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Minute to Minute
Readers Helping Readers |
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| Greetings! |
Last week we had two homeschool moms with autistic children write in and ask the same question: is there homeschool curricula geared toward autistic children's needs? This week we have an answer for them: yes, there is. Not only do we have wonderful responses from the Minute to Minute Readers, but TOS Magazine also has helpful product reviews on curricula for different Learning Styles and Special Education.
As we continue our month of special needs with our autism focus, we encourage you to take the time to download the FREE digital copy of TOS Magazine's Summer '07 Back Issue. Inside this issue you'll read articles that will help you understand autism and aid in the education of autistic children.
If you like what you see in TOS Summer '07 Back Issue, then you'll want to hurry and purchase TOS Summer '08 Edition which also focuses on special needs.
Join us next issue as we answer another special needs question.
*News Alert*
Jodi from Indianapolis is our first winner of the Sony Reader E-Book Express Contest, but don't forget that there's still another chance to win. Just 100 more qualifying orders and we'll have another winner. Just buy one E-Book and spend $30 in the Schoolhouse Store for your chance to win! |
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| Something Special |
Enter here to WIN a WonderFALL gift pack from Beaches Resorts!
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| You Can Do It! |
| Dear Tina and Merlyn,
Yes! Yes! Yes, you can homeschool an autistic child!
Our son, Joel, is 9 years old and is diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental
Disorder--Not Otherwise Specified), which is on the austism spectrum. Austism is a
huge spectrum, so I know all children with autism are at different places on the spectrum, but I do believe that homeschooling is beneficial.
No one knows your child better than you. That's why I love homeschooling a child with special needs. It is scary sometimes, but I love that I can tailor Joel's school just for him. Joel's goals do include schoolwork, but they also include life skills. We have tried The Choreganizer and that was very effective with working on chores/life skills. Joel is very visual, so that was effective. All of my kids (Joel's sister is 12 and brother is 5) enjoyed using The Choreganizer. It was fun to see them rush to complete the chores, so they could move their picture cards to their completion pocket.
I also stress behavior and attendance (paying attention). I need to teach Joel to obey immediately, not only for behavior issues, but also for his safety. Once Joel can attend, I can be more effective in my teaching. That doesn't mean we don't have meltdowns from too much sensory input or frustration, but I think it is essential to learning and functioning to work on behavior and attending. By the way, we have had days in our house that I felt like that was all we worked on.
Yes, do therapy. We have been blessed to find therapists the first few years who came to our house. We had speech and OT at our house. While Joel worked in one room with the therapist, I could work with the other children in another room. Later on, we traveled to the therapists. We were blessed that our speech therapists had homeschooled or are homeschooling. By the way, we asked for homework from the therapists so that we were able to carry over all of the goals given by the therapists into daily life and school.
Visual components and repetition are keys for Joel. Joel does well by introducing a concept via a visual medium and then following up on that concept. We have used various videos from favorite educational shows on TV to specialized videos and computer programs. Joel mastered his letters and their sounds by watching the Leap Frog videos. We have also used the specialized videos and various computer programs from LinguiSystems and Super Duper. I have noted that too much TV or computer does tend to get Joel stuck into his pretending world though, so there is a fine line in that area for Joel.
I highly recomment Handwriting without Tears. Joel was confused with all of the lines and how to place letters on a page, but Handwriting without Tears made that easy. We quickly completed the book, so we made up our own writing sentences. As our oldest was learning about animals one year, I would have her draw a picture of the animal in a notebook, and she would copy her writing info into the notebook while our youngest also learned about the same animal, only simplified. This worked for all of the kids, and we could all talk about the animals together as they all studied them together.
We have also tried a couple of unit studies as well as lapbooks from Hands of a Child and Knowlege Box Central. These have been fun moments for all of us to study a subject together. This combines OT skills (cutting and pasting) as well as just fun learning.
