My son is entering the 7th grade this year and my husband and I have been considering homeschooling him. He has struggled over the last 2 years and calls school “that evil place.” I do not want to hurt him more than help him. He has been in special ed since 2nd grade. He has severe processing problems and has consistantly stayed 2 years behind his peers. I would like to hear from anyone that has tried homeschooling a child with apd, whether it helped or hurt.
homeschooling vs. school
I’m a big fan of homeschooling so perhaps what I say should be taken with the ‘grain of salt’ but it sounds to me as if it couldn’t get worse for your son. Chiildren spend a tremendous amount of their daily life in school. While life is sadly filled with painful moments, should every school day all day be painful? What’s the point?
School was not set up to meet the needs of children who need something different that the ‘same old’ thing. We write IEPS but schools can and do rarely meet the requirements of those IEPS. Even more rarely do they meet the spirit of the IEP which should be to make school a place which helps students to feel their potential - not their limitations.
If your son really means it when he says “that evil place”, I’d give homeschooling a try. What do you have to lose? If it doesn’t work out, he can always go back to ‘that evil place’.
Good luck.
Home schooling
If your child is not learning in public school, before you try homeschooling, investigate private schools for students with learning disabilities. If you find the right match, it may be more beneficial for him to be in an environment where all the students and teachers understand what he is going through and where the teachers are specialists at reaching kids with special needs. The school district is required to pay for tuition and bussing if you can demonstrate that his needs are not being met in public school, which is frequently easier said than done. I work in just such a school, and we do help many students who were failing and suffering in public school.
If that is not available in your area try the home schooling. Make sure you are well equipped to do it right. There are websites about homeschooling and a magazine to which you can subscribe. Try [email protected].
Choose and buy materials carefully. If I may suggest Looking Glass Spelling level 2 or 3. I am the author, and my colleagues and I use it with my 7th and 8th grade students with a great deal of success. It is very easy to use for teacher and student, and it is designed for older LD students who are reading and spelling 2 or more years below grade level. The materials are not babyish and help students retain skills to use in new situations, not just the book. You can preview a chapter from level 1 on my website www.gwhizresources.com. The vocab will probably be too easy for your son, that’s why I would suggest level 2 (reading level 4th grade) or level 3 (reading level 5th-6th grade). Good luck.
Fern
HOMESCHOOLING APD
Which test scores would be helpful to post? I have a hard time understanding what the scores mean myself. The last test he had was the CELF-3, WORD-R test, and TAPS. His overall TAPS score was a 63 with a standard deviation of -2.5, percentile rank of 1, and an age equivalent of 6-7. He is 13, and entering 7th grade this fall.
Pam,
It can help if you get the knowledge you need to remediate his deficits. Try posting his achievement and other test scores on here and get some advice about remediation. Many parents on here have learned to do the therapies their children need. I think killing a child’s self esteem by keeping them in a situation where they are sufferring is the very last resort. You child will be much better off being homeschooled than staying where he is. Good luck!
Janis