Talk to me about homeschooling a special needs child....

[amj'smommy]

Currently my 5 yr old ds (PDD/NOS) is in kindegarten at a public school in our city. He has been there since he was 3 (2 yrs of half day preschool w/ 2 hrs/day of aba therapy) He is in full inclusion kindegarten this year with no aba. He does have a "shadow" therapist so to speak who is in the classroom with him for about 1 1/2 hrs to encourage him in the social aspects ie turn taking, playing with other kids etc. He is doing good in school and I am comfortable in sending him there, he has a great teacher and all the kids in his class seem to love him but a part of me wants to give homeschooling a try...maybe to see if I can do a better job then the school is doing??? (I don't know...) I also have a 6 1/2 yr old dd (no special needs issues) that I would be homeschooling also. I guess my feeling/wanting to homeschool is that if he is no longer recieving aba therapy (which did work wonders for him IMO) then he is just "going to school" for the purpose of going to school and why can't I do what they do there for him at home? I guess I'm just wondering how it goes for those of you who do homeschool a special needs child. I think I'm also looking into the future and worried that he will be made fun of as he gets older and possibly at his own expense (you know... other kids laughing at him and him laughing along not knowing that they're making fun of him) so why let it get to that point THEN pull him out when the damage has been done. I don't know.... sorry if this doesn't make any sense... I'm still working it out in my head. Oh and also my dh is worried if we homeschool that he'll be missing out on the social aspect of school and with him being PDD/NOS he needs the social aspect (so says dh). So... how does it work for your family? TIA

[boysrus]

I homeschool my 8 yo who is an aspie.
I have always wanted to hs, and when I found out he is a "square peg" I was more resolute.
Positives: no social pressure. Just dealing with the social pressures of school is enough to send kids over the edge. How then can they learn?
Lots of space. My son spends large chunks of his day alone. He needs a lot of quiet time.
Tailoring learning to him. He is eight and studying quantum physics, but he can't print legibly at all and is grade level for math. SO, we plod through Handwriting without tears and do a math workbook, and the rest of the time just give him access to great books.

We take him to speech therapy and occupational therapy, both are private practices. We are going to start doing counseling again. We also do the Y, Library and church for social things.
His counselor raves and raves and raves about him and how well adjusted he is and what a great job we do with him.

Oh, and one more thing. For most kids with pdd, the social aspect is not a positive aspect of school. You can find much more positive ways to socialize

[amj'smommy]

thanks for replying I feel like he's bored in kindegarten... I mean he can read (has since he was 2) know all the basic k-1st grade stuff, so then is he just going for the "social" part? Right now its only kindegarten peers but what about as he gets older? He also gets speech and OT at school... as far as his speech goes he knows how to talk it's just getting him to talk. He has quite the vocabulary (has since he was 2) but he's a one simple sentence kinda guy. Alot of his speech in the beginning was echolalia or phrases from videos he had seen but he's really starting to come out w/ his own sentences and expressing his needs. I just feel like I want to be able to let him pursue his interests instead of just being 1 kid in a class of 25 doing what is "expected" of him.

[boysrus]

You can still receive therapies through the school, even as a homeschooler.

[Lillian J]

The HomeSchool Assn. of California, a non-profit homeschooling organization, has an extensive section in their website about homeschooling with special needs. It includes articles and information about lots of resources, most of which are not specific to California:
Homeschooling with Special Needs. You might find some helpful ideas in browsing through it. Wishing you all the best! Lillian

[USAmma]

I pulled my dd out of preschool last year for many reasons, one of which was sensory issues. She just was stressed in the classroom, the teachers were caring but didn't know much about her issues. It is way, way better at home. She enjoys the work (she's ahead of the curve in academics) and she enjoys being allowed to be herself. She gets distracted sometimes and I can read her mood and decide if it's a good day for sit down lessons or a good day for something more active, or maybe a good day just to play.

My dd has done better socially out of the school setting. She has made great strides in that area because she is allowed to set her own pace with it and not be faced with continuous social, busy experiences all day long. She took Karate for 2 mos through parks and rec, and wants to start it again soon. She quit in favor of dance class at the Y. Also takes a PE class for homeschooled children at the Y. That's 4 days of activities per week since each class is 2 days a week. She hangs out in childcare at the Y while I exercise and plays with the kids there. She has a couple of friends her age that we see as time permits (their moms are busy and it's hard to meet up with them). When we meet at the park with our homeschooling group she's able to be with kids of all ages. She prefers older or younger kids more than ones her same age. In school she would be forced to be only with kids her own age.