I have a friend who's son is currently in PS. His teachers and doctor think he might have aspergers. She is thinking about pulling him out and homeschooling him but is worried about doing it if he has it. Do any of you have children with this or somethign like it? How did you handle homeschooling them? What curriculum did you use? Any advice you can give me to pass to her would be great. She lives a few states away from me and has 7 children, 2 of which were twin preemies. She is concerned about being able to homeschool with 3 at home, 2 of which are the twins and need alot of attention.
I cannot give you recommendations for specific curriculum, but I will say to her worries of not giving him enough attention that he will receive a lot more attention from her than from teachers who view him as a problem. He will learn a lot more at home while relaxed and safe and loved. If she is overwhelmed, perhaps she could get help with some of her responsibility. Can she hire someone to help with the house or does she have family that will help her?
My son is 12 and has Aspergers. He went to ps until 3rd grade and then began homeschooling - it is the most amazing gift for us to be able to do it. He is able to learn in a quiet (lots of Aspergers kids have sensory issues so imagine the stress they experience in a classroom of 25+ kids for 6 hours a day) and safe (many Aspergers kids are bullied) environment. It's hard to recommend curriculum because all Aspie kids are different. Mine is mostly a visual learner -he's a voracious reader and learns that way best. Many Aspie kids have trouble with handwriting so teaching them to type eases a lot of that stress. Tell your friend there is TONS of info on homeschooling and Aspergers -just Google it - it may take time but it's so worth it:!: Jane
DS13 has Asperger's. It is so much easier to homeschool him than to fight with the schools! He works best when he can do things independently. He would rather read a lesson and do the work and I check it. Than for me to teach the lesson, do the work, then I check it. It felt rather odd to homeschool this way but it is what we are finding works best for him. From what I read about homeschooling Aspies, most are this way. Tell her good luck and that she can do it!
My children both have high-functioning autism, which shares a lot of the same characteristics as Asperger's. We have found that homeschooling has been great for them! As jrv said, they learned much better when they aren't being distracted. And I can tailor my curriculum to work with them. I would recommend a very visual curriculum, as most kids on the autism spectrum (which includes Asperger's) are very visually orientated. You didn't say how old her son is, but maybe we can suggest a few things if you know. Doing school with smaller children is definitely a challenge, but she will find lots of people in here with great advice about how to deal with it - or at least who will completely understand and sympathize, which can also be a help. Maybe you can invite your friend to visit us?
wow, you are describing my dds way of learning here... she liked to readit ddo the lesson on her own, always has. but is not aspie. Interesting though how each child no matter what syndrome or what type of learning challenge or what not they have you can see similarities, thats a good thing right? So are there aspies who are totally hands on learners too? My friends son was recently diagnosed wiht this... people always ask me about things at church because of being a homewsscooler for so long they think I know it all! Ilove reading about all the differennt types of learners there are out there its helpful to me to help them. thanks for starting yoru thread! There are many people out there homeschooling kids with Aspergers I have read about and heard a lot. let your friend come here and read these ladies replies maybe she will be encouraged that sheis not alone in her challenge?
My nephew has some form of autism but he has not been tested yet, but all the symptoms look like aspergers. He just started first grade in ps and hasn't really had any serious problems. The teachers have been great so far. I am specifically hired by the SPED department to work with these kids at the Jr. High level and many of them do fine with good parental involvement. Many of us in the SPED department have noticed that most teasing comes from other kids with disabilities than kids in the general education classes. I personally think most resource rooms are generally a wast of time (which is where I work half the time) because depending on the teacher and the kids, it tends to become a more of a daycare than a classroom. I'll probably homeschool my nephew if my sister doesn't feel up to it by the time my nephew is in Middle school but regardless of what happens, the key is stay involved in their education and realized you have rights as a parent and can demand what kind of classes your kids are in and how much help they're receiving. We have parents that call us daily to make sure someone is helping their child write down their homework and has everything they need to do it.
Thanks for all the info, you guys are WONDERFUL!! Her son is 5 and in kindergarten. She had him in Head start last year. She says that is was really good for him because he learned to be more social and he learned what is appropriate behavior towards others. Now he cries everyday when they are getting ready for school, and he cries during the day at school and when he comes home he cries about his homework. He has trouble retaining information, and he has trouble writing and reading. She has talked to him about why he doesnt' like school and he says he likes his teacher, but he can't remember anyone else's names so he has no friends to play with and he has trouble remembering what the teacher asked him to do. I feel so bad for him! I know she could homeschool, and her dh is supportive of it. I know they have family around, but I think the closest is her parents and they are 70 miles from her. She said she would homeschool if she lived by me, and she said she is tired of living where they are....perhaps everyone can pray that she will know what to do, whether that be move by me, or just stay where she is and pull him out of school. The Lord will direct her, I just think she needs extra prayers right now.
The more I watch my son around "normal" kids and read and learn about Aspergers I realize that there is nothing "wrong" with him -he just does things differently. He processes things in his brain differently. If he described how he arrived at an answer to a math problem you would scratch your head and think "Huh"? but he gets the right answer. That's why sometimes the public school sitting at a desk with a teacher talking for an hour with is so hard. My son used to have to sit with a group of 3 other kids with their desks forming a square and they were supposed to get their work done this way. Talk about distracting! I still don't know how my son did so well in school for so long -it must have been a living nightmare for him. My son needs to move in order to think also -after he has read something, watched a movie, etc. he likes to go downstairs and pace around --he says it helps him think. When we used to do spelling words it did not work for him to sit and learn them and then sit again and take a test. He would read the words (usually sitting on the couch or pacing) and then I would verbally give him the test while he paced around the living room - he was happy, he learned the words and there were no tears or meltdowns.
Homeschooling was the best thing we ever did for our son with Aspergers. My only regret is that we did not do it sooner. My son was so unhappy in PS - the other kids were not too bad but some of the teachers picked on him without mercy. One teacher made it clear that she did not want him in her classroom - right in front of me! Another teacher yelled at him, "Why can't you be normal like all the other kids!" His aide told him to stop pretending that he couldn't see the board, and when we finally found out about it and got him glasses she took them away because he was "fiddling with them". PS can truly be a nightmare for kids with Aspergers. These kids do learn differently, and you can let them do that in homeschool. We put together our own curriculum from many different sources - you find out quickly what works and what doesn't. As far as it taking a lot of time - I spent as much time helping him with homework and dealing with all the problems at the school as I did homeschooling him. Kindergarten was not too bad, but by the time we got to 7th grade it was a full-time job for me just keeping him in PS.
If she felt she could do it before the label, then the label really should not matter. It does not change her child. I think she should just go for it, regardless of any labels anyone gives him.
