talking or there is music playing.
___ 10. I remember things that I hear better than things I read or see.
___ 11. When I read, I mix up words that look alike, like them and then and bad and dad.
___ 12. I don’t like to read directions first; I would rather just start doing.
___ 13. I enjoy doodling and even my notes have lots of pictures, arrows, etc. in them.
___ 14. I think better when I have the freedom to move around.
___ 15. I often get lost or am late if someone TELLS me how to get to a new place and I don’t write the directions down.
___ 16. Before I follow directions, it helps me to SEE someone else do it.
___ 17. I had trouble learning to read out loud when I was younger.
___ 18. It helps to use my finger as a pointer when reading to keep my place.
___ 19. If I am taking a test, I can ’see’ the textbook or notebook page where the answer is.
___ 20. If I had the choice to learn new information by lecture or a textbook, I would choose to HEAR it rather than read it.
___ 21. I tend to solve problems through a more trial-and-error approach, rather than a step-by-step method.
___ 22. When trying to remember someone’s telephone number, it helps if I try to picture it in my head.
___ 23. I find myself needing frequent breaks when studying.
___ 24. My written work doesn’t look neat to me. My papers have crossed out words and erasures.
___ 25. It’s hard for me to understand a joke that someone tells me.
___ 26. I understand how to do something BEST if someone TELLS me rather than if I read the directions myself.
___ 27. It helps me to LOOK at the speaker when I am listening. Looking helps me focus on what she is saying.
___ 28. I learn BEST when someone SHOWS me how to do something and then I have the opportunity to do it myself.
___ 29. Handwriting is tiring; I press down really hard with a pencil or pen.
___ 30. I do not get lost easily even in a strange place.
Find the corresponding question on the inventory and write your answer on the line:
01 _______ 03 _______ 02 _______
07 _______ 04 _______ 05 _______
09 _______ 08 _______ 06 _______
13 _______ 10 _______ 12 _______
15 _______ 11 _______ 14 _______
17 _______ 18 _______ 16 _______
19 _______ 20 _______ 21 _______
22 _______ 24 _______ 23 _______
25 _______ 26 _______ 28 _______
27 _______ 29 _______ 30 _______
Total: _______ _______ _______
VISUAL AUDITORY TACTILE
Interpreting the scores:
Find each numbered question from the list and place your answer of 1, 2, or 3 on the line matching that question on the chart above. When you have filled in all the numbers, add up your total in each column. The higher the score, the BETTER you are at using those skills. For example, if your total scores are: visual 19; auditory 25, tactile 23 you are learn BEST by listening, then using hands-on. You are not as comfortable with a textbook or a chart that no one has explained to you.
Your high scores are in auditory or listening skills and tactile or hands-on skills, with a low score in visual. This would indicate that you are probably weak in reading and comprehension, but do very well with oral directions and hands-on or paper and pencil tasks.
College faculty will employ combinations of visual, auditory and tactile teaching techniques. The information on the following chart will help you identify strategies and accommodations that you can use to reinforce learning in those modes where you are weak.