I’m removing my high functioning autistic daughter (she’s very verbal but struggles socially and with her emotion regulation) from public school to homeschool. She’s only in kindergarten but we’ve been to a few schools now (in Florida they start ASD kids in public preschool at age 3 and she’s been bounced around a few times) and we’re just not happy with the level of services and we feel she’s picking up worse habits in the school so it’s not worthwhile.
Any suggestions/tips for just starting out homeschooling with a special needs child? I’m a little scared of the adjustment. She gets occupational therapy because her handwriting is a real struggle but she’s very intelligent.
Welcome! I am new to homeschooling my special needs son, as well. I pulled him out of 4th grade 6 weeks into the year. He has Tourette Syndrome, high-functioning autism, and ADHD. What we are finding is he responds MUCH better to 1-on-1 instruction rather than a noisy classroom. He still goes to the school to participate in OT, ST, and handwriting therapies.
I am no expert by any means, but homeschooling him has definitely been well worth it, as he seems to be getting along with his siblings better socially/emotionally, as well as structured play dates with old school friends. His handwriting has improved significantly - even the school has been surprised.
It can be intimidating at first, but you will get the hang of it and soon be a pro
I started using an online program, but he is already able to read and write well on his own. there are free programs out there as well, such as EasyPeasy, which might be a good place to start.
My ASD daughter loved Starfall at that age (phonics and math). www.starfall.com. Add in plenty of snuggle time with good picture books, do art projects if that’s what she likes, and look for teachable moments. That should be plenty for this age.
Run- do not walk- over to Memoria Press’s Simply Classical pages. It is specially designed for special needs kiddos. I do believe it is currently the ONLY homeschool designed SN curriculum out there.
Plus Cheryl is wonderful at answering questions on the SN forum.
