Are there any other homeschoolers out here that have a kid with some type of disability (ADHD, ODD, Aspergers, etc.)? I'd love to contect with someone to swap ideas on how to stay sane! :-)

Rhonda

Rhonda,

I do not homeschool, but I have a 4 year old that is 70% deaf and in Early Childhood Education 1/2 day.  I also have a 7 year old in 1st grade who has the same ADD symptoms that my nephew has struggled with most of his life.  I also run an in-home daycare.  I find myself at the end of my rope many days - just as many days are lots of fun too.  How do you keep up with everything and find time to enjoy a good book?

Jennifer,

I find that I'm always having to think outside the box in terms of getting stuff accomplished. And, trust me, there are many days I get discouraged. I just keep trying to remind myself what I am doing for her is best for her, just a real challenge for me.

I usually read while she is doing her homework. I'm having to sit close by to make sure she is staying on task so I read then or after she has gone to bed (but I usually end up getting sleepy then!). Sometimes we have activities to run to where I need to wait an hour or so and I'll take a book with me then too.

Hi,

Two of my 3 children have a sort of LD. One has ODD and the other one has ADHD. I homeschool all three of them--and what a job it is! Many days, I am down for the count before it's lunch time. Some days, I just have to send them outside to play so I can keep my sanity.

(((Hugs))) Rhonda

We have twins and they started in public school by 2nd grade we were all burned out.  My son had a attention problem and he was having a hard time in school (I spent as much time there as he did).  The school told us he needed medication and that was the most miserable year of our life!!  We had him tested and we were lucky we got a wonderful older doctor who explained a lot to us.  We decided to not put him on meds and homeschool (the best thing we ever did).  I got a book called The way They Learn by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias.  We learned to teach him his way.  He's 17 now and he's outgrown all his problems and he is off to college in the fall.    His sisters learns a totally different way and we learned so much about teaching them with that book.  It's well worth getting a copy.   It gives you direction for dealing with how to keep their interest and teach them without giving yourself a nervous breakdown.   Hopefully that helps some.

Donna

Aspergers my younger son : ) You know what I am going to say is that every family and situation is different and needs to find what works for them.There is no one answer at all. You just have to keep going at it and sometimes just remember how much you love them even when you feel like pulling out your hair or crying until you are blue in the face because with your children life would be empty : )

I home school my son who has cerebral palsy, is blind, and has seizures.

Hi,

I have 3 homeschoolers, each with differences.

My 6 year old boy is ADHD(emphaisis on H!) who is in the process of diagnosis for Asperger's.

My 9 year old girl is ADHD.

My 13 year old boy is ADHD, Aspergers, with Sensory Integration Disorder.

Was I supposed to stay sane?

I do not homeschool. However, I am the mom of a special needs child AND I am a substitute instrucational assistant for our county's special education program.

Each child, even two with the same diagnosis, is different.

We keep as much structure as possible and are sure to put free time into the schedule and give him choices.My son currently loves the Wii and playing board games. He, also, loves to play in his sandbox.

i feel for anyone that has achild with a disabiity i went through torment trying to get my 2 homeschooled through the county  but believe it or not your children will make it through (and you) my son graduated at 16 and my daughter graduated and went on to college and did with honors to  become a cma and emt just hang in there and pray alot  and my son is getting a job in auto body and painting it can happen to kids that have problems god bless and hang in there and just love them and stand by them patricia

Rhonda - one day at a time is the only way to do it.  I don't know if it's harder to be the parent of a child with needs, (I'm gonna call it Aspie for ease in writing), the sibling of an Aspie or the person with the needs him(her)self.  I feel for all of us. 

I just bought a book from Amazon (they have some great-sounding books) called

There's also a website called differentplanet.net, I think?  I have it bookmarked at work.  It's for parents of/people with Aspergers. 

Can I Tell You About Asperger Syndrome?: A Guide for Friends and Family by Jude Welton, Elizabeth Newson, and Jane Telford.  If you don't own this book, beg, borrow, or go to your church and ask them to buy it for you.  Then hand it around to every single person, young and old who cares about your child.  It's a 10 minute read, and "tells it like it is".

Freaks, Geeks & Asperger Syndrome: A User Guide to Adolescence by Luke Jackson and Tony Attwood (Paperback - Aug 15, 2002)  I just bought this, it is written by a 13 year old with AS.

Hi

I homeschool three children two with special needs.  My oldest did graduate and now i have two more to go.  My son who is 15 is diagnose with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and speech and language disorder too.  All I can say is just hang in there.  It pays at the end.  I now have custody of my neice's baby who is 14 months old and is special needs and it just the start of it.  Right nows he has speech and language issues and only god knows what else he will have as he grows.

I'm currently homeschooling our son, who has autism (he's very high-functioning), and I agree with the advice given in this thread.

The one thing that works well for our son is to have a very structured classroom environment yet it's okay to be flexible too when the situation calls for it.  Every child is different, even those who have the same diagnosis.

My 7yo ds has high functioning autism. He's a great kid. In school in a mainstream class his anxiety level was UP HERE. Then when he faced some bullyng issues he stopped. sleeping. period. Ugh.  For those reasons 4 weeks before the end of the school year last year we pulled him from K and we homeschooled this year for first grade and he did awesome.  We have a lot of rountines and reminders and we've taken off on bad days or worked aroung.  I'm pretty "on it" about him getting up and doing math ASAP just to get his noggin going.  Socialization needs getting met for us is a problem because we're not in a HS-friendly county so I have to drive to the next county just to find a homeschool group! 

There's also a website called differentplanet.net, I think?  I have it bookmarked at work.  It's for parents of/people with Aspergers. 

Are you thinking of wrongplanet.net? It's mostly a site for people with autism and Asperger's, but there's a parents' forum too.

I homeschool my Grandaughter  that I am raising, She has FAE/ARND  (see my homepage)  Among other issuses.

This was our first year , we did www.K12.com and they are great with her, everything is at her level and her speed!!!

She has learned and progressed faster then anyone thought possible. Not to say we dont have down days or bad days!!

She will be in MiddleSchool come this Fall, and really wants to go to Public School, she wants to feel what its like. 

I have talked till blue in face, but as a parent I need to let here stumble,  She will be going to public school , I give her till Thanksgiving, family gives her till x-mas, b/4 she is wanting to go back to be homeschooled.

Children have Wings and need to Fly sometimes, tho they may tumble, we as parents are there to dust them off and get them going again and again and again!!!

HUgssssssssssssssssssss

Staci aka NANA