How does Homeschooling work for parents of Asperger children? Where do you get your curriculum from?
Posted on 2009 under Uncategorized | 5 Comments29 Sep
I have a 10 yr old son with Asperger’s Syndrome, and have had several years of nothing but problems with the public school system. I have thought about homeschooling him for quite some time now, and I was wondering what experiences people have.
There is a lot of information available on homeschooling and Asperger’s. Homeschooling is highly recommended because it #1 puts parents in control of the social instruction these kids need, which is very different from the "throw them in the pool and see if they can float" socialization the kids get on the playground; and #2 it takes the performance pressure on a child down a step so that they can actually learn.
In a classroom, an Aspie tends to excel only in the few narrow subjects that interest him and he becomes a behavioral distraction to the rest of the class for subjects that he sees no value in. That does not help socialize these kids at all and often further isolates them unless they are lucky enough to get a very understanding teacher.
If your child is one who is sensitive to light and sound levels, a classroom will not be able to accommodate his needs. There are some wonderful social training materials that have become available in the past few years to help aspies learn to identify social cues. But these are most efficiently taught in a home living situation or in a small group of other kids with similar struggles. They don’t get taught in a classroom because the social cues are things 90% of the kids will know intuitively, so the Asperger’s child falls through the crack.
In most cases, you do not need special curriculum although some kids benefit by eliminating bright, highly colored texts in favor of more black and white. It is an individual thing and you’d have to try to see if that is true for your child. Routine assignments that follow established procedures are often better that wildly creative things that change the "rules." Oftentimes a computer-based program works well for this reason, it is consistent..
Yes, go research what is out there because you will find things that help!
by Pam, on September 30 2009 @ 2:37 am
I have a son that was diagnosed with Aspergers at the end of 2nd grade and was retained. He has been educated with a combination of public and home school. When it was clear he was not succeeding in 5th grade math and reading comprehension, I pulled him out part-time and homeschooled him in those areas during 6th & 7th grade. Since then, he has been full time in public school, is currently a senior, and is taking Alg. II. I would agree special curriculum in not usu. needed. What is critical is that there is a parent or tutor who is willing to spend 1-3 hours per day on the problem subject. I have found that if enough repetition, re-teachings, and time is allowed, many of these kids not only understand the material, but actually understand it more thoroughly.
by Steve, on September 30 2009 @ 3:10 am
Here’s a great site to get you started. Follow the link
http://www.homeschooldiner.com/specials/special_needs/aspergers_homeschooling.html
A few other helpful sites
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/autism.htm
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/198399/homeschooling_a_child_with_aspergers.html
And here’s a book you might wish to purchase
http://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Child-Asperger-Syndrome-Anywhere/dp/1843107619
Good luck. I don’t envy your task.
References :
I’m a librarian
by maranatha, on September 30 2009 @ 3:17 am
I have heard a number of success stories regarding teaching children with Asperger’s Syndrome at home. I would recommend that you post your question at the homeschool forum at Home School Reviews.com. It’s a very active discussion board which many homeschooling parents frequent.
Editing to add: There is specific information about teaching children with Asperger’s Syndrome at HSLDA’s website — I’m posting just one link below. If you type "asperger’s syndrome" into the Search Window at HSLDA’s website, you’ll also get more pages.
Hope this helps!
References :
http://www.homeschoolreviews.com
http://www.hslda.org/elert/archive/2009/04/20090423101057.asp (for specific info re: teaching children w/Asperger’s Syndrome)
by ʘɧ № Ɯ∂ץ, on September 30 2009 @ 3:35 am
There is a lot of information available on homeschooling and Asperger’s. Homeschooling is highly recommended because it #1 puts parents in control of the social instruction these kids need, which is very different from the "throw them in the pool and see if they can float" socialization the kids get on the playground; and #2 it takes the performance pressure on a child down a step so that they can actually learn.
In a classroom, an Aspie tends to excel only in the few narrow subjects that interest him and he becomes a behavioral distraction to the rest of the class for subjects that he sees no value in. That does not help socialize these kids at all and often further isolates them unless they are lucky enough to get a very understanding teacher.
If your child is one who is sensitive to light and sound levels, a classroom will not be able to accommodate his needs. There are some wonderful social training materials that have become available in the past few years to help aspies learn to identify social cues. But these are most efficiently taught in a home living situation or in a small group of other kids with similar struggles. They don’t get taught in a classroom because the social cues are things 90% of the kids will know intuitively, so the Asperger’s child falls through the crack.
In most cases, you do not need special curriculum although some kids benefit by eliminating bright, highly colored texts in favor of more black and white. It is an individual thing and you’d have to try to see if that is true for your child. Routine assignments that follow established procedures are often better that wildly creative things that change the "rules." Oftentimes a computer-based program works well for this reason, it is consistent..
Yes, go research what is out there because you will find things that help!
References :
by admin, on September 30 2009 @ 9:39 am
Thanks so much for sharing your story. Great points!