Homeschooling special needs kids, anyone?

[moodusnewchick]

wow, such legal yuckiness. and no, I don't see the rational for busing over providing a local aid! my goodness. good luck. I know there are some good forums for home schooling parents and it seems like you've quite a few friends here too.

 

[ams3651]

my son qualifies because he gets SSI and is disabled. Have you considered going that route, maybe you dont qualify for SSI but if he is disabled he may quailfy for other services and medical coverage by the state.

also, is it possible for you to go to school with him part of the time and be his '"aid". Your school is legally obligated to get him the care, support and education he needs, if they cant provide it they have to find a program that can. Which is why my son is transported to a larger neighboring district and probably yours was too, but this year they have dropped the ball for you. Look locally for support groups or on line people locally, you need the advice of a child advocate on what they have to do for you and how you can get it. Sorry Im going on, Im very passionate about how Ive had to fight. Fortunately I had the help of wonderful people at Head Start who still 2 years later are there when I have questions.

 

[fullhouse]

Quote:
We could apply for the MI-child program through the state, but since our family has health coverage we don't qualify. Basically we make enough to afford health insurance, but not enough to pay for services we need, and too much to get SSD for him. Gotta love being middle class

 

[Alaskan]

I agree with ams, it is amazing how much you have to dig around and fight to get stuff.

Up where I am there is Mental Health Services which gives free care for kids with OCD.

If you want services, maybe you need to ask other kinds of people. Ask people at WIC, or your local Head Start, or local Birth to Three program. Maybe someone at one of those places has some ideas.

As to homeschooling, yep, that is what I do.

My favorite thing about homeschooling is pretty much what Chirpy said. I get to keep changing programs and approaches until I find what works best for my kids. And when they are good in something we can charge ahead as fast as they want. If they are really bad at something we can drop it for awhile and then come back to it and maybe use a different approach. And the entire time we are doing this they never get labeled as 'slow' or 'stupid'.

It is lots of work, and I have to learn to be patient, but those are good things too.

I have 5 boys, all homeschooled.

 

[fullhouse]

Quote:
Yes and no. I could go and volunteer, which I do. I could not be there as an aide or pay for an aide, which I offered to do.

Ds has been in the school system for 4 years now. I guess it's not that they don't offer services, but they are general services. He is considered distracting because he doesn't go along with the class, and I think he spends more time in time out than learning. He saw a kitchen timer at Target and flipped out at the "time out timer". We don't use sitters other than my mother, who never gives him time outs, and the teachers told me they hardly use time outs. Their reports have sounded so angry and frustrated, I don't believe they didn't give him time outs and he had such a strong, negative reaction to the random timer at a store.

I guess the point is after almost 4 years of trying to do "something" I no longer trust the school to even watch him. His speech therapist is great, and I will keep her privately even if they try and cut her off from me. The teachers reports have talked extensively about how he disrupts the class and that's about it, they seem sick of dealing with him.

 

[truckerswife]

I also have a special needs son. We never have qualified for any Social Security due to our income level (middle class) but after being on a waiting list for a couple of years we do get some Family Support from Department of Developmental Disabilities. I heard about it from another parent, not the school. It is not based on a families income, which is nice since there are always extra expenses. These funds can help pay for respite care, some therapies , recreational outings (YMCA membership as an example). medical equipments, etc... I am sure it varies from here to where you are, but if you have not already check into your state's DDD.

Also, as a parent who needed to fight to get my son an all day aide, my advice is call every day if you have to, send letters , get written recommendations from the teacher about how much support in class he needs. I was told once by a teacher who was sympathetic to my struggle with the district , when you need something for your child use the word SAFETY. It works like a charm. Start mentioning that word when referring not only to your child but the safety of others and see what happens.

Wishing you the best.... thank you for being an advocate for your child.

