It's almost as though homeschooling was invented for a special needs children's education. Kids afflicted with ADHD, autism, dyslexia or Asperger's among other learning difficulties can all benefit from being taught at home by their parents. Some public school systems can afford to hire trained therapists for these fields, but the extra attention and time afforded a student at home by a loved one can make a big difference in a child's ability to learn. It's just natural for a parent to be able to teach their own child more effectively. They've been doing it for the student's whole life and know how to best approach new things with them. They will likely be more patient than a public school teacher and offer the extra time it might take to learn. A classroom would likely not be as able to offer the one-on-one time it might take until a student "gets it".

It's likely a parent would also know better than a public school instructor what manner of teaching would best suit their child. Some learn better with visual aids, some by repetition and some by seeing it done for them and copying what they're taught. It's very likely a parent would already know this from their own experience. They'll also know what to look for when a special needs child is getting frustrated and ready to act up or quit, thereby avoiding a bad learning experience for the child.

If you're wondering what sort of curriculum would best suit your special needs children's education, there are several avenues to get started.

We would first look on the Internet. Non-profit groups who support your child's disorder will likely have a presence there and should have good information about learning difficulties and how to overcome them. They will likely make suggestions or direct you to other good sources. They may even list case studies of various methods of learning and their success rates.

We would also try to find support groups on the Internet for your particular disease. There will likely be several forums on the Web where you can read others' posts and ask questions directly. Parents on these websites are often very willing to share their experiences and will offer help when they can. Although your child is an individual, often there can be common practices that will help almost all children suffering from a common ailment.

There are also many books available about homeschooling your special needs children. Some are written specifically for particular disorders and offer teaching suggestions as well as curriculum selection guides. Most are written by people who have been homeschooling their own special needs children, so they speak with experience and write in every day language, rather than from theory with medical-babble-speak.

If you start with these suggestions, you should quickly be on the road to solving how to best get your special needs children educated. It can be as rewarding for you as it will be for your child since you will have contributed directly to his education and well-being.



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An elementary schedule would likely include grades kindergarten through either fifth or sixth grades, depending on the school district. The concept of middle school to replace junior highs takes off from there through either eighth or ninth grade. Most classes at all levels (except kindergarten) are held for approximately six hours a day of class time, plus breaks, lunch and commutes on buses. All told a child might be gone eight to nine hours a day, five days a week. That's a long time, especially for the younger ones.

This would point to another advantage of homeschooling; time savings, both for the parent and child. No more rushing to meet buses or driving kids to school. They can start their day relaxed and stress-free.

Teaching hours in a good homeschool will start out around one to two hours for the younger ones and average about six hours per day for a high school student. A homeschool teacher will have a lot of involvement with the children of younger age while they are learning to read, write, spell and do math problems. By the time middle and high school roll around, the parent is more of a monitor of the work to be done and doesn't have to be so closely involved all day.

Another facet of scheduling is looking at the school year. In public school it's nine months straight with some holiday breaks, then three months off in the summer. Students, teachers and parents all get tired with this schedule. What if you could schedule more and longer breaks in a school year? Wouldn't that be a good thing for everyone? Then consider homeschooling. It's very flexible that way. Since living and learning never really operate like a public school, why not consider altering the school year to accommodate everyone involved?

Here's example #1: Conduct school in September, October and November, then take the whole month of December off. School starts again in January and goes through March. Off again in April. Start back up in May and go through July, then off the whole month of August. There's still three months off, but they're spread out through the year to break up the school year. Might be nice, huh?

Or here's another idea: Go to school for three weeks, then off for one week; year round. This might be even better that the last one. The breaks are closer together, but it's the same amount of school and break time. You might have to alter the schedule a little around holidays depending on the year, but that wouldn't be so difficult. Has possibilities?

Speaking of holidays, I saw another schedule that tries to accommodate them. It's a little more complicated, but it might just work for everyone. You start off teaching the first of September and go through mid-October, then take week off. Start again in late October and teach till Thanksgiving; a week off. Start school for two-three weeks in December, then three weeks off for Christmas and New Years. Go at it again in mid-January until March first, take two weeks this time. Go again mid-March through April, then two weeks off again (spring break?). Then teach again all the way from mid-May through the summer, taking breaks whenever vacations, visits or special occasions arise.

