The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines special education as specially designed instruction that involves adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child with a disability, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction.​ Some of these adaptations affect the way in which academic material is presented and evaluated and might benefit all students. These are referred to as basic instructional supports (Mann & McKeithan, 2024). These include:

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

• Task Analysis (breaking down complex tasks into simpler ones)

• Relevance (teaching content that is relevant to the learner)

• Clarity (clearly state learning objectives)

• Visual supports

• Variety of assessments (flexibility in how students demonstrate what they have learned)

 

Beyond these, instructional supports specific to disabled students might take the form of modifications or accommodations.

An accommodation changes how a student learns the material. A modification changes what a student is taught or expected to learn (Mann & McKeithan, 2024).