Guest guest Posted September 4, 2000 Report Share Posted September 4, 2000 > I would love to know what sort of school programs you all have. In Sep 1995, we opted to homeschool Pamela, our daughter with autism. After three years in public school (ages 3-6), we decided to give homeschooling a try. It had nothing to do with our school district because Pamela's last year in school was very good. Although Pamela was severely autistic at the time, her behaviors never caused problems in school. We have moved to other parts of the country several times since we started homeschooling and have not asked for services by our own choice. For us, it's a lifestyle choice, which we do for both our children. While some people turn to homeschooling because they have no option (i.e., the school district is violating IDEA), many of us homeschool regardless of how " good " or " bad " a school district is. -- Tammy G. " A parent's love perceives no limitations. " Check out my new homepage: http://home.earthlink.net/~tammyglaser798/ Three pages are DONE! ’s page is done; Pamela's is being built!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2000 Report Share Posted September 4, 2000 > I would love to know what sort of school programs you all have. In Sep 1995, we opted to homeschool Pamela, our daughter with autism. After three years in public school (ages 3-6), we decided to give homeschooling a try. It had nothing to do with our school district because Pamela's last year in school was very good. Although Pamela was severely autistic at the time, her behaviors never caused problems in school. We have moved to other parts of the country several times since we started homeschooling and have not asked for services by our own choice. For us, it's a lifestyle choice, which we do for both our children. While some people turn to homeschooling because they have no option (i.e., the school district is violating IDEA), many of us homeschool regardless of how " good " or " bad " a school district is. -- Tammy G. " A parent's love perceives no limitations. " Check out my new homepage: http://home.earthlink.net/~tammyglaser798/ Three pages are DONE! ’s page is done; Pamela's is being built!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 7, 2000 Report Share Posted September 7, 2000 Hi Theresa, I'm bj (short for Betty Jean) and I've homeschooled for over 8 years now. My youngest (Tammy) is 9 and autistic, and I have 2 older daughters 16 and 19 that I've homeschooled all those years. My 19 yo has finally made it to college...and my 16yo has decided to take up a few college classes in her junior year of HS. Homeschooling is a bit different for my autistic daughter compared to my older ones, but I feel like the experience of teaching my older kids has prepared me for the challenge of Tammy's schooling. There is another list that I'm on... " autism unschooling " that has been of help too. If you want to email me privately, feel free! or just ask away...maybe I can help...? love, bj Re: SCHOOL PROGRAMS > > Does anyone have any websites with info on home > schooling? I am at the moment very, very happy with > Sonja's school program but my oldest daughter (6 years > old) isn't doing well in her 1st grade class. She, and > most of this is my fault, has been very sheltered and > is having trouble with the huge change between > kindergarten and first grade. I have a conference with > her teacher today but I have spoken to her on several > occasions already to no prevail. > > Our biggest problem with her is the teacher leaves it > up to the children to pack their bags at the end of > the day and Zoë needs to be reminded to put her > homework and reader in it and so each day she is > coming home with an empty backpack and therefore she > is falling behind all the other children in class work > because we can't very well study spelling words that > we don't have right? > > And it's not just this but many other things her > teacher and I are having troubles with. So I have been > thinking about home schooling her for this year to see > if I can get her all caught up. > > Theresa > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 8, 2000 Report Share Posted September 8, 2000 Can you post Cummings website for UNSCHOOL. She has a great one. Children with autism with the most challenging behaviors are too difficult for families to home school. If I tried to do this and deal with daily living at home with Abbie I would be dead by now. It depends on the child. Also some kids have to have OT , PT and Speech/Language etc. Do you have them come to the house to do that.? You have to have an IEP when you homeschool and the district (at least in MA) I think provides these services. I think some parents take them to the school for that. Re: SCHOOL PROGRAMS > > > > Does anyone have any websites with info on home > > schooling? I am at the moment very, very happy with > > Sonja's school program but my oldest daughter (6 years > > old) isn't doing well in her 1st grade class. She, and > > most of this is my fault, has been very sheltered and > > is having trouble with the huge change between > > kindergarten and first grade. I have a conference with > > her teacher today but I have spoken to her on several > > occasions already to no prevail. > > > > Our biggest problem with her is the teacher leaves it > > up to the children to pack their bags at the end of > > the day and Zoë needs to be reminded to put her > > homework and reader in it and so each day she is > > coming home with an empty backpack and therefore she > > is falling behind all the other children in class work > > because we can't very well study spelling words that > > we don't have right? > > > > And it's not just this but many other things her > > teacher and I are having troubles with. So I have been > > thinking about home schooling her for this year to see > > if I can get her all caught up. > > > > Theresa > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 8, 2000 Report Share Posted September 8, 2000 Can you post Cummings website for UNSCHOOL. She has a great one. Children with autism with the most challenging behaviors are too difficult for families to home school. If I tried to do this and deal with daily living at home with Abbie I would be dead by now. It depends on the child. Also some kids have to have OT , PT and Speech/Language etc. Do you have them come to the house to do that.? You have to have an IEP when you homeschool and the district (at least in MA) I think provides these services. I think some parents take them to the school for that. Re: SCHOOL PROGRAMS > > > > Does anyone have any websites with info on home > > schooling? I am at the moment very, very happy with > > Sonja's school program but my oldest daughter (6 years > > old) isn't doing well in her 1st grade class. She, and > > most of this is my fault, has been very sheltered and > > is having trouble with the huge change between > > kindergarten and first grade. I have a conference with > > her teacher today but I have spoken to her on several > > occasions already to no prevail. > > > > Our biggest problem with her is the teacher leaves it > > up to the children to pack their bags at the end of > > the day and Zoë needs to be reminded to put her > > homework and reader in it and so each day she is > > coming home with an empty backpack and therefore she > > is falling behind all the other children in class work > > because we can't very well study spelling words that > > we don't have right? > > > > And it's not just this but many other things her > > teacher and I are having troubles with. So I have been > > thinking about home schooling her for this year to see > > if I can get her all caught up. > > > > Theresa > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 8, 2000 Report Share Posted September 8, 2000 Can you post Cummings website for UNSCHOOL. She has a great one. Children with autism with the most challenging behaviors are too difficult for families to home school. If I tried to do this and deal with daily living at home with Abbie I would be dead by now. It depends on the child. Also some kids have to have OT , PT and Speech/Language etc. Do you have them come to the house to do that.? You have to have an IEP when you homeschool and the district (at least in MA) I think provides these services. I think some parents take them to the school for that. Re: SCHOOL PROGRAMS > > > > Does anyone have any websites with info on home > > schooling? I am at the moment very, very happy with > > Sonja's school program but my oldest daughter (6 years > > old) isn't doing well in her 1st grade class. She, and > > most of this is my fault, has been very sheltered and > > is having trouble with the huge change between > > kindergarten and first grade. I have a conference with > > her teacher today but I have spoken to her on several > > occasions already to no prevail. > > > > Our biggest problem with her is the teacher leaves it > > up to the children to pack their bags at the end of > > the day and Zoë needs to be reminded to put her > > homework and reader in it and so each day she is > > coming home with an empty backpack and therefore she > > is falling behind all the other children in class work > > because we can't very well study spelling words that > > we don't have right? > > > > And it's not just this but many other things her > > teacher and I are having troubles with. So I have been > > thinking about home schooling her for this year to see > > if I can get her all caught up. > > > > Theresa > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2000 Report Share Posted September 10, 2000 Hi, I know that Cummins has a website : http://homepages.go.com/~lauracu/index.html The unschooling list is at www./group/AutismUnschool. She also publishes Harmonious Times, a publication "dedicated to enriching the home lives of autistic people and those who love them" I know that homeschooling is a real different idea for parents and kids, even if they are not autistic and it is not for everyone...and yes, sometimes I get burned out myself! (especially when behaviors escalate). Some school districts will work with you, and several moms that are "homeschooling" have people come out to their homes to