Rebecca

 

[conny63malies]

Sebastian does public school. he went to headstart first. we pulled him after a month though because he got physiclly abused by other kids and he was unable to tell me which kid did it and same does for teacher and the aid. then he went to V-Pre K ESE which he loved. My talkative lil guy made friends with a autistic kis that barely spoke. they only had nine kids total which was awesome This year he will go to EsE K in Y-town, we will see how this goes. I cant deal with him 24/7 and he is glad to get to play with other boys.

 

[kellim]

I too am homeschooling a special needs child. He is severely autistic as well as he has a progressive neuromuscular disease that is terminal. He has never even been into a public school and never will. He takes around 20 meds every day and is doing a life skills curriculum. He was officially diagnosed with Autism in May of this year by a Neuropsychologist. I have closely worked with a Special Needs advocate who has 2 children with the same neuro disease as my son, though she sent her children to public school as they were not as severely affected as my son. When I talked to the school about my son who is on a 3 year old level academically and 1 year old level in life skills, they informed me that he would be placed in a regular classroom and would not be given an aide. That many meds would also not be able to be given as I give them at home as he would be gone from class more than in it. The Neuropsychologist stated that he needed to be in a Personal Life Skills classroom with one on one teaching. That is not happening at our local schools. So I took it upon myself to teach my son. I believe that I can be the best teacher to him as I know how to deal with his meltdowns and aggressiveness and how to give him his meds properly. He is also severely mentally challenged so most teachers won't even bother to try to teach him. He LOVES numbers and will spend hours sitting in the floor counting to 10 on our abacus. I personally believe that we as special needs parents can be the best teacher our children can have. Now I admit that there are some good teachers out there, but the chances of actually finding one of those is not that high. I understand too that some parents do not have the time to do it and that some parents want the break that sending to school allows. I respect that too. We all have our reasons for our choices and in each situation a different choice is required. I love teaching my son in a hands on curriculum that involves not being in a classroom and does involves going to the river and touching rocks and watching the birth and development of a baby duck or chicken.

 

[ams3651]

it all comes down to whats best for the child. I dont think I could homeschool and quite frankly I need that break from him to do shopping, housework and have time for myself that I cant do when hes home. His ADHD is medicated only during school and at a minimum. I think with his MR it is good for him to be with other kids and I guess Im lucky to have the programs we have here. His teacher last year and again this year is very good and I make it clear from the start IM INVOLVED and I know my kid and what he needs better than anyone, I decide what happens. even with his older brother I make sure they know that. His day camp this year, not as great but good and there are 2 people there I trust. People tell me all the time they dont know how I do it and Im sure we can all agree that we do it because we have to.

 

[tntstanifer]

I have a son who was diagnosed with autism just before he turned 3. He would speak maybe 5 words then. He was started in speech therapy and as soon as he turned 3 he was enrolled in the local "special ed" class. I had originally planned to homeschool him BEFORE his diagnosis. I didn't think I was prepared to give him the best that he should get. Instead, I let him go to school (full days 5 days a week) and then EVERYTHING in life became a learning experience. My husband and I spent hours and hours with him in the floor playing. His favorite thing is tractors, so that's what we used to teach him as much as possible. I am proud to say that today was his first day of kindergarten.......a regular kindergarten class. I requested a certain teacher for him (she also has an autistic child & goes to church with us). I am working with his previous teachers also, and they have agreed to monitor his class a few times per month. I am going to be in constant contact with all of these teachers and we will work through "problems" as they come. I have refused to put him on meds while he was in special ed., but I might have to redress that now that he's in a regular class atmosphere. I would suggest that if you decide to keep him in school, then just meet with his teachers and request constant contact. Even become personal with them or befriend them. Then reinforce what they teach at school with floortime at home. If you think that he's not getting the best he should, then other than litigation, I don't think you have much choice but to homeschool. If you end up doing that, just remember to make it fun. Learning can be lots of fun, and so can teaching. Good luck and God Bless!!