Spelling has been a difficult subject in our house. We have fun with what I call "Mom's Spelling Mania." Basically, the list of spelling words can vary from the first of all the words Joel is learning to read, to those constantly misspelled, or just words he needs to know. I also did a lot of lists of rhyming words for a few months. Rhyming was a concept Joel was having trouble understanding, so we worked through rhyming during spelling, but that also helped his reading at the same time--3 tasks completed in one activity.
I feel God has called me to homeschool, and I don't feel He has asked me to change that plan. There are weeks sometimes that it feels like you take multiple steps backward, but then you have days that you can see some progress and it feels great. I love being there to see the pride as my kids realize what they learned.
Joel has come a long way since he was first diagnosed. We have a long way to go to be totally age appropriate. Joel is behind his peers and that is hard some days, but he is changing and learning and growing. I'm thankful to see this process not only with Joel and the special challenges he is working through, but with all of my kids.
It is possible to homeschool a child with special needs. For more encouragement, I
also suggest Homeschool Legal Defense's website and their section for special needs.
From A Family Who Is Homeschooling A Child With Austism,
Rebecca |
| Seeing Through Pure Eyes |
| Dear Tina and Merlyn,
My heart went out to both of you as I read your stories. As a former Vice Principal at a private/umbrella school for 6 years, and as a homeschool mom of 23+ years, I understand your frustration. You have an added burden of schooling a child who doesn't learn like everyone else. That doesn't mean that it can't be done.
May I suggest something to you? I have worked with autistic/Aspergers children in the past. They all need a set schedule. They need reassurance as all children do, maybe more so as they do understand that the rest of the world doesn't relate to them. So, let's help your child relate to the rest of the world in his own way. Sounds hard and impossible, right?
No, it's not. God has given you the perfect curriculum, His creation. The world around us, the stars and planets, insects, fish, water, everything is there, including math, science, language, art, reading, and vocabulary. You know, a very enlightened and gifted homeschool child grew up to develop a method of education that many homeschoolers
are returning to today, Charlotte Mason. It works for all levels of learning.
The children that I have worked with in the past, benefited from different methods. In the end, however, they all had to step away from traditional methods of schooling and walk outside the box. I learned a lot from my students and clients. The most important thing that I learned from them is that they see the world with pure eyes. What we see is colored by experiences. They still see as God intended all of us to see: pure, untouched, and unhampered by society and convention. Look into Charlotte Mason's technique and way of learning. It's not just for children; it's for you, too.
Blessings From A Fellow Homeschool Mom,
Lisa
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| What Worked For Me |
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Dear Tina and Merlyn,
I have 3 kids, 2 on the autism spectrum. One has Asperger's and the other just has Sensory Integration Dysfunction. I have used My Father's World (MFW) for their main curriculum, and it is just great! It is very hands-on, keeps your interest, keeps you moving, and uses a variety of learning tools. It is Bible-based and very thorough. I do supplement their science with God's Design, which is a very easy-to-use elementary science program, and you can pick which subject you would like to study each year. For example, we studied the biology series last year, and this year we are doing earth sciences. I use Bob Jones for writing/grammar and reading and Handwriting Without Tears and Wordly Wise Vocabulary. They also do some computer things such as typing to help them learn the keyboard. We also use a computerized Spanish program, just to get exposure. We have Earobics to use also, which works on auditory processing skills, memory, listening, sequencing, etc. I got this software at Super Duper Inc. I implement social skills lessons, pragmatics, idioms, speech, etc. as we are able--a bit each day.
My kids also participate in music/piano, therapeutic horseback riding, karate, and they will do Upwards basketball again this fall. This is a great church program that is understanding of special needs. They took art classes last year, and that was very encouraging to them. I hope to get them into swim year-round, if I can financially afford it.
There are many Yahoo groups online that you can receive encouragement from also to
help with homeschooling special needs kids, a few being: Sensory Homeschooling, Christian Sensory homeschooling, and Homeschooling Aspies. The MFW curriculum has groups as well to help others in their schooling process. These offer great ideas in working with your child.
