Note: This article is an excerpt from the upcoming Schoolhouse Rocked Homeschool Quick-Start Guide. Sign up here to get your copy as soon as it is released! Homeschooling a child with special educational needs may seem like a daunting task, but in many ways, the flexibility of the homeschooling model makes it a perfect alternative for teaching children who otherwise may fall between the cracks or can’t excel within the confines of an institutionalized educational setting. The homeschooling movement didn’t begin with the purpose of catering to the instruction of unique children, but as traditional schools have increasingly favored normalizing instruction, special education homeschooling has become an increasingly favored option…
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Recently I received a call from an exasperated mother who was desperately trying to find a way to teach her son. After homeschooling for 14 years and graduating her oldest who was also a struggling learner due to a brain injury, she felt she had exhausted her teaching arsenal and was still coming up short in being able to teach her younger autistic son. Our conversation started with this mother asking if I knew of any different curriculum options she could try. But, instead of offering my best advice on curriculum, I led her through a series of questions to find out what teaching techniques had worked with her son…
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How Homeschooling Transforms Special Education into Specialized Education As I cited in my previous article, The Then and Now of Special Education Homeschooling, more parents who have children with special educational needs are choosing to homeschool as a reaction to the lesser quality educational options offered by public or private schools. But, with this transition, many parents unknowingly bring the same teaching mindset they were looking to leave into their new homeschooling experience. Below are what I believe are the 4 most important distinctions of how specialized home education differs from an institutionalized special education program and opens the freedom potential parents have in homeschooling a child outside the box…
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Special Education Homeschooling When our family started our special education homeschooling journey almost 15 years ago, the homeschooling landscape was very different than it is today. From my own perspective of homeschooling two children with learning challenges, as well as a decade of experience helping other parents navigate special education homeschooling, I have seen this backdrop dramatically affect the special education homeschooling movement as well as the families who choose to homeschool their children with special needs. These changes are neither good nor bad but can create both positive and negative results if a family does not understand how to navigate them. Thus, I want to share with you a…
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