Accommodating the Space Needs of Students with Disabilities

There was a student in one of my classrooms who had Cerebral Palsy. He needed a walker to get around the school, which took up a lot of space in the small classroom. He also used a Neo (a small wireless keyboard) frequently as an accommodation for his classwork, which took up a lot of desk space. At the beginning of the year, this student's desk was near the door where the teacher thought he would have more space for his walker, but instead, his walker was blocking both major pathways in the classroom. Students would trip on it or block this student's ability to move. Something that worked much better in a later seating arrangement was putting this student next to an empty desk. He was able to put his Neo on or in the empty desk and leave it there when it wasn't in use, freeing up his own desk space. He also tucked his walker under this empty desk like a chair, so it was right next to him and easily accessible, but didn't block his own pathway or the path of his classmates.