As you can see, homeschooling can be tailored to fit anyone's needs. It might deserve another look for this reason and many others. If you're still worried about your elementary schedule, you can all but put it out of your mind with homeschooling.



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From birth, parents begin teaching their children all the things they need to know to get by in life and when you think about it, it's kind of like the beginning of your children's preschool. As they reach the age of two and beyond, their curiosity is non-stop. Their little brains are like dry sponges, eager to soak up knowledge about the world around them. Some kids ask "why" so many times in a row, it can drive you crazy sometimes. Why not take advantage of this period in their lives and actually begin teaching them some basics that will help in their schooling later on.

Begin talking to them while they're still in the crib. Talk while you are changing them. Sit down beside their playpen and read a book. Give them an old book they can play with and tear up. Get them used the feel and smell of a book. When they begin to talk, don't speak baby talk, use grownup language with them. Help them try to understand why you do certain things a certain way like cooking and cleaning chores. Get them interested in listening to you and talking back or repeating what you say. This is all designed to get them to understand words and sentences and how they're used together. It will help them learn reading later on. Studies have shown that children from houses where no one talks very much can have difficulty learning to read.

Depending on the child, around the age of three or four, get some beans or marbles or toothpicks together and start showing them how add and subtract. For example, have six beans in a pile and take away two and ask how many are left. Say, four and get them to repeat it. Now add some beans and ask them how many are there now. Tell them the answer and get them to repeat it. Before long they will be enjoying this game and giving you the right answers.

Buy some alphabet blocks and a copy of the old standard, "The Alphabet Song". Play the song over and over and get them to sing along with you. Show them the blocks with the letters on them and go through the alphabet over and over. They will catch on fast and soon know their letters.

Continue the reading, gradually progressing from picture books where you will point to the pictures and telling them what each one is to longer books with no pictures. Read for a while then stop and ask them questions about what you just read. They will begin listening closely to be able to answer your questions. Read both the picture books and other books repeatedly. If this drives you a little batty, record your voice reading the books on a recording device that would be safe for them and let them play the stories over and over. Believe it or not, experts claim that repetition breeds literacy.

This may all sound simple-minded, but experts in the field of education claim it imprints their little brains with the tools that will let them learn to read, write, spell and learn math quickly at a later time. With these exercises you will successfully conduct what can be called a children's preschool.



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We are aware of a few home school training programs around the country held mostly at junior colleges. Some are more of a study outline where you meet for a few hours initially, then go do the homework they tell you to do, then reconvene in 3-4 weeks for a few more hours to discuss what you learned. There are also correspondence courses to be taken. But to be frank, we feel it would be a shame not to read some of the great books out today on homeschooling.

You can first learn about all the methods of homeschooling to decide on which style of teaching you want to follow. This is an important first step because it will determine the path you take next to source out the materials you will need and how to go about planning out your curriculum. Some methods are fairly rigid in their structure, calling for a strict adherence to course guidelines as to which subjects to teach and when. Classical homeschooling would be the obvious example of this.

Some people think this type of teaching is too much like a classroom schedule and call it public school without the schoolhouse. We don't favor any particular method, figuring it's really up to each individual parent to decide what is best for them and their children. But you also must know that State and local laws can dictate some of your teaching basics. Some areas are pretty loose on what is taught, backing off on the Big Brother concept of governance. While others have regulations in place that require you to teach certain subjects, test out your students on a regular basis or get your course outline approved each year. With the stricter States, you may not have quite as much leeway on how you conduct your homeschooling classes, but you will still be way ahead of public schools in that you will still have one-on-one instruction, no peer pressure, no long commutes on buses, no taunting by other children, no long daily separation from your child and some control (if not all) on what they will be learning. Homeschooling will still have the advantage over public education even in the stricter parts of the country.

Some people will think they need special home school training before attempting to teach their children at home. We believe if you read some books on it, check out some of the Web forums on the subject of homeschooling and perhaps contact a local support group, you may gain the confidence to know you can do this. After all, it's your kid. Haven't you been teaching him everything since he was born? You're a natural! Go for it!



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