Homeschooling

Most of us would like to see our children with autism succeed in a regular education classroom setting, but that's not always the case. Many issues can lead parents to go down the homeschooling road, such as bullying, inappropriate placements, lack of support systems, etc. Sometimes the emotional trauma of just going to school can be too much for a child with autism to bear.

Aside from the issues of peers and constantly being told to pay attention, children with autism can go absolutely insane with the sensory stimulation found at most schools -- flourescent lights buzzing overhead, art projects hung on every inch of wallspace, heating and cooling systems that "kick on" every five minutes, etc., can be exceptionally troubling.

AutismLink has a discussion board geared to families who choose to homeschool their children with autism. Just go to http://www.autismlink.com/discussion

  • Here's a good write-up on how to start a homeschooling program.
  • National Home Education Network -- NHEN has a great page with tons of helpful hints and information. They also have a page specifically for homeschooling children with autism spectrum disorders.
  • Perfectionism and Asperger Syndrome in Homeschooling
  • Home Education from a Different Perspective
  • Homeschooling Extraordinary Kids - Thinking Outside The Box - An international e-mail discussion forum for parents of homeschoolers who are Gifted with a Learning Disability. Discuss how to find/use/tweak curriculum to meet your children's needs. Maintains a database with topics relating to all areas of homeschooling including Gifted - LD - Gifted/LD resources. Companion site to list, buy and sell *specialized* curriculum is accesible through homepage.
  • Homeschooling children who "aut" to be at home -- one mom's look at homeschooling
  • Homeschool zone --
  • Homeschool Central -- Resources for children with special needs
  • ISER -- Internet Special Education Resources is a nationwide directory of professionals who serve the learning disabilities and special education communities. We help parents and caregivers find local special education professionals to help with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder assessment, therapy, advocacy, and other special needs.
  • CanLearn - CAN LEARN empowers parents with the knowledge, techniques, and expertise that enable them to assume primary responsibility for their child’s maximum growth and development and provides families with individualized home programs that serve as homeschool programs for children
  • NATHAN - NATional cHallenged Homeschoolers Associated Network - international organization for homeschoolers for people dealing with disabilities
  • The National Academy for Child Development - designs very specific home educational and therapeutic programs for infants, children and adults given the labels including; Learning Disabled, Dyslexic, Distractible, ADD, ADHD, Hyperactive, Down Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Williams Syndrome, Tourettes Syndrome, Rhetts Syndrome, Fragile X, Developmentally Delayed, PDD, Autistic, Cerebral Palsy, Brain Injured, Comatose, Retarded, Minimal Brain Dysfunction, Normal, Accelerated, and Gifted.
  • Reading Help - Help for Reading Problems

Online Discussion Groups:

AS You Like It 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asyoulikeit.
We are a secular list of parents who homeschool, or who are thinking about homeschooling, children with Asperger's Syndrome.   We are an open-minded, forward-thinking, mutually respectful group of individuals, with diverse belief systems, who share the challenges and successes of parenting and homeschooling children with AS.

Aut-2b-home
E-mail  listowner Tammy Glaser at aut-2b-home-request@listserv.icors.org
This email list is a collection of families who are homeschooling their autistic spectrum children full-time or part-time.  Our conversations encompass both education and autism:  developing programs that meet individual needs and learning styles, teaching methods, curriculums, resources (books, websites, organizations, etc), autism therapies, homeschool laws, IDEA laws as applied to homeschoolers, homeschool support groups, addressing lack of support from family and professionals, environmental issues, diet, and nutrition.

Aut-Home-Fam 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aut-home-fam
We are a group of diverse families who have chosen to homeschool their child(ren) with autism.   We gather together to share what works for us and our children, to share our experiences, to share community and state resources, to share questions and concerns, and to network and support each other for both homeschooling and autism.

Autistic Spectrum Learning at Home
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASLearningAtHome
This is a list for families that are homeschooling full or part time, or those that are researching the option of homeschooling their autistic spectrum children. This is a great group of families from around the world and we all have different educational, child rearing and religious philosophies.

Homeschooling Aspies
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschoolingaspies
This is a list for Christian moms who homeschool (or are seriously considering homeschooling) their children who have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.   All are welcome to join, but there will be a Christian focus to many of the posts.   We are here to encourage, support and pray for one another as we do our best to teach our Aspie's at home.