Homeschooling Autistic Children

Parents and Kids Talking

Homeschooling a child with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome shows they can make remarkable growth with a method and structure to meet their needs.

About

Homeschooling Autistic Children: Pinterest
A large Pinterest board full of resources for those homeschooling autistic children.

Homeschooling Your Child with Autism
More parents of children with autism are opting to homeschool for a variety of reasons. In this article, you will information about homeschooling your child with autism, including: pros and cons to homeschooling, curriculum options, how to ensure your child has access to social opportunities, and sample schedules.

Homeschooling the Child with Asperger Syndrome

Homeschooling the Child with Asperger Syndrome
by Lise Pyles
Packed with inspiring ideas and tips that can be used with any curriculum and on any budget, Homeschooling the Child with Asperger Syndrome explains how to design a varied study programme built around the child’s own interests, making use of simple material as well as computers and on-line resources. Parents planning to homeschool their child with Asperger Syndrome will appreciate Lise Pyles’ encouraging and practical advice, including step-by-step instructions on how to assess and improve body language and social skills, accommodating the child’s need for ritual or perfectionist tendencies, and how to develop handwriting and coordination skills.
Kindle Edition

Advice

High Interest Approachable Vocabulary – Book Review
AN A TO Z ARTICLE
A series of six short novels by Patricia Birtwistle that consists of exciting stories of intrigue and suspense for children ages 10 and older with reading difficulties. By Ruth Pell.

Homeschooling and Autism: Teaching to Strengths
By Lisa Jo Rudy. When you have a child with autism, the public systems seem to reach out and pull you in. Early intervention professionals recommend appropriate preschools where therapists are available. Before you have a chance to turn around, you’re meeting with school officials to put together IEPs, NOREPs, accommodations and behavioral interventions… and you begin to feel that educating your child is so complex that it requires a team of highly paid experts just to explain what will happen, where it will happen, why it will happen, and who will be making it happen.

“Get
How Families of Children With Autism or Asperger Syndrome Can Get the Most Out of Community Activities
by Lisa Jo Rudy
Read Inside
Many families with a child with autism or Asperger Syndrome feel that involvement in the community is not for them. This book sets out to change that, with a rich and varied menu of suggestions for how such families can take full part in community life and support the strengths and interests of their child at the same time. Informal learning experiences can be the key to self-discovery, communication, self-confidence, and even independence for many children on the autism spectrum. Only outside the four walls of school will your child truly discover their own passions, abilities, and social peers. ‘Get Out, Explore, and Have Fun’ is a guide to what’s out there, how to find it, and how to make it work for your family. The book includes hints and tips for involving your family in the right community activities, from sport to science; information on museums, arts organizations and science institutions as venues for an enjoyable and enriching day out for the family; and, resources and ideas for helping your child build on their strengths, interests, and preferred learning styles to explore life in the community. Handouts about autism are included, as well as handouts suggesting ways in which organizations and institutions can successfully include young people with autism in their activities. This book will open the door to community inclusion, creative exploration, and social learning. Why the author wrote this book.

Home-Schooling the Aspergers Child: Pros and Cons
Question: The public school hasn’t worked for my Aspergers daughter because she wasn’t diagnosed until recently, and they didn’t know how to work with her. Answer: I’m going to shift the conversation over to talking about the pros and cons of home-schooling so that, in case you decide to go this route, you can at least make an informed decision.

Homeschooling Autism
When my 14 yr old autistic son’s transition to middle school did not go well, my husband and I saw the perfect opportunity for me to begin educating him at home. By Allison Trotter.

Homeschooling the Child with Autism
by Patricia Schetter and Kandis Lighthall
Read Inside

This practical, highly accessible guide answers parents’ and professionals’ questions about teaching children with autism spectrum disorders at home. The book helps parents decide whether to homeschool and guides them through the process of beginning and maintaining an effective homeschool program. All the essential questions are addressed, such as:

  • How do you know if homeschooling is right for you and your child?
  • Which homeschool program is best for the child’s learning style and needs?
  • How should a family get started?
  • What is the best way to address social, behavioral, and organizational skills when teaching a child with ASD?
  • When should you transition back to a traditional public school setting?

Homeschooling Your Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Basics
This article is not a step-by-step guide to homeschooling your child, but rather an overview of what homeschooling a child with ASD would entail to help you make an informed decision. As a long time homeschooler of 2 kids with ASD – one with Asperger’s and one with moderate autism, I wholly recommend homeschooling, when possible and appropriate, but it’s not for everyone. By Holly Bortfeld.