provide speech, ot etc. Right now, I've decided to get speech through CalStateLA (I pay) because I sense that the people in my district are not really familiar with autism. We have Tammy enrolled in "horse vaulting" which provides some SI, and she swims a lot...adaptive pe. It's not cheap finding programs, driving, and manytimes paying for classes on my own, but the Regional Center in CA pays for the horse lessons, and this summer paid the extra to have my child in private swim lessons (since she couldn't function in a group). The public school is supposed to provide speech and ot/si and adaptive pe if the child needs it. It varies from district to district how cooperative the officials are in providing what the laws say they must. I'd have to get an advocate or start threatening a law suit to get services while I hometeach here where I live. Then, I'm not sure that I'd really get the quality that I want! It's a dilemma which ever way you look at it. As far as the behavioral issues, I totally agree. There have been times that I question whether I can do this forever! (esp when things start getting tossed or like our recent experiences when Tammy finally started "generalizing" and began slapping other people after she had been slapping herself) Parents need a break sometimes, even if it's for 3-4 hours daily! So I think a school class outside the home is important for many. But as for teaching your children at home, whether we put our children in a structured public/private school program or not, as long as our children live with us, they will be home during part of the day...and as parents we will always try to find ways to teach our children...whether we profess to "homeschool" or not....maybe most of us just don't think of it that way? love, bj Re: SCHOOL PROGRAMS> >> > Does anyone have any websites with info on home> > schooling? I am at the moment very, very happy with> > Sonja's school program but my oldest daughter (6 years> > old) isn't doing well in her 1st grade class. She, and> > most of this is my fault, has been very sheltered and> > is having trouble with the huge change between> > kindergarten and first grade. I have a conference with> > her teacher today but I have spoken to her on several> > occasions already to no prevail.> >> > Our biggest problem with her is the teacher leaves it> > up to the children to pack their bags at the end of> > the day and Zoë needs to be reminded to put her> > homework and reader in it and so each day she is> > coming home with an empty backpack and therefore she> > is falling behind all the other children in class work> > because we can't very well study spelling words that> > we don't have right?> >> > And it's not just this but many other things her> > teacher and I are having troubles with. So I have been> > thinking about home schooling her for this year to see> > if I can get her all caught up.> >> > Theresa>> >> >> >>>>>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2000 Report Share Posted September 10, 2000 Hi, I know that Cummins has a website : http://homepages.go.com/~lauracu/index.html The unschooling list is at www./group/AutismUnschool. She also publishes Harmonious Times, a publication "dedicated to enriching the home lives of autistic people and those who love them" I know that homeschooling is a real different idea for parents and kids, even if they are not autistic and it is not for everyone...and yes, sometimes I get burned out myself! (especially when behaviors escalate). Some school districts will work with you, and several moms that are "homeschooling" have people come out to their homes to provide speech, ot etc. Right now, I've decided to get speech through CalStateLA (I pay) because I sense that the people in my district are not really familiar with autism. We have Tammy enrolled in "horse vaulting" which provides some SI, and she swims a lot...adaptive pe. It's not cheap finding programs, driving, and manytimes paying for classes on my own, but the Regional Center in CA pays for the horse lessons, and this summer paid the extra to have my child in private swim lessons (since she couldn't function in a group). The public school is supposed to provide speech and ot/si and adaptive pe if the child needs it. It varies from district to district how cooperative the officials are in providing what the laws say they must. I'd have to get an advocate or start threatening a law suit to get services while I hometeach here where I live. Then, I'm not sure that I'd really get the quality that I want! It's a dilemma which ever way you look at it. As far as the behavioral issues, I totally agree. There have been times that I question whether I can do this forever! (esp when things start getting tossed or like our recent experiences when Tammy finally started "generalizing" and began slapping other people after she had been slapping herself) Parents need a break sometimes, even if it's for 3-4 hours daily! So I think a school class outside the home is important for many. But as for teaching your children at home, whether we put our children in a structured public/private school program or not, as long as our children live with us, they will be home during part of the day...and as parents we will always try to find ways to teach our children...whether we profess to "homeschool" or not....maybe most of us just don't think of it that way? love, bj Re: SCHOOL PROGRAMS> >> > Does anyone have any websites with info on home> > schooling? I am at the moment very, very happy with> > Sonja's school program but my oldest daughter (6 years> > old) isn't doing well in her 1st grade class. She, and> > most of this is my fault, has been very sheltered and> > is having trouble with the huge change between> > kindergarten and first grade. I have a conference with> > her teacher today but I have spoken to her on several> > occasions already to no prevail.