How do some parents homeschool children with special needs in Puerto Rico? Come and see... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:48:00 -0500 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:48:00 -0500 I will like to share how my “Summer school” has been so far. My son has progressed in his reading skills and his “dyslexia” is every day more subtle; when he reads words with several monosyllables (el, la, en), he has the problem, when he reads words with several syllables, he doesn’t have a problem. During the last weeks, he is trying to read every sign he sees and tries very hard to do it right (whoo hoo!). I am motivating him with, well, with what he likes (Bionicle, Legos, Transformers, Power Rangers, etc.) He acknowledges that he needs to write and read to understand better (I don’t think he realized this last year) and he feel proud when he finishes a sentence or understands what he is trying to read. Sometimes he won’t understand, but we started working on the Four Square Writing Method (first pages) and he finds it amusing. I hope this helps.      When he was diagnosed with the “dyslexia”, I shared it with people who knew more than I about homeschooling special needs children (It’s great to have those people around!) and they told me that it’s not a simple dyslexia, but part of his condition. It scared me to not understand clearly my son’s core issues and realizing that this part of his condition. Maybe it’s because he has improved so much at his social integration and sensory integration that I thought I could treat him like a normal child, even academically.       Re-reading Sharon Hensley’s article about having realistic expectations (in her book “Homeschooling Children with Special Needs: Turning Challenges into Opportunities!"), it dawned me that sometime on the way I “forgot” my son’s condition and expected him to “catch up” two years of school in a few weeks (as if!). I shared it with a group of friends, as part of what I learned about it and being in peace with his condition. I realized that is not that I didn’t accept the autism; it’s that I thought we had won the war. I realized we have won battles, but the war hasn’t ended. The war may never end! Its part of what my son is, a boy with issues (like many others) and with a family who supports him and prays with him to help him with these issues.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/359367/ Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:48:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/359367/ No, I am not playing the devil’s advocate, it just that the questions come this time of year of many parents that want to know the basic questions of homeschooling a special needs child.             *In PR there is no legislation or regulation towards homeschooling;             *Children that are receiving therapies by the Ed. Department will not lose their             services because of homeschooling. *It is recommended that you keep a journal and/or portfolio of your homeschooling to keep your                 records and if any legislation or regulation comes along.    Many parents talk about curriculum and course of study. I often ask them if the child has a IEP (Individualized Education Plan) and most of them have, so I tell them to modify that in a one to one basis and adapt that with the course of study for the child’s grade.     We have to look first to help the child with the “loops” he/she has in the basic skills to then look forward in the grade skills. For example, if a child has dyslexia, I think we have first to help him decode and comprehend better before telling him to read Don Quixote. It looks obvious, but sometimes parents think this way (ok, sometimes I do). Sometimes I forget my son’s condition and look at him as a normal child, until I face the wall of his autism and core issues within the condition. It’s hard to remember it, but it makes me understand that he is the reason and God has put me in this path to help him be the best he can be…    So don’t forget, the main issue in homeschooling a special needs child is educating him to be a better human being WITHIN HIS/HER CONDITION and be confident that God will help you on the way.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/352485/ Thu, 5 Jul 2007 22:15:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/352485/ Today I got the news that my son has dyslexia. Although this doesn’t surprise me, it gives me a new challenge, his autism is “on regression”, he is behaving like a normal 6 year-old (he is 8 yo, btw), and he is socializing well, but it answers his problems in reading. Now we have to look for possible new strategies to help him overcome this new obstacle. This summer, his reading is more fluid, even though he is still reading syllable by syllable; his math is almost at grade level and we are doing review in money concepts. So it’s not so bad!    The therapist tells me that this is a normal situation with children with processing disorders (with he had a while back with language) but she wants to work it with him as she would with a typical child, not as a child with autism. I asked why and she told me that because he is a high functioning autistic child, most therapies for dyslexia/autism are prepared for children with moderate/severe autism and he is not the case.     I agree with her as I remembered the last time he was considered a moderate autistic child. It was almost 4 years ago. As I said in a earlier post, his pediatrician asked for a re-consideration of his dx because he believes that he has surpassed all prognosis for an independent life. So, after all, maybe it can be the same situation with dyslexia. We will work with it one day at a time and see how to win it. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/348145/ Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:43:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/348145/      This time, I would like to leave the sourpuss in me in being so negative during the last (almost) year and be more optimistic in terms of our goals for this school year. All my whining and my issues have not affected most of my son’s goals in the school year that ended recently. There are still many “batches” that we have to help him, especially on writing and reading skills, but we will work on this on the summer with the help of my other 2 daughters whom are on summer vacation.      He is happy, he is talking a lot more, and requiring me attention: “Look at me, mom, I am talking” are some of his expressions that make me laugh and almost cry because I see my son big, alert and learning at his environment. The Lord has been good with us!       I know that I have talked about putting him in a school, but after thinking about it and searching for an appropriate school, there is none! I believe in homeschooling and I believe that he is in the best environment to help him achieve these goals, especially when we are talking about children with special needs, in my case, autism.      I see my children and I see hope…      I see my children and I see acceptance…      I see my children and I see progress…      I see my children and I see a way to be near God and my way to holiness…      I know I have to be more consistent with my schedule and with what my son will be learning, but I also know that I have to let him LIVE and LEARN with his environment.       There are better days, we will start on it TODAY. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/336257/ Thu, 31 May 2007 13:50:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/336257/      I had several difficulties about helping my son with 2nd grade math facts. I had great help by Molly at http://homeschoolblogger.com/indexcards/, because she gave me some interesting suggestions to help my son in understanding subtraction regrouping. Please feel free to include your suggestions to help children with learning problems in understanding this concept. Thank you Molly! Hi, Denise! You posed a great question.  