And the answer is…….                                        

Again, there is only so much you can do to control the environment, and keeping a lecture hall of students quiet before class is unreasonable.  Even requesting that the instructor not play music is unreasonable, if he has determined the music improves the learning experience for the majority of students.

B.  Meet with Paula Pupil privately, as you suggested about Laurie Learner, and determine what seat would be optimum.

C.  Also while meeting privately, negotiate under what conditions Paula may take a break from the classroom when needed, without disrupting the rest of the class in the process.

D.  Limit group discussions to a reasonable number, and never penalize for lack of participation.

These are all good alternatives, and I bet you can think of more. 

The down-side to reserving a seat for Paula is, of course, that the student’s confidentiality is compromised.  This is a trade-off she is going to have to come to terms with and decide what is personally preferable.