504/School Play

[Anonymous]

OP, gently: this isn't an area for an accommodation.

I have a teen with anxiety and a 504. Yes, 504 plans apply to after school activities. No, casting someone who had a poor audition isn't a reasonable accommodation.

Theatre is a very welcoming community - if your daughter doesn't get the part, please encourage her to join the crew. It's a great way to be involved and make like-minded friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:every child is nervous when auditioning, trying out for a sport, etc. this is developmentally appropriate. It is not in any kids best interest for a parent to try to snowplow a situation like this. Let your child experience failure

Mine isn't. Autism FTW.
He might care what you thought if he remembered you were there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t the school play an extracurricular activity if the daughter isn’t taking it as a class? I don’t think 504s cover extracurricular activities.

j

If it happens at school or on the school bus, even if it is before, after or during lunch, it is/can be covered by a 504. For example, a school play director might give a child more time to learn lines, let them use a small cue card for longer than others, direct them to an audio recording of the play, etc.

Why is it covered by a 504? It's happening on school property, with the support of school personnel.

https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.afterschool.crabtree.htmlf

The only question in the 504 scenario is what constitutes a "reasonable accommodation"?

At a certain point you are going to burn yourself and your child and the school staff out if you insist on everything being a federal case. Yes I do believe that extracurriculars should be sensitive to SN but if you’re having to wave the 504 around you might need to stop for a minute and reflect on whether the activity is a good fit.

This. Teachers and school staff become resentful of IEP and 504 students because of stuff like this

[Anonymous]

Do not bring it up. Theater directors are already stretched thin and they will not give your kid a good role if they also have to manage extra accommodations. Most theatre kids have anxiety and are quirky. It is a lot to deal with

[Anonymous]

Accommodation explicitly does *not * mean adjusting standards. Even if someone gets from X to Z by using different tools or different amounts of time, they are supposed to be evaluated on Z, not Y. I have students with accommodations for spelling, for example, but that does not mean they are allowed to not write in full sentences or to not finish a paper.

Let's say for the sake of argument that this is for a theater *course,* so the 504 applies. Accommodation during an audition might look like an extra 10 seconds for the student to breathe deeply and drink a sip of water between excerpts. Or it might look like being auditioned before only the selection committee and not the whole bunch of other kids who are waiting their turn. It would not, however, look like casting a person whose audition did not demonstrate that they could perform the part to the standard required by the production.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Accommodation explicitly does *not * mean adjusting standards. Even if someone gets from X to Z by using different tools or different amounts of time, they are supposed to be evaluated on Z, not Y. I have students with accommodations for spelling, for example, but that does not mean they are allowed to not write in full sentences or to not finish a paper.

Let's say for the sake of argument that this is for a theater *course,* so the 504 applies. Accommodation during an audition might look like an extra 10 seconds for the student to breathe deeply and drink a sip of water between excerpts. Or it might look like being auditioned before only the selection committee and not the whole bunch of other kids who are waiting their turn. It would not, however, look like casting a person whose audition did not demonstrate that they could perform the part to the standard required by the production.

Best post in this thread.

Also, OP, accommodations are not provided retroactively. If there was something your child needed to make auditions go smoothly, you/she should have asked ahead of time. Accommodations don't mean that the person gets extra points (on a test, in an audition).

[Anonymous]

I'm a new poster but want to reiterate what others have said. 504 plans do apply in all school activities. So whatever is listed in your daughter's 504 plan would be provided in the play (e.g., access to breaks, extended time). Depending on what is in the plan and how accommodations are written, certain things may or may not apply. For example, if she has extra time to turn in assignments, that would not apply to being in a play because there are no assignments. If she has access to breaks when requested, that would apply.

If your daughter needs the accommodations in her plan in this setting, then she should definitely share or ask the counselor to. However, it would only be those accommodations. The director does not have to (and shouldn't) take her anxiety into account when making casting decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a mom of a theater kid with anxiety, I can assure you that MANY theater kids have anxiety and many of them perform not as well at auditions due to nerves. My dd doesn’t have anxiety during a show after months of rehearsals, but auditions are terrible for her. You know what helped? Doing more auditions. Preparing. Getting older.

If your daughter knows you told the director about the 504, she might not feel that she actually earned a spot. Don’t take that away from her. Maybe she’ll be small parts for now, ensemble roles, background, tech crew. If she thinks she got a pity role or mommy intervened, it may not help her manage her anxiety, it may do the exact opposite of what you hope for.

Excellent points. Anxiety is not treated with accommodation.

Accommodations aren’t treatments for any condition. They are tools that help people access environments and activities.

This. There are accommodations for anxiety. For instance, a flash pass to go to the counselor’s office when student is overwhelmed or a smaller testing group with more breaks during testing. My dc with anxiety has a daily medication for anxiety that she takes at home, but she also has a different, quick acting drug that is kept in the health room for the rare occasions that her anxiety starts spiraling out of control. Permission to visit the nurse to take this medication could be an accommodation.

[Anonymous]

Your child is brave enough to audition for a school play something a large percentage of students wouldn't try. In that context how anxious could your child be? Why would you email the director instead of celebrating with your child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your child is brave enough to audition for a school play something a large percentage of students wouldn't try. In that context how anxious could your child be? Why would you email the director instead of celebrating with your child?

Good point right here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your child is brave enough to audition for a school play something a large percentage of students wouldn't try. In that context how anxious could your child be? Why would you email the director instead of celebrating with your child?

Good point right here

I would add that any conversation about the 504 should be between your brave kid who is taking a huge chance and their counselor or even with the director. Let him/her advocate for themselves. "I'm sharing my accommodations with you bc there may be times when I need a break while working on the play" or "I don't want you to mistake my anxiety for disinterest so I'm sharing my 504 Plan with you. I'm excited to be part of this play in any capacity."