Anyone opt to homeschool very low function child?

[Summertime Mommy]

I have a dd who has very low functional skills. She is 7 and at approx 6 months developmentally. She is getting very little (other than illnesses and head lice) from being in school all day and I am considerring pulling her. Has anyone done this? How do yearly assessments work if I do this? Anyone have any experience with this?

[anj_rn]

DD is not old enough for school yet, but we will definitely be considering this. We will not be transitioning to school services at 3 yrs because we try to shield her from infection and school is a haven for germs.

[aslyn]

My DD is 9 and developmentaly about 5..we tried to homeschool initialy. honestly it was a nightmare. For us and her. I dont think we have the patience or skills to do it again. She is much happier at school. As for the assesments, we didnt have any until this yr and she was given the alternate assesment offered by the state for kids like her. i'd look into the law in your state and contact hslda

http://hslda.org/laws/default.asp

hth!

[NightOwlwithowlet]

We home school, but my son functions at age level in most areas. You might want to post in the home school forum. There is also a great book called "Disability is Natural' by Kathy Snow. It's about raising kids with disabilities and she offers a good argument for home schoolings kids with disabilities. She also has website by the same name. I don't agree with all her ideas, but found a lot of what she had to say empowering and refreshing.

[CarrieMF]

She is getting very little (other than illnesses and head lice) from being in school all day and I am considerring pulling her

If she's developmentally 6months old what would you like her to get out of school? What does the school say/are they doing?

[Linda on the move]

My DD is high functioning and we used to homeschool. She now attends school.

One thing to consider (which isn't popular to say on Mothering) is how you will take care of yourself. How you will get breaks.

I'm a far better mother to my sn child with her in school, and she needs people besides me interacting with her (she has autism). Homeschooling was extremely isolating for both of us.

My DD is also happier at school than she was at home, and feels more successful.

[Eyelet]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

My DD is high functioning and we used to homeschool. She now attends school.

One thing to consider (which isn't popular to say on Mothering) is how you will take care of yourself. How you will get breaks.

I'm a far better mother to my sn child with her in school, and she needs people besides me interacting with her (she has autism). Homeschooling was extremely isolating for both of us.

My DD is also happier at school than she was at home, and feels more successful.

Linda...this is exactly why I don't homeshool my DS, as well. He is low functioning and developmentally very behind. I feel he needs the regular interaction of having other adults in his life besides us. He also benefits from the daily therapies he receives at school.

My son truly enjoys school and I feel it's the best placement for him.

[rainbringer]

I like homeschooling dd - she is about three years behind other kids her age. I feel like she learns so much more at home and has better social opportunities (due to behavior issues she would probably be in a self contained classroom with other kids with behavior problems). I have to say it is really really hard to find time for myself though, or even to take care of the house. So I would recommend doing anything you can to find more support and make it easier on yourself.

[starlein26]

We homeschool because I can't imagine my son in school. I know he wouldn't be getting the same care/learning opportunities, as he does, here with me. BUT, I know that this isn't for everyone. All parents have a reason for doing what they do. If you feel that your daughter isn't necessarily benefiting from school, why don't you give homeschooling a try and see how it feels for you both?

[aslyn]

I'm kinda confused. OP are you saying your DD is 6 months behind or at the development stage of a 6 month old baby?

If it was the latter I would seriously consider finding out if there is a better placement for her because I couldn't imagine how they can educate her at that age level..I am not a professional educator, just a parent of a kid with an ID.

rainbringer: my dd is in a resource room all day, and none of the kids are in there because of behavior problems. There is 1 who is mute, another who wears a helmet, 1 who has downs, 1 para kid, and a few others I am not sure of but its not my place to ask.

[bandgeek]

My DD is 3 and we are going to *try* the school thing. Developmentally she is a newborn with a lot of medical stuff going on. Cognitively she's a little more advanced, although we can't tell how much further. She can operate switches with her head so we're working on that.

If school doesn't work out, we will do home-based so she can still get all the therapies.

I can't quite tell from your post, but is she also physically like a 6 month old, with CP or something similar? I think that is what is confusing the other posters.

It's not out of the norm to put very low-functioning children in regular classrooms, or integrated classrooms. I think some people may assume you "can't" educate a child like that or that they will not benefit from it. Some certainly do. A lot of kids who appear to be newborn level actually understand much of what is going on around them and being with their peers can improve their attitude and self-esteem. Of course, this is very individual. If your child is not benefiting, I would certainly pull her out. I would suggest looking into home-based services though.

[aslyn]

*open mouth insert foot*

I'm sorry, I didn't mean that they couldn't be educated..I just don't really understand what the OP's situation is. I am sorry if my wording came off as negative, I sometimes don't type things the way I mean them..and I can totaly see how it can help to be in school, just being around other kids is a really big deal for my DD..She's very social, and typical kids want nothing to do with her because they think shes weird.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by aslyn

I can totaly see how it can help to be in school, just being around other kids is a really big deal for my DD..She's very social, and typical kids want nothing to do with her because they think shes weird.

one thing that I really don't understand about my DD is that she is NOT social at all, would never choose to be around other people, and doesn't interact with other kids at school BUT she is still happier when she is attending school. She was dx with clinical depression towards the end of homeschooling, but is now happy. Being around the other kids and adults is REALLY good for her emotionally, even though she would never choose it. That doesn't make sense to me.

[noahparthasmom]

Hey there! We have three children with special needs. Two are high functioning and go to public school and our oldest (who is 9) is low functioning and is homeschooled.

The main reason we decided to keep Noah home is because he's not potty-trained. He gets very embarrassed and starts acting up (hitting himself or pulling our hair) if someone new tries to change him or if we change him in front of people. Plus, he has sleep issues and is frequently up in the middle of the night and was sleeping at school.

Having said that, I love having him home. Our homeschool is very very basic. We do Brain Gym exercises. I do a lot of OT type stuff with him... swinging and spinning and sensory play. I read to him a lot (I firmly believe he has a 9 year old brain trapped in the body of a one year old). And we've just started a "2 goals a month" plan. Basically, I was getting overwhelmed thinking of all the things that Noah needs to do and learn. I mean, he doesn't dress himself or wash his hands or anything. And I have a habit of wanting to do everything all at once and then throwing in the towel. Consistency was hard for me. So I had to take a step back and tell myself that 2 goals a month = 24 mastered goals a year... and that's more than he has now!

So, this month's goals are getting him to push a shopping cart at the store - with me walking him behind him with my hands on his hands on the cart.... because he's getting heavy and it hurts to lift him into the basket. And the other goal is for him to bring me things that he wants. For ex... right now, at bed time, my husband says, "Noah, get your book and bring it to Mommy." And then my husband takes Noah to the spot where we always keep his bedtime book, picks up the books (hand over hand), walks it over to me and gives it to me. I say, "Noah! You want me to read your book?" And then I read that. Hopefully, after a month of doing this everyday, he'll start bringing me a book whenever he wants me to read to him.

And then we'll move on from there.... learning to wash hands. Spending a month straight learning how to put on a shirt. And so on.

We're also hoping to eventually buy an Ipad and download some of the apps they have for nonverbal children. Once that happens, the bulk of our homeschool will be in helping Noah learn how to communicate that way.

Let me also say that although Noah's been home for awhile now, it's only in the last few months - especially since my youngest is now in full-time kindergarten - that I've really been able to sit down and work with Noah. And he seems to thrive with the 1 on 1 attention.

Hope this helps!

Leslie
Mom to Noah (9), autism and CP

[BookGoddess]

Leslie - I loved your post and your explanation of what/how you're doing things with your son.