CLOSE-UP
Why I Choose to Homeschool
My Children
Editor’s Note: Be it a momentary thought after a bad IEP meeting or a last resort option
after something much more serious has occurred, most special needs parents have toyed
with the idea of taking their children out of the public/private school system and educating them at home. For many, it is the only viable option. Since this issue of ZOOM deals a
lot with school, we felt the need to explore the idea of homeschooling as well. With that
in mind, this Close Up is a little different. Rather than just showcase one parent’s point
of view, we decided to share a few because, if you are considering homeschooling, we
thought you might find it helpful to hear from those who have been there and done it! We
asked each of these three parents the same question: “Why did you choose to homeschool
your child, and what are the advantages and disadvantages?” This is what they had to say.
Because No One Knows Your Child
Better Than You
Because They Learn at Their
Own Pace
Choosing to homeschool our son was not an
easy decision. Teaching your own child is both a
privilege and a challenge. Setting up the school
program and keeping up the schedule with an
autistic child is not an easy task. It is also difficult to have the dual roles of both parent and
teacher. In the end, however, I firmly believe
that few teachers will provide the devotion and
care that a parent will for his own child.
Fifteen months ago, my three autistic children
were all on IEPs. My three-year-old son was
receiving home services from a county ECSE
(Early Childhood Special Education) resource
teacher, and my five-year-olds were finishing
their first year of preschool in an ECSE classroom. It turned out to be a challenging year and
one in which I felt like my children’s needs were
not being met at school. They were becoming
stressed out and unhappy. I decided to stop trying to fight the county and go with my original
plan of homeschooling.
No, it’s not easy to learn how to become a
teacher if that was not your original educational
background. However, you have the significant
benefit of knowing your child intimately and
understanding what works and what might turn
into a problem. I firmly concluded that it was
all worth the effort. In our case the homeschooling was not a forever thing – just a way to fill in
a gap in a school system that we felt was inadequate for our son’s needs at the time.
~Mark Friese
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ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
Homeschooling allows us to let our children
learn on their own timetable and without pressure or anxiety. It enables my younger son, who
is upset around noise and groups of kids, to play
in an environment in which he is comfortable.
My older son, who was coming off the preschool
bus and falling apart every day, is thriving and
learning so much. He has taught himself how
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
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