Homeschooling Special Needs Kids

     Homeschooling Special Needs Kids (SNKs) is like being thrown into the deep end and told to swim.  Homeschooling is hard and time consuming as it is, when you add a child or children who have special problems or learning difficulties, it just makes homeschooling all the more challenging.  Even so, I have noticed there are a lot of homeschoolers that are rising to the challenge and keeping their children at home to learn in spite (or because of) their children’s special needs. 

     I have two children who have special needs.  Luckily for me, neither have severe problems.  Both are capable of learning at or above grade level in most subjects and neither have severe physical challenges.  My oldest child is 10 and he has ADHD and OCD (obsessive- compulsive disorder) and really keeps me on my toes.  We have had to make a lot of lifestyle changes than I never imaged having to do.  One of his OCD behaviors is getting into things whether it is safe or not, whether he is allowed to or not.  To counter this we have alarms or locks on areas that could be harmful or bad for him to get into.  Sometimes we have redundancy in areas that he has already circumvented our efforts.  But until we get his OCD under control, this is how it has to be.  My little one was born with physical issues that have required many doctor visits.  At one time we were averaging about 6 a month.  Some months we have had even more and some of these appointments lasted most of the day.  He has had many tests including a MRI, CT scans, an ultrasound (to make sure his vital organs developed), a barium swallow test, multiple X- rays and an overnight sleep study.  He has also been in physical therapy, occupational therapy, early intervention classes and wore a neck and back brace for almost 7.5 months.  The great part is he is pretty much well now.  Because he has cervical scoliosis and microcephaly we are keeping an eye on him but basically we have to do very little for him now.  I am very thankful, that most of this is behind us, but I am very aware there are a lot of families that never get away from this stage.  I am one of the lucky ones that my son’s physical problems were not permanent.

Medical Binder

     One thing I have found that is really important when you have a SNK is a medical binder.  It is similar to a Homemaker’s Binder but it is for information on one child and their medical condition.  It could even get to the point that you need two of them.  A large one to store information you get on your child’s condition and a smaller one that you can take to doctor appointments.  Here are things you may need to keep in your binder:

Smaller

1.       List of doctors and specialists with addresses, phone numbers, dates seen and what seen for.

2.       Calendar*

3.       List of symptoms.  Leave a place to add more if they change and note when you first noticed them.

4. Diagnosis of the child and any information pertaining to it.
5. List of test that have been done and when.
6. List of any procedures including surgeries and when they were done. (also include if any complications)
7. Timeline of events
8. A place to take notes.
9. A place to write questions and their answers.
10. A folder for any papers or pamphlets they give you. (transfer to large when you get home if you need to)
11. Pictures of child if there is a physical disability.

Larger

1.       Keep a copy of the stuff in the smaller binder incase it gets lost.

2.       Any papers that the doctors give you.

3.       A record of any phone calls, letters or e-mails to a doctor or therapist.  Even if it is just to leave a message. 

4.       Any information that you find on the web, or papers you receive about the condition.

5.       Diary if you need to keep track of any foods, sleep, moods, behaviors, or such. 

Of course keep what is important to your child’s issues, whatever that may be.  Keeping it in a central binder will not only save you time, but helps your child with their care so you don’t forget something important.  Here is a website that you can get some forms for a medical binder.  It is in Word so it can be customized.  You may have to add or subtract things to it to fit your child’s particular need. 

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/alpha/c/special-needs/resources/forms.htm

* special note about calendars, I found when I started to get a lot of appointments, plus homeschool stuff, sports stuff and parties and stuff my calendar got to cluttered and I even missed an appointment because of it.  I started assigning activities a color of ink.  Red- was medical so it would really stand out among all the rest.  Then I had homeschool stuff in purple, sports in blue and general (parties, church functions, AWANAS, ect.) in black.  I never missed a doctor appointment again and I could tell at a glace what type of activity we had to do.  I did this even for our wall calendar, not just our appointment book.  I had a calendar that had a pocket on it and it made it real handy to keep pens in the pocket.

Resources:

General

http://members.tripod.com/%7EMaaja/index.htm

http://www.edbydesign.com/specneedsres/index.html

http://fcsn.org/index.php

http://www.our-kids.org/

Homeschooling SNKs in General

http://www.nathhan.com/

http://homepage.bushnell.net/~peanuts/CMSpecialNeeds.html

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8259/special.html

http://home.att.net/~MikeJaqua/special/frames/

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/special/Homeschooling_Under_Special_Circumstances.htm

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/specialneeds.htm

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/specneeds/Homeschooling_Special_Needs.htm

http://www.brightword.com/homeschooling-special-needs.html

http://www.bayshoreeducational.com/special.html

http://www.christianhomeschoolers.com/hs_special_needs.html

http://www.homeschoolcentral.com/special.htm

ADHD

www.chadd.org

http://www.christianadhd.com/

http://christianadhd.com/home-benefits.php

http://www.add.org/

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/adhd.html

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ADHD_Homeschool/

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~kathskorner/html/homeschooling2.html

