Homeschooling Transition and Childhood Disability

Many parents of children with special needs have questions about how to get started homeschooling and also how to ease the transition to homeschooling their children after they have decided their son or daughter has spent time enough time in public school classrooms.

Some families become interested in homeschooling options because their sons or daughters have an inappropriate IEP or have no support or encouragement in accomplishing the simplest IEP goals. Others have children with health issues that have not been adequately supported in their neighborhood school. There may also have been issues with bullying, teasing, or isolation; and sometimes a personality conflict with a teacher or other staff member has caused the student to shut down or resist learning.

In many cases, families decide that their children are not being given the opportunity to reach their full potential, and they make the decision to homeschool the child for a year just to see whether they can re-engage them in learning and become motivated to follow their interests and respond to the encouragement of their families to reach goals that are important to them.

In addition to the challenges that face families of their mainstream peers, there are usually grim predictions from administrators in special education that children with developmental disabilities will not learn basic academic or self help skills without being enrolled in public school programs. A concern expressed to many parents is that there is no option for inclusion in the mainstream of the community except in classrooms, even those far outside of a student's neighborhood. These are the same dire warnings that are expressed to families of their mainstream peers.

There are homeschool support and advocacy groups in almost every community where families of children with disabilities can learn what services their children can receive through their school district while they are homeschooled, as well as other rights and responsibilities. Many groups offer field trips or non-traditional classrooms where children who are homeschooled can meet and learn together.

Browse at your local bookstore, public library or online retailer for books on
Homeschooling Resources and Homeschooling Curriculum

Homeschooling Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art45894.asp

Part Time Homeschooling and High School Transition and Job Programs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art45892.asp

Inclusive P.E. for Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art46155.asp

Riverbend Down Syndrome Web Site
Homeschooling Children with Down Syndrome
http://www.riverbendds.org/homeschooling.html
IQ Test Performance - Riverbend DS Website
Cognitive Development in Young Children with Down Syndrome
Developmental Strengths, Developmental Weaknesses
Testing and Cognitive Intelligence

Teens with Disabilities - Transition Planning
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art33519.asp