Homeschooling Children with Special Needs
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For the parent with a special needs child, homeschooling may seem a bit frightening. In some cases, a special needs child will do better in school;  however, in most cases, the child will do much, much better in a homeschool environment, given the proper care and understanding. Learning disabilities usually disappear. In fact, often what is determined by a school to be a problem requiring medication, such as ADHD, is greatly minimized with the right homeschooling methods.
Raymond & Dorothy Moore, educators and leaders in the homeschooling movement have conducted many studies (since the 1960's) in the area of schools and children with special needs. The Moores concluded that formal schooling, especially with younger children through age 12 can be especially damaging, resulting in the increased enrollment of students in special education classes.
Of course anyone, child or adult, dealing with an issue like ADHD, anxiety, etc. should check with experts and may also want to talk to other homeschoolers with special needs kids. If a child is autistic, there may be a service in your community, such as a center, that will help. There's no one magic answer or person who can tell you what is best for your child, and if you've made the decision to homeschool then you probably feel the school certainly didn't know what was best, so do your homework and also trust what you know to be true.
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If there are services the school provides under an IP that you feel are benefiting your child and you don't want to stop – perhaps speech therapy – keep in mind that the school may be legally required to continue providing these services. Know you and your child's rights, and be prepared to educate the educators and to make demands if necessary. Online support groups for parents of children with varying diagnoses can often point you to the information you will need to do so.
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While homeschooling isn't a substitute for necessary medical or psychological care, keep in mind that sometimes the school environment is behind the reason a child is placed on medication that in the long run may do much more harm than good. This isn't too say, medication is never warranted; sometimes it is needed, but many of today's shootings in schools have been carried out by children who were on certain well known anti-depressants for long periods of time.
It can be argued that it is the reason behind them being placed on medication, that is the depression or anxiety that led to the violent behavior; however studies show that long term (one year or more) usage of many of these medications used on children can backfire, creating psychotic episodes, aggres-
siveness and suicidal tendencies. When it comes to medicating children, if you question a diagnosis or prescription, get a second or even third opinion, and never make a decision based only on what th e school tells you. With today's over crowded classroom's and stressed out teachers, schools tend to push for medication, especially for children who won't just "sit down and be quiet."
Here are a couple resources to help get you started:
This page includes a list of resources, including discussion groups, for parents homeschooling a child with a learning and/or physical disability: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/learningdisablities.htm
Homeschooling Children with Special Needs by Sharon Hensley is a paperback book available at Amazon.com
Enjoy your homeschooling!
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