What Is The Best Way To Homeschool A Child With Special Needs?

Statistics indicate that 2 million students were being homeschooled in America in 2012 that amounts to 3.4% of the country’s schoolchildren. Parents choose the domestic manner of learning for children when they’re concerned about traditional academic institutions’ ethical/religious values. Also, it’s estimated that one-third of such parents were concerned about environmental problems at schools. So, children who receive homeschooling also perform better academically than traditional students. That’s why children with learning disabilities are often homeschooled by their parents. So, how do you provide quality educational facilities to a child with special needs? Here’s how we propose it should be done:

11 Strategies For Homeschooling Children With Disabilities

• Learn about the diagnosis:

After receiving the diagnosis, you should educate yourself regarding the learning disability your child faces. Don’t forget that nobody’s invested in your children’s academic progress more than you. You may enhance your know-how regarding the child’s diagnosis to offer the perfect educational facilities at home. Moreover, we suggest seeking treatment options (therapy/counseling) to improve their condition. These options enable you to homeschool the student without any serious difficulty.

• Contact an expert:

You shouldn’t homeschool children with disabilities without consulting academic experts. Who may help you with your child’s education? Many employees working in education pursue higher degrees to become well-versed in leadership and management jobs. So, you must contact someone who has earned the Educational Administration Masters online degree from a respectable institution. So, this person can give you some suggestions about homeschooling, help you find the resources, and teach you a thing or two about relevant regulations. From perfecting the curriculum to developing an IEP – these educational administrators help parents on several fronts. So, remain in contact with experts.

• Find your state’s laws:

Fortunately, homeschooling is legal in every state. However, these states have different regulations about homeschooling. So, we suggest investigating your state’s laws regarding the requirements for homeschooling in your area. Find your state’s homeschool organization to fulfill the requirements.

• Develop an ISP/SEP:

Most parents homeschool their special children after making them study in public school. You might have heard about IEP (Individualized Education Program), that’s an element of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) in the country. Every special student gets an IEP, but it doesn’t transfer the child to homeschooling easily! We suggest keeping the child’s IEP. However, you must also develop a SEP (Student Education Plan) or ISP (Individualized Student Plan) to empower the student during the transition to homeschooling. But why keep the IEP when the child’s being homeschooled? It can help them in case your child decides to return to a public school or start attending college in the future. Additionally, implementing special education tips such as maintaining a flexible approach and fostering strong communication with your child can enhance the effectiveness of the IEP or ISP.

• Find the right curriculum:

It’s essential to discover the perfect syllabus for children with disabilities once you have decided to homeschool them. You can not acquire the first syllabus you find. Instead, research your options, investigate thoroughly, and ask people (digitally/physically) for their recommendations. That’s how you find the required resources for the student. Homeschooling allows parents to combine different curricula if they’re not completely satisfied by just one. Customize all you want for your offspring.

Parents need to acknowledge that kids with special needs are going to learn at their own pace. The aim is to make them comfortable in a learning environment that is best suited to them. This means that as parents, you need to take help from high interest low reader books that will be perfect for special needs children. Over a period, they will start getting engaged, improve their vocabulary and improve their retention rates. 

• Get online resources:

You can get educational resources for homeschooling children with learning disabilities online today. These resources can help the student learn better at home and continue studying for the future. So, contact relevant organizations to access appropriate academic resources while homeschooling.

• Create a domestic school:

Ensure that you’ve transformed a portion of your apartment for academic activities. It’ll restrict distractions and enable the student to receive quality education comfortably. So, “establish” a homeschool by designating a place as the child’s classroom. It doesn’t have to appear exactly like any public school. However, this location must reflect the same “vibes” as a traditional education institute. This practice can significantly improve a child’s learning experience and help them study more effectively.

• Invent a flexible routine:

Remember that children with disabilities require a flexible learning routine. Their inability to thrive at the school was most likely due to its complicated timetable! As a result, devise a flexible routine. If the schedule is displayed graphically in the classroom, it can be beneficial. Let the child study at their pace too.

• Teach them to self-advocate:

Learning disabilities are common in America (one in five people), and self-advocacy is the method for conquering this condition. So, we suggest discussing your child’s diagnosis and teaching them about self-advocacy for enhanced academic progress. Show them how several people with disabilities have become immensely successful. Evaluate your child’s strengths and weaknesses to empower them. A parent shouldn’t neglect the importance of harnessing self-reliance among special children because that’s the “real” education differently-abled students should receive! We recommend books such as 8 Great Smarts by Kathy Koch to help parents discover/nourish their children’s intelligence.

• Withdraw your public schools:

Now, it’s time to withdraw special children from public schools formally. After you’ve arranged your offspring’s study lessons, you can easily have them leave school and continue learning comfortably at home. Remember that you’re not alone, as 7+ million public school students receive some form of special education today. It means that over 14% of American school-going individuals require IDEA-approved learning schedules. You’re just making a better decision for your child for their progress.

• Join support groups:

There are several support groups for parents with differently-abled children in our country today. You should contact these organizations and communities to enhance the student’s education. These support groups help parents find essential resources to homeschool their children with disabilities effectively. For instance, you can discuss your child’s homeschooling requirements with the National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network. They can provide a wealth of resources to people.

Conclusion

It’s estimated that over 6% of children aged 5-15 have learning disabilities in our country. These special children often can’t perform well academically, so their parents homeschool them to improve their grades. A survey shows that 61% of parents pulled their special children out of schools because the student wasn’t making “adequate progress,” only to improve when homeschooled academically. So, you can start homeschooling your children too for better grades! The procedure’s flexible and convenient. It begins with learning about the child’s diagnosis. You must develop an ISP/ESP, get online resources, and find the right curriculum. These strategies can help you, special homeschool children, effectively today.