School personnel are concerned about the effects of family-of-origin issues on students' academic performance and psychological development. One area that has drawn particular interest in recent years is that of students who are children of alcoholics (COAs). Most literature related to student COAs has emphasized the idea that families with an alcoholic parent are disrupted, and their disruptions are presumed to increase the need for psychological interventions in the schools. Of 12 school-based interventions described in recent literature, 11 were intended to improve psychological functioning. Little consideration has been given, however, to whether student COAs may need different instructional practices as well as psychological support; only one of the 12 interventions emphasized cognitive functioning. Yet, studies have revealed that student COAs tend to score lower than their peers on intelligence tests. They also have more difficulty with visuospatial learning tasks. These findings seem to suggest that more attention should be given to meeting the unique cognitive needs of student COAs. This paper will include some suggestions that educators might use to appropriately modify instructional practices for COAs. (Contains 26 references.) (Author)