OCD (Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder)

www.ocfoundation.org

http://members.aol.com/overcomeocd/kids.html

http://www.geonius.com/ocd/children.html

http://www.ocdhope.com/KidsOCD.htm

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/OCD.html

http://www.ocfoundation.org/ocd-in-children.html

Tourette Syndrome

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/tourette/default.htm

http://www.tourettes-disorder.com/

http://www.tsa-usa.org/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/tourette.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tourette-syndrome/DS00541

SID (Sensory Integration Dysfunction)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_integration_disorder

Autism

http://autismcoach.com/

http://www.autismlink.com/

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/autism.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~tammyglaser798/authome.html

http://www.nhen.org/specneed/default.asp?id=274

http://home.earthlink.net/~tammyglaser798/pamela.html

http://www.homeschoolzone.com/add/autism.htm

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer

Downs Syndrome

http://www.altonweb.com/cs/downsyndrome/index.htm?page=hsoverview.html

http://www.altonweb.com/cs/downsyndrome/index.htm?page=homeschooling.html

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschoolinganddownsyndrome/

http://www.nhen.org/specneed/default.asp?id=275

http://www.nhen.org/specneed/default.asp?id=478

http://www.nathhan.com/dsart.htm

http://www.altonweb.com/cs/downsyndrome/index.htm?page=hsresources.html

Cerebral Palsy

http://specialneedseducation.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_cerebral_palsy

http://www.about-cerebral-palsy.org/

http://jenny1plus8.tripod.com/Mississippi_CPN.html

Bipolar Disorder

http://www.mhawestchester.org/diagnosechild/cbipolar.asp

http://www.bpchildren.com/

http://www.bipolarchild.com/articles.html

Muscular Torticollis

http://www.pedisurg.com/PtEduc/Torticollis.htm

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyills/10912.html

http://www.infant-torticollis.org/

Dyslexia

http://www.dyslexia.com/

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus/understandingdyslexia/

http://www.audiblox2000.com/dyslexia_dyslexic/dyslexia.htm

http://www.interdys.org/

http://www.homeschoolviews.com/articles/feature/dyslexia.html

http://www.time4learning.com/learning-dyslexia.shtml

http://www.homeschool.com/LetsGoLearn/FAQ_Categories/Dyslexia/default.asp

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HSDyslexicKids/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartofReading/

http://www.homeschoolviews.com/articles/askamom/askamom-july05.html

Dysgraphia

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dysgraphia/dysgraphia.htm

http://www.terriebittner.com/Treasured%20Time/dysgraphiaintro.htm

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art46.asp

http://www.inspiredidea.com/home/ubhs/

http://www.learningabledkids.com/home_school_Q_and_A/dysgraphia.html

Learning Disabled

http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/ldbasics

http://www.ldonline.org/article/5899

http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/learning-disabilities.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4336/ldgift.html

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/homeschool/64904

http://www.learningabledkids.com/

This is of course not a full list.  If you know about a disorder or a resource, feel free to leave the information in a comment so others can benefit from it.

How you can help a friend with SNKs

Ok, you don’t have SNKs but you would like to know how you can support a friend that does. 

1.       Don’t assume, ask how you can help.  Sometimes good intentions can go wrong if your not sure what to do.

2.       Babysit- The mother may not feel comfortable with you watching the SNK (please don’t get offended with her, it’s just that you are not use to caring for the child) but watching the other children while she takes her SNK to a specialist might help out.

3.       Take her meals- always ask if there are special dietary considerations.

4.       Listen- Sometimes it’s hard to find someone who will listen to your problems.  Husbands are there for their wife, but they usually feel the need to fix things and since SNKs can’t be fixed that easily, it is hard for them to deal with and it makes it even harder for them seeing their wife hurting and not being able to take away her troubles.

5.       Offer to go with her to an appointment for support if no one else can.  Sometimes husbands cannot make it to appointments because of work, but she may still need support.  I still remember hearing the doctor tell us, our little one may need spinal surgery.  I lost it right there, I don’t know what I would have done if my husband had not been there.  I was shaking so bad, I doubt I could have driven home.

6.       Be understanding- her time and money is very limited.  She may spend much time in doctors offices or spend twice as long doing simple tasks.  Her money may be limited and she may not have the money to do all the field trips or things you would like her to do.  Having SNKs is expensive and can put you in debt very quickly.

7.       Be patient with her children- They are not going to act like yours.  A lot of SNKs have behavior issues that go along with their disorders or because of frustration.  This does not mean she is a bad mom or that they are bad kids.  This is just a part of a disability.  If your concerned about it, read up on the condition to see if the behavior is normal.

8.       Don’t judge her discipline style- it could be very different from yours but it may be what she has to do.  Children with special needs often respond differently to punishment than other children so don’t assume that she is not discipline her children. 

9.       Don’t judge how she teaches- her style may be very different from yours because of circumstances.  An example of this is in the beginning we used a lot of workbooks because they could be packed up and go with us easily.  Hands on projects didn’t travel so well.