How to Select an Autism Homeschool Curriculum
Trust yourself and your child. If something is just not working, no matter how many mommy bloggers swear by it, then pitch it and don’t think twice. Your kid needs exactly what your kid needs. Don’t waste precious time and energy forcing a program that is not the right fit. By Allison Trotter.

Is Home School Right for Your Child with Asperger’s?
Frustrated, upset and wanting better for their child, many parents of kids with Asperger’s do their own research about their child’s unique needs and decide to home school. But is home school the best answer? By Meghan Vivo, Your Little Professor.

7 Tips for Beginning to Homeschool a Child With an Autism Spectrum Disorder
Homeschooling for autistic children makes a lot of sense for a variety of reasons. By Valorie Delp.

Weird Kids
Shannon Anderson, a homeschool parent of an autistic child and a member of the Aut-2B-Home email list, has put together this a huge new site with information she’s gleened from the list.

Online

Asperger’s Family Forum
Welcome! This Facebook forum was created for individuals and families that are in search of information, support, and/or would like to touch base with others regarding Asperger’s Syndrome and High Functioning Autism. Sign in on Delphi.

Aut-2B-Home
This email list is a collection of families who are homeschooling their autistic spectrum children full-time or part-time. [The address for the maelstrom at St. Johns address no longer works!]

Autism Families Bay Area Activities
The purpose of this site is to keep families in the San Francisco Bay Area informed about fun, engaging artistic or recreational events that cater to individuals with special needs, especially those whose disability or behaviors may otherwise make “typical” events difficult or impossible to attend.

Autism Homeschooling Support Group New Zealand
This group has been set up for families in New Zealand who are Home Educating or considering Home Educating children on the Autism Spectrum (diagnosed or undiagnosed). We seek to provide a safe, informative, encouraging and supportive environment where you can ask questions and connect with each other.

Homeschooling Autism
An honest look inside the world of homeschooling a special needs adolescent intended to bring transparency into autism education instead of shutting it away in a dark “quiet” room.

Homeschooling on the spectrum: Autism, aspergers, PDD
Closed group. Contact admin about joining this Facebook group.

Homeschooling our Aspergers, ADHD, ODD, etc.
This is, above all, a safe place where people who are homeschooling (or making the decision to homeschool) their kiddos with a variety of different development challenges can come for encouragement, to share experiences, seek advice, and a number of other things. Contact admins to join.

Homeschooling Our Aspergers, ADHD, PDD (High Functioning) Kids 2
The common bond we all share is that we’re caregivers and parents to kiddos with special needs and a commitment to ensuring the best opportunities for success and education possible by homeschooling. Contact admin about joining this Facebook group.

Homeschooling Parents of Children with Asperger’s Syndrome
Closed group. Contact admin about joining this Facebook group.

North Texas Autism, Asperger’s and ADHD Homeschooling Friends
Beth created this group so we could have one place to post for support, questions, ideas, deals and play time ideas. Feel free to add anyone who fits the category, please!

Research

Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions ad Beliefs Regarding Homeschooling Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
By Karen Hurlbutt. Study about the perceptions of fifty-two special education teachers and what they felt about homeschooling. Content protected against copying text.

Stanford Bio-X
Results of research on autism. The Mission of Bio-X is to catalyze discovery by crossing the boundaries between disciplines, to bring interdisciplinary solutions and to create new knowledge of biological systems, in benefit of human health.

Resources

Spectrum Keys
Research around video modeling goes back more than two decades. However the ability for to view a video on demand has become possible with newer technology only very recently. Spectrum Keys has created dozens of videos based on the research. These are also supported by stories and pictures that can be customized and modified to meet the individual needs of each child. Very low membership fee.

University of North Carolina TEACCH Autism Program
A University-based system of community regional centers that offers a set of core services along with unique demonstration programs meeting the clinical, training, and research needs of individuals with ASD, their families, and professionals across the state of North Carolina.

Stories

Aut-2B-Home in Carolina
Tammy Glasser’s goal is to share ideas about homeschooling her eighteen-year-old daughter with autism and syntactic aphasia, who has learned at home for the past eleven years. Tammy welcomes comments and questions especially from parents walking a similar path.

Brilliant minds linked to autism
Historical figures including Socrates, Charles Darwin, and Andy Warhol probably had a form of autism, says a leading specialist.The Homeschooling Adventures of Asperger Boy and Bipolar Girl
This is the journey of a soon-to-be single mother trying to raise and homeschool two medically and psychologically (i.e. mental illness) children by the seat of her pants. This is told from the viewpoint of a parent living this life day to day.

We Aut To Be At Home
A blog following the homeschool journey of two work-at-home parents and our ASD son. With candor and humor, I hope to inspire other parents of autistic children who are exploring homeschooling as an option.

Author: Ann Zeise

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