2e Tips - Managing Less Structured Times

Managing Less Structured Times Unstructured and less-structured times at school include independent work periods and downtime after completing required work in the classroom, as well as specials classes, lunch, and recess. Twice-exceptional students may struggle to make effective choices, resulting in emotional or behavioral difficulties during these times.

What I Observe

What I Can Do

My student gets off task and disrupts peers during independent work time.

Provide a visual reminder of expectations at their desk and give nonverbal redirections as needed.

My student does not start or complete required work during work time.

Structure work sessions using to-do lists of “must do’s” chunked into clear and manageable steps in sequential order.

My student is out of their seat and disruptive after completing their work.

Provide them with a list of acceptable activities (e.g., reading a book, drawing, etc.) they can choose from until other students are finished.

My student appears overwhelmed by increased noise or movement.

Provide sensory supports, including noise-cancelling headphones or a quiet sensory area, or allow them to leave the room when needed.

My student is always getting into trouble during recess and specials.

At the start of predictably difficult times, remind the student of key expectations and the rewards they will earn for meeting them.

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Twice-exceptional students often struggle to cope when tasks and/or expectations are unclear, resulting in behavior challenges and emotional distress. Intervening with challenging behaviors or emotions may resolve the difficulty in the moment, but proactive strategies will be more likely to prevent future problems.

Visual Reminders of Expectations Students may have difficulty generalizing regular classroom expectations to independent work time, which can lead to disruptive or off-task behaviors. Placing a visual reminder of expectations directly at the student’s desk can provide a proximal reminder of how the student should be acting and be a tool to facilitate nonverbal reminders (e.g., by tapping the visual). It is important to ensure that the student understands what the expectations mean, which may require direct instruction initially. The Vanderbilt University Kennedy Center offers a handout on using visuals with students with ASD.

Structure Work Sessions Students who have trouble prioritizing and planning their work completion might show behavior problems when they simply don’t know how to get started with work. Chunking independent work tasks into small steps (as described by Accommodation Central) and listing the steps in sequential order can reduce executive functioning demands to allow students to start and complete work more effectively.

Provide Appropriate Alternate Activities Students who finish work quickly may benefit from opportunities to select unobtrusive independent activities to engage with while waiting for the rest of the class to finish. For twice-exceptional students, it would also be worthwhile to consider increasing the difficulty level of assigned work if they are consistently completing grade-level work in that subject quickly and correctly.

Some students are easily overstimulated by noise and movement, which are much more common during lunch, recess, specials (e.g., PE, music, etc.) and sometimes independent work. These students benefit from sensory supports to reduce overstimulation, such as noise-cancelling headphones, quiet environments to decompress when needed, and possibly consideration of an accommodation to avoid predictably loud environments like the lunchroom or school assemblies.