Homeschool Curriculum Question for parents, students, kids,

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Hello Parents of Aspies, Fellow Aspies, and those who love us,

Since my oldest child first received his Asperger’s Diagnosis two years ago, I have been reading posts on this site. This is the first time that I actually felt brave enough to join this website and post my first question!

I know that many of us have posted questions throughout the years about homeschooling. I hope I do not offend anyone by posting yet another question on this topic. My question is in regards to homeschool curriculum. I do realize that this topic has also been brought up before. I do hope that no one is offended if I post a slightly different angle on a question on this topic.

Like many of you, the school system has failed my children miserably. Due to the school district’s gross negligence, as well as physical and emotional abuse by the staff to my children, we are in the process of suing them. The Charter Schools have waiting lists a mile long. The private schools cost more in tuition than we bring home in income per year! We have found the only viable option is to homeschool.

I guess we've been kinda "unschooling" since removing my kids (pre-K and First Grade), from the public school system. That has helped during the transition to being home all day. Unschooling has also stopped all of the negative feelings between my son and I since I am not trying to force him into completing coursework that he doesn’t want to do. As many of you have stated throughout the years, there is no forcing an Aspie to do something he doesn’t want to do! Now that we are in a peaceful rhythm at home, I am starting to feel that both children need a slightly more structured curriculum, but one that is more experiential in nature.

I have read on this website that many of you have chosen to use unit studies for your homeschool curriculum. As many of you wrote, there is no standard right or wrong way to teach someone on the spectrum, as we are all different. Granted, that is true. However; some of us are alike in our “special interests.” My theory is that maybe what worked for one Aspie boy out there (who loved to build and invent, hoped to be a professor/ scientist someday, and has the interests and skills to become a chemical/ electrical/ hydro-electrical/ &/ or mechanical engineer), then maybe it will work for my boy. The same is true for my Aspie girl. I do hope that there is another young Aspie girl out there obsessed with tutus, tea parties, Barbie and glitter. Please let me know if you do have children like mine. And, please let me know your ideas and suggestions on what has (and hasn’t) worked homeschooling them.

Both of my kids are extremely bright, as I’m sure yours are too. Both of them hate holding/ using pencils, crayon, and stylus’ in their hands (more of an OT issue I think). They also hate textbooks, repetition, rote memorization, flashcards and worksheets. If material is presented to them in a way that does not have direct meaning and implications on their lives at that moment in time, than they find it pointless and meaningless. Add to the mix a three year age gap, gender and “special interest” differences, plus two kids whose learning styles are more tactile, kinesthetic and visual, and I have a recipe for disaster! That’s why I am hoping someone out there would be willing to share with me what they have tried, what has worked, and what has failed. Although I think I am looking for a unit study approach, please let me know about any secular (AKA non-religious) unit study curriculum out there that has, or has not worked for you. Please also let me know if you have tried other forms of homeschool curriculum (including but not limited to paper, textbooks, computer, Ipad apps, etc.), and if you would recommend any. I saw several posts on this website where a parent has discussed that he/ she developed their own curriculum units for their child to study. That’s really cool and I would love to do that for my kids too if only I had been born with a brain capable of organization and creativity! However; if anyone out there is willing to sell or give me your old unit studies curriculum, then please let me know!

Thank you all for your time and for reading this long question. I wish you all the best!

http://www.freevideosforautistickids.co ... Links.html

Above is a link to website homeschool links page.

http://www.edmegastore.com/fine-motor-skills.html: fine motor skills stuff for sale.

http://www.especialneeds.com/aba-autism ... -aids.html: fine motor skills stuff for sale.

http://www.hwtears.com/hwt/online-tools/screener: free handwriting screener.

The above three links are from the "autism links" on my free website, www.freevideosforautistickids.com.

Also, please check out the playlists on my free youtube channels for educational movies for your kids to watch, and also check out the math and reading links pages on my free website.

An enormous amount of information--thousands of video clips, links to hundreds of other websites and sources offering educational materials, links to other free youtube channels with educational materials.

Good luck!

This forum has several people who are homeschooling Aspies:

http://www.secularhomeschool.com

Regarding your kids not wanting to hold education tools--pencils, pens, crayons, etc.--perhaps you should try a tablet PC and/or an audio recording device, like a cassette player. They could use the touch screen on the tablet PC, and record notes on the cassette player.

I am a plus 50s Aspy who was diagnosed with emotional/behavior problems as a child. They had not identified Autism/Aspergers as a condition back then. I do remember being very resistant to some school topics, and I am still resistant to learning some new things. Partly it is an aversion to strange things, but also, the topics often didn't seem relevant to me, so I couldn't see any use in wasting time on them, and resisted learning those things, but I wasn't trying to be bad. It is just the way people on the spectrum are. There were other problems with the topics, as well. Sometimes they were just too hard for me, or they were being taught in such a boring way that no one in their right mind would want to learn them. Occasionally I was too good at a topic, and I would get bored and loose interest that way, too. Whenever any of this happened, the "resist" switch in my brain would kick in, and I would have trouble learning the topic, because my own brain was blocking me. The adults--parents, teachers, therapists, etc.--all thought I was being deliberately difficult. I wasn't. I just couldn't handle the topic for one reason or another, but got punished for it. All through my childhood I felt I should have been taught at home, but no such luck. It also would have spared me the tormenting I went through from the other kids in school. Considering the garbage curriculum and the immoral, anti American, and political indoctrination going on in public schools today, I would never send any kid to public school, now.