Blessings To You Both,
Kim
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| From The Experienced. . . . |
Just to offer encouragement to moms of children with autism. . .I have a 6 year old son with autism and an 11 year old son. I am going to homeschool both of them this year! With God pressing on my heart and trying every other possible schooling option in my area, we are going to do our best with God in control. Mom's don't sell yourselves short. You know what is going to set your child off before it even happens. You can control the environment for the child's best learning experience. You know how your child learns best! Your child will thrive with your effort! You will need scheduled breaks, too. Don't let Satan tell you the lie that someone else can do it better. God gave you the children you have with His plans for them, and He plans to equip you to love them and teach them. Put God first, and He will provide the tools for you. God bless, and hang in there.
~Kimberly
Tina, I am currently homeschooling my 10 year old son with autism as well. I really like Learning Language Arts Through Literature. My son enjoys this program, and it is great because all the language arts are in one program. It is also Bible-based and refers to Bible stories as part of the lessons. I tried Alpha Omega for my son, but I felt it required too much self-direction. I would also like to suggest the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. It is a philosophy of homeschooling that works well especially for children with autism and other special needs. Just Google Charlotte Mason, and you will find a lot of resources from many suppliers. God Bless you in your homeschooling adventure. ~Stephanie
I have found a wonderful curriculum for language/composition that I am using this year with my autistic son and LD daughter. It is First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise. It uses copywork, dictation, narration, and memorization. It is for first and second grade levels. I love books that cover more than one year. They use constant repetition, and I have seen my son (13) really begin to understand language for the first time. For writing, we use Handwriting Without Tears. It has been very effective. After much deliberation we are using notebooking with history and science. I use Evan Moor History Pockets and Christian Kids Explore Biology as a spring board for the notebooking. For geography, we use state and capitol songs and map what we sing. For math, we use Math U See, and it has been wonderful to see the lights come into their eyes. They love it and beg for more work sheets each day.
~Sonja
Thank you so much for wanting to do what is best for your children. Some of the best speech therapists and OT therapists that I have found have been at the local hospital. These ladies were very positive when dealing with us and knew that each child has his/her own special strengths. They also knew that we had no plans of enrolling in the public school, so they were very helpful to give us ideas to do at home. Tina, one thing that you will need to look at is your state's homeschool laws. Where we live science is a required subject. We just keep it very simple and do things such as experiements. Usborne books come to mind. We know these are not Christian, but we make sure we talk about God when we do the activities or are reading the books. If you can determine what your child's learning style is, that can be a huge help in knowing which curriculum to use.
~Charyti and Erin
Grace Bound Books has several unit studies for special needs children, and they are not expensive. My child is not special needs, but he did enjoy the Thomas The Train unit study. Currclick.com is very good about sales, and some of these items are on sale right now. Hope this helps. Lord bless your journey!
~Roxann
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| FREE Homeschooling Resource |
 TOS Digital Summer '07 Back Issue is yours for FREE! Click here to download. In this issue you'll discover a feature section on children with special needs, including articles on autism and vision therapy. With articles like, "Asperger's Syndrome--what is it?" and "Parenting A Special Needs Child," this magazine is sure to aid homeschooling parents with special needs children. |
| Homeschooling Resource |
 E-Book: In the Belly of a Whale--Jonah's Lesson in Obedience is a 59-page E-Book unit study based on the Old Testament story of the prophet Jonah. It was designed for a little boy with developmental delays and Asperger's Syndrome. Included in this study are: snack ideas, crafts, projects, games, and other learning activities that are developed around meeting the independent educational goals of a special needs child. Please note that this unit study is completely adaptable and beneficial for any preschool or early elementary aged child and makes learning fun.
To see more E-Books for children with Asperger's Syndrome or autism, click here. |
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If you or anyone you know homeschools a child with autism, please email us and share your personal accounts, curriculum suggestions, and insight with Tina and Merlyn. Emailing or otherwise responding to this email constitutes permission for The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC to publish, post, reprint and distribute part or all of your response in the Minute to Minute E-Newsletter, the print, digital and online versions of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, on Company websites and in other Company publications.
Sincerely,
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Elisabeth Marlowe, Minute to Minute Editor
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine |
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TOS Items of Interest
Aug. 23, 2008
