Does anyone here homeschool their special needs child? How has it been? Is it hard? I homeschooled my 8 yr old son from age 5 thru age 7...and now he is in public school.We placed him in school because he wasnt progressing as fast as other kids his age. When the school tested him...they didnt find any "HUGE" concerns...except his speech which they believe is the reason he is not progressing. He is in a special Education program and still isnt doing very good. He comes home miserable every day becuase kids gang up and pick on him all day long and call him bad swear names.. Id like to bring him back home but Im afraid that is the reason he was behind :( Im not sure what to do :( Any suggestions?
BTW...we unschooled...not homeschooled...
Shaunam
11-28-2011, 12:05 PM
DS is being diagnosed with ADHD, along with anxiety and a tic disorder. He also has a slight speech delay and stutter.
Yes, it's difficult. Every day is a struggle. But right now it is best for him and the whole family really. He was sick for 3 straight weeks and then his sister got it and spent a week in the PICU. I really don't want to think about how our life would have been turned upside down if he'd been struggling to keep up in school. I may put him in school next year...we'll see. I know if I'm not fighting him at home I'll be fighting his teacher, and him when I have to help him with his homework. I can't imagine putting him in public school would lessen that much of my load. I'd still have to be the rock helping him get through each day.
It's ok for kids to be a little "behind". All kids progress at different rates. And especially if you make the commitment to homeschool it likely won't EVER matter if he didn't learn exactly what the public schooled kids learned. He should learn what HE needs to know to succeed in life. If all he ever gets through is algebra 1 and he goes into a career that doesn't require much math...well he was never really "behind" in math even if his peers went on to do geometry, algebra 2, and pre-calc.
My DS is falling behind in a couple of areas and I'm trying not to freak. He's excellent in math. Can't spell to save his life. And nothing I try gets his spelling words to stick. I worry that he'll be "behind" if I put him in school next year but in the long run there no sense worrying too much. We live in a world with spell check at your fingertips. :giggle:
iris0110
11-28-2011, 12:56 PM
My oldest son is a spectrum kid. He was once considered "moderate to severe" now he is considered "mild" or possibly Aspie, he is due for a new eval. He also has a host of other stuff going on SPD, growth hormone deficiency, and he used to have a significant speech delay but he is down to a pronunciation delay so we don't consider it much. He has some fine motor issues and a serious memory concern that inhibits his learning style. It does make teaching him...interesting, but public school really isn't an option for him. There are things that "normal" kids can do that he just won't ever be able to do. He can't write a paper. He can write but he can't compose a paper. Creatively he can't make up a story at all and he can't spell because his memory works differently than yours or mine. But ask him to recite the periodic table of elements or all of the volcanic eruptions for the past 1,000 years across the globe and he will be happy to enlighten you. Not to mention he has been studying advanced physics for the past two years. My concern is whether he will be able to advance his love of science with his inability to share it with others in written form through research papers. He can also handle advanced math concepts but has a problem with fractions and multiplication tables. I actually did try out school and like you found that he didn't do well. In his school (a small charter) the kids were actually very good to him. He had friends who stood up for him and loved him very much. They had a great program of highschool aged reading buddies and he loved his reading buddy who I felt would have definitely watched out for him if any of the middle aged kids had ever thought to bully him but it really wasn't a problem in such a small school setting. They only had maybe 150 kids for k-12. But the school just couldn't handle his special needs and I wound up doing 4+ hours of work with him each day and I had a problem with the 1st grade teacher bullying him and there wasn't much the other kids could do about that. He wound up super anxious too with just the amount of interacting and it was too much for him so after one year we decided that homeschooling was just a better balance for him (which had been our intention all along) and brought him back home. Now my NT almost 6 year old, that one is going to be a real problem. I don't know what I am going to do with him. He is too smart and stubborn for his own good.
maggiemae242
11-28-2011, 08:04 PM
Thanks ladies :) Another problem I have is he seems to not want to do anything! We have tried soooooo many different things...both me and the schools...so many different approaches to get him to learn the work...he just wont do it! Everything u can think of...We have tried and nothing seems to grasp his attention AT ALL!
His worksheets that the teachers send home..he does about a quarter of it and then after that...he scribbles and doodles and dont want anything to do with it.....and its the same with EVERYTHING...movies, video games, board games, physical play etc...he has nothing that catches his attention...nothing. And thats what I believed to be the reason he was struggling so much.
He is 8 years old...and I feel like he is all grown up and his childhood has been nothing but a struggle...I just feel like he is growing up so fast and its hard for me becuase I want him to have a fun easy childhood...something he can happily remember...not something he dont want to think about... :(
JackieLyn
11-28-2011, 09:13 PM
Don't beat yourself up mama :hugs: I think we all feel that way at one point or another. So if you can hold his attention for 5 minutes then work for 5 minutes and let him do something else. Come back a little later and do 5 more minutes. Over time I imagine you would be able to keep his attention longer.
I'd do a little reading into finding out what his learning style may be. I'm still trying to figure this out with my two youngest but Corbin is a visual learner...game or video format and it's easier for him to retain. There are lots of strategies and curricula out there that cater to certain learning styles...it will probably require thinking outside the box...
Could he be bored?
leeuhhh
12-02-2011, 03:14 PM
worksheets were overwhelming for my dd (who is homeschooled) for a long time. i started out making worksheets that were only maybe three problems, and then adding on. now a worksheet we do will have maybe ten problems max on it. she can't sit for any longer or she gets frustrated with what we're working on. she will be eight in dec. we will probably try school next year (we were going to try this year but had tons of stuff going on with a baby being born, a move, etc..), and i'm curious to see how she does. if she was being teased at school, i would pull her out in a heartbeat. i was teased as a kid and it did really awful things to my self esteem.