Stick by your guns in home schooling your kids, and thanks for caring enough about them to do it. I just wish my parents had cared enough to home school me, instead of feeding me to the bullies at school every year, and subjecting me to the inadequate teaching methods used in public schools. And remember, we on the spectrum are all:

A Different Drummer

If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
Perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
However measured or far away.

--Henry David Thoreau

Questor, I like you! I am (40-something) Aspie myself who felt the same way about school. Thank you for giving me the gift of validation that I am choosing the right thing. It's a rare I make the right choice and I sure do appreciate your positive response. Thank you also for validating that it's OK to use an Ipad. It's the only thing that has made sense to my kids. Unfortunately, I can't find any apps that make good curriculum. Thank you so much Questor for giving me faith in myself and mankind (oops, I meant Aspie kind). Plus, I like your attitude towards our government! Hooray! I love other Aspies!

Thanks also Zette for the link. I had been looking at that site yesterday. I just joined and posted, so hopefully I'll find someone with kiddos just like mine with some good advice.

thanks also Blondambition for all of the links. I didn't even know that there was an autism network. Cool!

If anyone has any other suggestions, I am totally open.
Thanks!! !!

For math, I highly recommend RightStart. You can google the website, and there are forums and yahoo groups where you can buy the materials used. Rightstart is very visual and hands on. The best part is how math is taught. Many parts of a math concept are introduced in parts well before the concept is introduced, so learning the concepts seem very easy to the child. You can go as fast or slow as you like, we do 2 lessons per day.

Both my kids use computers more than pen and pencil but keep up the instruction for writing, maybe 5 to 10 minutes per day. Their fluency will develop more slowly than other kids but it will develop.

I also recommend finding a local co-op. We have all kinds of co-ops around my area, including un-schooling groups. You will get ideas of curriculum from the other moms and the co-op will help your kids keep from being isolated. It will have some good things and some bad. With the bad, you know you are spending a limited time with the group, so it won't be too difficult to challenge yourself and your kids to work through the hardships. On the other hand, if it's too hard, you can always leave. That's the beauty of homeschooling.

OMG! Have you met my son? In my 6 years of homeschooling him that describes him perfectly.

He is 14, was in ps until 3rd grade and my story mirrors yours in many ways. Through trial and error aI have found that my son hates, hates, hates any sort of "projecty" or "crafty" lesson (where he has to make something ) Something like..."let's re-create what the front page of a newspaper would have looked like in 1929" (my son would rather just READ about 1929) or draw a map detailing what Massachusetts looked like in 1763 (my son would say but there's already a map in the book...why do I have to make one too?") So we just steer clear of anything like that.

My son likes to get his information by reading - lots and lots of books. I spend a lot of time on Amazon and Paperbackswap and anywhere else I can find cheap books.

Using a combination of books and videos for a certain subject have worked for us.

I actually don't "teach" my son much...he's so smart he can absorb information on his own and if he has a question we discuss it or he figures it out on his own.

Since he is in high school now I follow the guidelines for our state - he has to do 2 years of History (so I use this website
http://www.hippocampus.org/?select-brow ... =home.html
for American history and my son has been supplementing that with a lot of books that go more in depth on certain topics of his choosing.

He said he wanted to learn Geology this year so I found a book and this corresponding website
http://www.learner.org/index.html

best thing is these websites are free!

for language arts review I used this website: http://www.dailygrammar.com/archive.html
much of it he already knew so I only picked the lessons relevant to us....I personally don't care if he knows what a participle is! I also make him write as much as possible...not his favorite thing - but, IMHO, important. So if he reads a book I will create a few essay questions for him to choose from and then he has to respond -in writing. My son is a huge fan of verbally discussing things and finds it tedious to have to put in on paper but it is one thing I make him do. We do compromise a lot- though one thing that works well with him too.

now that we are in the high school years there are certain subjects he has to do to graduate high school....somehow my son has responded to that because now school is more "official" we are still really relaxed and our state's graduation requirements are not that rigorous so he has time to explore subjects that he wants as long as we do the required stuff.

I could go on and on but don't want to make this post too long...good luck - feel free to ask anything
hope it helped some

Thank you all so much for your advice. I can't believe how hard all of this is. I really appreciate all your kind words of advice. CJN, I wish our boys could meet, as it sounds like they have much in common! I'm so tired. This is one exhausting battle. Between battling the school district, battling my son to do anything, and battling my family to accept my choice to "rock the boat" and homeschool, I can't even think straight any more. Thank you for your posts, everyone, as it gives my weary brain a path to start working again. Thank you all for your kind words, your advice and suggestions. Sorry for the delayed response. My brain just couldn't string any words together to say thanks.

So pick your battles! In my experience people in my life always have an opinion on homeschooling and Aspergers - never having had any experience with either! So I take any advice or opinions they give me with a grain of salt and move one. For your own sanity you must be strong and direct when telling people "this is the best choice for my kid" or "this is what works for us" or some version of that and then they may back off. It took me awhile to reach that point but until they've spent 24/7 with my son they have no business telling me what to do (however well intentioned they may think they're being)

Take care of yourself too as well as your kids.