Each year I have at least one student who just isn’t able to keep his or her desk organized no matter how many times we clean our desks or how many organizational frameworks I set up. (Or, there may be a student who can’t resist playing with things in the desk during instruction).  In the past I have had those students keep their things in a large crate or bin under the desk.  One year I had a student who needed extra support beyond that and I set up this cart for "John".  His desk was completely empty and turned around so that he couldn’t put anything inside.  Instead, he used the cart, which had sections labeled for all his belongings.  It was much easier for him to keep organized this way and I could tell with a glance when things were out of place and give him reminders. 

Displaying Assignment Accomodations

The student described above also had accommodations for his assignments, so whenever I expected him to do something different than what the others are doing, I wrote it on the wipe-off board hanging above his cart (see photo above).  The board, an eraser, and a marker stuck to the shelf behind his cart with Velcro so it was easy for me to change his assignments.  If the board was left blank, he knew he was supposed to do what the rest of the class was doing. 

Accomodating ADHD-Type Behaviors

There's nothing more annoying to most teachers than a child who is constantly out of his seat and wandering around the classrom.  However, it's usually a much bigger problem for the teacher than for the students.  You may find it effective to allow students to stand up/ move around at their seats during lessons as long as it is not disruptive to others.  Put the student's desk off to the side where it's out of the sight range of the rest of the class when they are looking at you.

Behavior Management for Special Needs Kids 

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