Beginning to consider homeschool for Aspergers/ADD son

http://forums.ivillage.com/t5/Special-Needs/Beginning-to-consider-homeschool-for-Aspergers-ADD-son/m-p/117236411/message-uid/117236411#U117236411
Beginning to consider homeschool for Aspergers/ADD son
12 Posts
04-08-2011 05:47 PM

Let me introduce myself. My name is Laurie and we have 2 children, ages 10 and 5. Our son is 10 yrs old. He has been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome (a type of high-functioning autism), ADD, and is also very anxious with a tendency toward OCD. He also has a rather severe non-verbal learning disability that makes it very hard for him to pull important details out of what he is reading.

He is currently attending public school in an integrated classroom (meaning half the class is made of typical children and half is made of children getting some type of Special Education Service.) He is getting OT, speech, and has many modifications to help make school easier for him. He is also receiving special help in language arts and math. The school has been tremendous, offering us every available service and going out of their way to try different programs, approaches and ways to help support hi

We tried Vyvanse(stimulant medication) to help with the ADD but over time it stopped helping and higher doses caused anxiety and OCD to the point the problems outweighed the benefits of the meds. We stopped the meds.

We are spending hours on what should be 30 minutes of homework. Not so much because of attention issues but because I have to re-write directions and rep-resent material so he can understand it. He is very intelligent, but is a very visual learner. He struggles to comprehend the instructions and understand what the question is asking. We are now at the point that I truly feel I could accomplish more learning in less time and with a lot less stress if we homeschooled.

He is also very immature as far as life skills like hygiene, organization, and social interaction. I have heard the arguments about school providing social opportunities, but I don't find this to be true, since he needs to be near the teacher at all times, can't cooperate on group projects, and shows no interest in wanting to socialize with the other kids. When he does try, it usually doesn't go well.

I am interested in hearing from any other parents with kids on the autistic spectrum, especially Aspergers, who have chosen to homeschool. If you could share your thoughts, your experiences, and any insights with us, I would appreciate it very much.

I don't really want to homeschool. I'm not choosing to homeschool, I think we have to homeschool, if you understand what I mean. I want my son to learn to his full potential, and the truth is, he just thinks and learns completely differently than most kids. Even if we could find a medicine for the ADD that works well, we will still have the Aspergers issues to deal with and the learning difficulties to deal with.

There are no medicines to fix those. And if we would homeschool, maybe we wouldn't need medication, since we are now trying to make him fit into a mold he just isn't made to fit into. I'm not against medication, in fact I take medication for anxiety disorder, and if I thought my son really was suffering without it, I would certainly give it to him. But it raises the question in my mind of why we need to medicate in the first place. Is the problem with him, or with the environment we are trying to get

My last thought is, if we could spend less time on academics, then he would have a lot more time to learn social skills and life skills. Schoolwork is eating up so much of our time now just trying to keep up. And it is putting a lot of stress on the rest of the family, too.

And I am curious if any parents here have one child whom they homeschool and another who goes to public school. Alex's younger sister, who we haven't noticed any behavior issues or warning signs in yet, is scheduled to enter kindergarten this fall. How do you explain to the kids why one is homeschooled the other isn't, and do you have jealously issues?

Thanks in advance for any information or thoughts you can share with me. And I am sorry this was such a long post, but it feels good to ask questions and share my thoughts with people who may have the same situation and understand.

Laurie