> >> > Our biggest problem with her is the teacher leaves it> > up to the children to pack their bags at the end of> > the day and Zoë needs to be reminded to put her> > homework and reader in it and so each day she is> > coming home with an empty backpack and therefore she> > is falling behind all the other children in class work> > because we can't very well study spelling words that> > we don't have right?> >> > And it's not just this but many other things her> > teacher and I are having troubles with. So I have been> > thinking about home schooling her for this year to see> > if I can get her all caught up.> >> > Theresa>> >> >> >>>>>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2000 Report Share Posted September 10, 2000 Hi, I know that Cummins has a website : http://homepages.go.com/~lauracu/index.html The unschooling list is at www./group/AutismUnschool. She also publishes Harmonious Times, a publication "dedicated to enriching the home lives of autistic people and those who love them" I know that homeschooling is a real different idea for parents and kids, even if they are not autistic and it is not for everyone...and yes, sometimes I get burned out myself! (especially when behaviors escalate). Some school districts will work with you, and several moms that are "homeschooling" have people come out to their homes to provide speech, ot etc. Right now, I've decided to get speech through CalStateLA (I pay) because I sense that the people in my district are not really familiar with autism. We have Tammy enrolled in "horse vaulting" which provides some SI, and she swims a lot...adaptive pe. It's not cheap finding programs, driving, and manytimes paying for classes on my own, but the Regional Center in CA pays for the horse lessons, and this summer paid the extra to have my child in private swim lessons (since she couldn't function in a group). The public school is supposed to provide speech and ot/si and adaptive pe if the child needs it. It varies from district to district how cooperative the officials are in providing what the laws say they must. I'd have to get an advocate or start threatening a law suit to get services while I hometeach here where I live. Then, I'm not sure that I'd really get the quality that I want! It's a dilemma which ever way you look at it. As far as the behavioral issues, I totally agree. There have been times that I question whether I can do this forever! (esp when things start getting tossed or like our recent experiences when Tammy finally started "generalizing" and began slapping other people after she had been slapping herself) Parents need a break sometimes, even if it's for 3-4 hours daily! So I think a school class outside the home is important for many. But as for teaching your children at home, whether we put our children in a structured public/private school program or not, as long as our children live with us, they will be home during part of the day...and as parents we will always try to find ways to teach our children...whether we profess to "homeschool" or not....maybe most of us just don't think of it that way? love, bj Re: SCHOOL PROGRAMS> >> > Does anyone have any websites with info on home> > schooling? I am at the moment very, very happy with> > Sonja's school program but my oldest daughter (6 years> > old) isn't doing well in her 1st grade class. She, and> > most of this is my fault, has been very sheltered and> > is having trouble with the huge change between> > kindergarten and first grade. I have a conference with> > her teacher today but I have spoken to her on several> > occasions already to no prevail.> >> > Our biggest problem with her is the teacher leaves it> > up to the children to pack their bags at the end of> > the day and Zoë needs to be reminded to put her> > homework and reader in it and so each day she is> > coming home with an empty backpack and therefore she> > is falling behind all the other children in class work> > because we can't very well study spelling words that> > we don't have right?> >> > And it's not just this but many other things her> > teacher and I are having troubles with. So I have been> > thinking about home schooling her for this year to see> > if I can get her all caught up.> >> > Theresa>> >> >> >>>>>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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