 Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner
Currently in America, hundreds of families are homeschooling children whose special needs range from attention deficit disorder to severe multiple handicaps. Parents often find that when they bring these children home to be educated, they come out of the "deep freeze" that has kept them from making significant progress in traditional settings.
Ten Steps to Successfully Homeschooling
Children with Special Needs
If you are a parent of a child with special needs and considering homeschooling, you undoubtedly have many questions and concerns. Check out this article.
This week’s focus is tools to help homeschoolers with learning disabilities. Because of H-T’s dyslexia, I feel that I have done enough research to write three doctoral theses on special education for homeschoolers. I have certainly written my share of articles on the subject (check out my writing website if you’d like to check some of them out). And along the way, I have found some incredible tools to aid those who learn “outside of the box.” Some are extremely pricey, some are completely free, and some are right in the middle, but if you are homeschooling a child with LD, you will probably find something that makes you say “Wow, I wish I had found out about this sooner!”
- Time4Learning - I have a whole page dedicated to this one, so you can go there if you want to see my take on this incredible curriculum. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Time4Learning is probably the reason why someone hasn’t found me hanging from a bedsheet in the front closet. A lifesaver for homeschoolers with LD.
- Right Start Mathematics - - this was the math curriculum we used for H-T’s first three years of school, and it was perfect for a right-brained visual learner. Simple. Sequential. Visual. An altogether great tool for kids who learn math differently.
- Read, Write, & Type - blends phonics, sight reading, and the hands-on learning of keyboarding to aim at all sides of the brain to teach reading. A beautifully thought out program for beginning readers/typists ages 6-9.
- AVKO - This company is putting out more and more materials, and I don’t have experience with all of them, but their Sequential Spelling program is terrific for students who (like H-T) really struggle with spelling
- TextAloud - Text to speech program for turning any file/text on the computer into natural voice speech. Very helpful for struggling readers who need to do web research.
- PixWriter - Helping beginning writers with LD to not get discouraged with their efforts. Allows them to pick and choose pictures to create sentences. Also helpful for creating visual instructions for non-readers, such as chore lists, schedules, reminders, etc.
- Werdz - phonetic spell checker - - a must-have for those with learning disabilities. Kids with LD often spell words the way they sound (pickcher for picture, for example). Phonetic spell checkers find even those type of errors and help correct them.
- Graphic Organizers - set of free tools for students to help them take ideas, concepts, and plans and present and organize them in a visual way
- Co-Writer - one of my all-time faves. This is a word prediction program that will work with any writing application. Type in the first couple of letters of the word, and a list of options of words you might be looking for comes up. You choose the word, and it is automatically entered (correctly spelled, no less) into your writing. This is a godsend program for struggling writers. (for a free version with less bells and whistles: LetMeType)
- National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped - If you have a documented learning disability, such as dyslexia, you can qualify for this wonderful service which provides free audiobooks through a mail lending library. My son has been able to read all his favorite books thanks to this wonderful project.
- Ms. Reminder Time Manager - kids with learning difficulties are often organizationally challenged. This reminder service can be tailored to suit your child in the form of voice memos, text memos, or email reminders, so that they can keep track of their time and their tasks.
- Talking Calculator - because sometimes hearing it out loud just helps it make sense! (free web tool)
- Google Notebook - make web research easy by clipping, organizing, and saving text as you surf the web. Accessible from any computer, too, so you can do research at the library computer, and access it at home!
 Excerpt
from
Ideal Lives
Has your child been diagnosed with:
- autism
- attention deficit disorder
- down syndrome
- cerebral palsy
- developmental delays
- spina bifida
- dyslexia
- a vision or hearing impairment
- a traumatic brain injury
- a speech impairment
- mental health concerns
- or perhaps you don't have a diagnosis, but you suspect autism, ADHD or some other kind of learning issue exists
The world is not always kind to kids who don't fit the "typical" mold (or to their families).....do these sound familiar?
- neighbors have been avoiding you
- strangers stare when you and the kids go to the grocery store
- your child has been the victim of teasing or bullies at school
- the teacher says your child isn't motivated or won't sit still to do their work
- your life has becomes a blur of medical appointments, evaluations, and therapy sessions (most of which your insurance company doesn't want to pay for) and the strain of too many bills and sheer exhaustion is starting to show on you and on your relationships
- baby sitters, daycare centers, and even teachers take one look at your child and say "he just won't fit in" OR "we don't teach those kind of students here", OR "we're don't have enough.....(time, staff, resources) to care for your child".
You are NOT alone --
These are people who understand what you are facing and value both you and your child. At Ideal Lives everyone understands that you are the most VITAL element in your child's success.
Ideal Lives can help!
IdealLives.com is designed specifically for you -- a parent raising a child with special physical, emotional, or educational needs. We want to be your one-stop destination for practical information, success strategies, and moral support -- all from the comfort and convenience of your home computer. Check out our:
- Article library - It's filled with tips and ideas from a wide range of special needs experts, coaches, and advocates.
- News area - We'll let you know about news headlines in the world of special needs and special education as well online events and conferences where you can learn the latest treatments and most effective strategies to help your child. And if you like news that comes to you, you can use our RSS service to have our news items sent automatically to your RSS Reader
- Success Strategies for Special Needs Parents - This free downloadable program will automatically show you a new tip or strategy to help you be a better parent and advocate for your special child every week for an entire year. It's our special gift to you just for visiting Ideal Lives!
- Comprehensive Resource Directory - This is my personal directory of special needs information links. I promise you won't find a better, more practical, or easier to use directory online. See what sites I visit when I need ideas to share in my one-on-one coaching with parents and professionals.
- 60 Second Tips - Browse through back issues of the Ideal Lives Express, filled with quick tips and great online resources. Or sign up for one of our new topic specific 60 second newsletters -- YOU select the topics you really want to know about and get more information that matters to you.
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Bayshore Educational
A to Z Homeschooling