One idea I could think of is to set up the problems with each number being a separate card.  For instance, if you are going to have the problem: 26-17, you would need a 2, 6, 1, and 7 card.   You would set up the 2 and 6 above the 1 and 7.  As you are talking about each step, you can look at the 6 and the 7 and talk about the 7 being larger than the 6, so you  would need to "borrow" from the 10s place.   Another hands-on idea I have used with this is to use straws.  I am not sure if hands-on is the way you want to go, but I typed a short idea on my blog, you can see it here:  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/indexcards/288738/   One thing I would stress is the "why" to regroup.  My son, just turned 9, was able to understand it better when he understood why he had to borrow from the next place over.  You could even use the index cards to create a lapbook about regrouping.  Each booklet could be a step in teaching why you would need to regroup the numbers when  you subtract.   Please feel free to e-mail me again, if you have any additional questions.  I will definitely try to help as much as I can! Many Blessings, Molly   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/332064/ Tue, 22 May 2007 14:14:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/332064/    It's that time of year that everyone loves and hates, end of the school year! My almost 12 years-old daughter (she'll be 12 on Tuesday) is graduating elementary school and we're in final exams at her school. My son's therapists have been absent for several reasons (being pregnant is one of them) and it takes time and we are all so tired and looking forward to sleep in late. I don't think I will put them on Summer camp just to enjoy the day and live without time restrictions.    There have been questions about putting my son in a special school (to adapt to socialization! Ufff!) and although I am in a tight financial situation, I don't want to loose homeschooling with my son. He has progressed so much and  everyone recognizes it! I feel like so much responsabilities, so little head, but I have God at my side and I know that it will be better...     We are starting with notebooking, but he doesn't like it much because he has to write. So we are trying with some of his comics to start this new strategy at learning.     Thank you for all your prayers and God bless. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/323796/ Fri, 4 May 2007 11:56:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/323796/ I would like to report great progress at our homeschooling journey, but there are several small ones. My son is still struggling with his reading program, because of inconsistency. In part is my fault because of my depression and inconsistency. I have to admit I have to re-evaluate my priorities towards my son.    Don't get me wrong, I know he and my other girls are the most important chore God has gave me, but this burn-out deal has giving me big doubts if I am doing the right thing to homeschool him. It's just that (and I know there are single moms homeschooling that have felt that way) it feels like you are all alone. I even can't go to my hs support group meetings because of my son's therapy sessions... Oh well, there will be better days, I just know it.   Just a note, April is Autism Awareness month, and in Puerto Rico, there are several groups that are promoting that school is best for a child with autism can socialize properly and I had to shout that I don't believe the same. There is so much to share about homeschooling... People still think that hs is to isolate a child, it's the contrary! But it's sad to think that because you think diferently, you cannot share your ideas and situations with others. We still have so much to learn about how people can live together with different opinions... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/318333/ Mon, 23 Apr 2007 06:20:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/318333/ Hi you all! I have been away this blog for all this months for several reasons; (1) my time has been very limited with a lot of work from church and the children, (2) I have been battering a depression with prayer and good friends from the OCDS (Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites) at Caguas, Puerto Rico. (3)With this depression, I have been very unmotivated to tell you what homeschooling is helping my son, because I have felt that I was putting him behind.       The search is not over, but neither are my feelings. I have been thinking in putting my son at school, because I have been having financial situations (it is not yet problems, but if I don’t do something, it will be) and I may have to work, but my heart is at homeschooling. Seeing and being part of this progress is a boost that no medicine can cure, but there is so much pressure to “help him socializing”! There are so much pressures  to give him a stability that all this time homeschooling was giving him!  And there is a economic crisis at PR,  what was enough to live by  isn't anymore!      At this point, I should be secure of the benefits, of my beliefs, but I feel burned out at every aspect of my life. I know this will pass, but… it’s taking too long!     I ask you to pray so I can make the best decision for his sake, not mine and that I can live with it…     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/312987/ Wed, 11 Apr 2007 17:48:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/312987/ Happy 2007! Well, the Christmas season has not finished in Puerto Rico; we still celebrate the Epifany on January 6. It's a tradition that is as important as Christmas because we see how Jesus Christ was presented to all, jews and gentils. During the Christmas season we haven't not studied much, but enjoyed what Jesus has brought us during this time. We will try to start today... let's see if we can. My son has worked several "autistic" issues during this time, including the fireworks on New Year's Eve. He was amazed by the lights and was not severely bothered by the noise (more than we were). That's a great success! I have always thought that the academic success will come if we work hard the issues that he has (hyposensitivity, obsessions, etc.) A friend that is a phychologist has told me that his ADHD issues are almost gone (that most of it is because he is an 8 years old boy and not because of the condition) and gives me the hope that he will live a "normal" life because his "autistic traits" are so mild at this moment. Now, it doesn't mean that I won't keep working. But there is always hope to a better day... Praise the Lord! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/263043/ Wed, 3 Jan 2007 06:17:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/263043/    I was last night making my son’s IEP evaluation this semester and I have to admit, his schooling is still basic but he has advanced so much! He is READING at last and although we are doing the process slowly, we are READING! We are adding and subtracting and we are SOCIALIZING and LOOKING FORWARD TO SOCIALIZE with other children.   During this time of year, I always look back and try to look at the positive things we have done so far. Even our pediatrician thinks my son can be re-evaluated because he believes that he can change his dx. It was a great surprise for me! Not because I don’t see his improvements, but I never looked at that as part of our process. This is just the Lord’s work in our lives, nothing else.  PRAISE HIM! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/257508/ Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:05:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Joanise/257508/