I've made the decision to homeschool my son. It's definate now. Now, I need to educate myself on the laws and what I need to do to pull him out of school before next year. I'm gonna let him finish pre K this year (his second year in Pre K) and then beginning next year, I'll be homeschooling. I'm lucky enough to know a teacher who homeschools kids at her home. She no longer works in a school, but is still certified. I would have her homeschool my son, but I can't afford it with all the other costs of supplements and therapy my son is on. (he has Autism). So, I know it'll be cheaper for me to homeschool him myself.

Any websites, tips and ideas anyone could tell me or help me with would be really appreciated.

The only advice I can think of is RELAX and have fun. Don't be too over worried about what he is learning and take it one step at a time and try not to put too much into a day. He is young yet. I know for my son we read a lot of books and just explored a lot when he was that age. I am now working on 7th grade so it has been awhile since he was that age. We  went to the library a lot and read lots of books about animals at that age. Enjoy the new adventure. Michele

Can a child with Autism be listed under the private school option in Louisiana??? Anyone know??

 CF, I answered you in the other thread.  First of all, the LA laws states the compulsory attendance age is 7.  So you don't have to worry about *any* laws until your child is 7.  I don't see any special needs exclusions in the LA law.  I do see where you have deadlines for contacting your local board of ed, however.

You could use your friend for a portfolio review.  Most people homeschool their own kids, not other people's kids.  In that case, it's private tutoring, not really homeschooling.  Anyone can homeschool - you don't have to be a certified teacher.

In my state, a child can have an IEP through a public district and continue it at home as the "LRE" - least restrictive environment.  But we don't have strict HS'ing laws like you do in LA.  However, talk to your Board of Ed about HS'ing with ASD.

Is  your child currently in early intervention on a IFSP?  Since you mentioned preschool, I assume that's the situation.

He's been in Pre K at school for the past 2 years, so I don't know if there is anything special I have to do law wise for him not to go next year. I'm still learning about all this. It's scary to begin.

This web site has lots of links to information for Louisiana.

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/Louisiana.htm

I'd recommend finding some experienced homeschoolers  in your area/state to get the real details.

good luck, and enjoy your journey.

Thanks for the link Rebecca, gonna go check it out now!

Try  HSLDA.org   There is way too much info on this site to try tell you all of it here. The site has the laws and regulations for each state for you to look at. Some of the areas on the site are for members only, but I feel you will find many answers to what you are asking about. The site also has a section for parents dedicated to homeschooling children with learning difficulties that you may find helpful. I hope this helps. I have a couple of children on the spectrum and I try to stay in conversation with Jesus all the time! The best advice that I can offer is- give your worries over to the Lord, if you take them back, give them over again. Also, pray that He would show you the path He wants you to take, and when He does don't question it, trust Him.

Christine


 

Christine, thank-you so much for the words of encouragement. I'm in tears because what you speak is the truth and is what I needed to hear. Sometimes I just try to hard to do it all myself and I need to remember to put it in Gods hands. As parents you want what's best for your kids and your decisions do affect their life and I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Someone else I know mentioned that website and I plan to join it eventually. It's $118 for a year, but I hear it's worth every penny.

You don't have to join HSLDA to benefit from the articles and state law info on their website. They also have an email list concerning special needs kids - membership not required.

I've read your threads with interest. We started homeschooling my younger son after a year of kindergarten. They wanted to keep him back for "Social Immaturity", but he was sounding out words and adding numbers in his head. I knew that going back to "This is an A. Can you say A?" would turn him off of school forever. So I pulled him.

We ended up moving that December to a place with a better school system, and I also needed time to get us settled. So he went back to ps. By 2nd grade he was being evaluated - dx PDD - which now would have scored as Aspergers or High Functioning Autism. Modifications were not being made in his classroom according to his iep. When he was in 5th grade I pulled his younger sister from her 3rd grade class and started hs'ing her. I let him finish that year since he was finally having a good year.

He is 19 now and recently thanked me for homeschooling them. He told me that it is the best thing that I ever did for him.

I homeschool in LA. We do the private school option and only send in a letter of intent each year. There is no other oversight. I don't see any provision about exemptions for students with disabilities. I would attempt to contact a local support group and check. If you are going to be looking at obtaining any services from the public school I'm not sure how that would apply with a private school option.

Here's a link from DOE website.

Chandra, that is wonderful!  I'm so glad homeschooling worked well for your children. It's scary for me, but I know once I get started it'll be fine.

Thanks Paula! I'm glad to hear of someone else in LA who does the private schooling. That is what I'm wanting to do too. That way I can teach him without being bothered throughout the year by the state.