to read over the past two years through Chicka
Chicka Boom Boom videos and books that we
watch and read together. My daughter is much
more relaxed as she is not being rushed around
or in therapy/school several times a week. Letting my children lead and set the pace for their
own learning has been extremely freeing for all
of us.
~ Courtney Peters
Because It Brought a Sense
of Confidence and Calm to Our
Entire Family
I will be honest; home-schooling an autistic
child is not for the weak. I learned very early on
that a team of dedicated, passionate individuals working together towards a goal larger than
their own individual interests would be the key
to success, but it takes determination, sacrifice
and a vision in which you assume competence
from your child. I also learned that a home program cannot be successful if you do not invest
the time into nurturing your team. At the beginning, the disadvantages of choosing to homeschool can certainly appear to weigh more than
the advantages—the sacrifice (money and time)
that one parent must make to coordinate a home
program is challenging. With time, however, it
became more second nature and the advantages
more apparent. I came to realize and appreciate the confidence and calm that homeschooling
brought my son and our family, especially when
seeing, in retrospect, that the amount of time I
had dedicated to IEP meetings, evaluations and
advocacy struggles were far more stressful than
running a home program. Beyond my son’s
academics, our team focuses on his social needs
as well as life skills for both the present and the
future. Once a routine is formed, the challenge
of homeschooling becomes less demanding.
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ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
The past nine years of administering my son’s
homeschool program, including the training of
over 25 individuals to work with him (on a budget) motivated me to open a pediatric therapy
center last fall. I wanted to share with parents
that it is possible to find and create your own
solution. My greatest source of help has always
been fellow parents and searching for materials and organizations that fit the interests of my
child. Fortunately, there are endless resources
available online as well as multiple homeschooling groups that become accessible by performing a simple Google search for groups related to
your child’s interests or your geographic area. I
would encourage anyone who feels that all the
traditional options either do not benefit your
child or even have a negative impact on your
child to consider homeschooling.
~ Donna Shank
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
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