Use and Acceptability of Writing Adaptations for Students with Disabilities: Survey of Grade 3–8 Teachers

One hundred forty-one teachers in grades 3–8 indicated how frequently they made 24 writing instructional adaptations for students with disabilities. They also rated the acceptability of each of the 24 adaptations on three dimensions: effectiveness, effort needed to implement, and implementation knowledge. Teachers reported making 16 different adaptations monthly or more often, and 10 at least weekly. The most common adaptation was allowing extra time to complete writing assignments. The least common adaptations included extra handwriting instruction, opportunities to compose via dictation, and homework to reinforce skills. Teachers viewed most of the adaptations as acceptable, and views on acceptability made a unique contribution to predicting reported use of adaptations, after variance due to student and other teacher variables was controlled.