My son is 16 years old and have a written learning disability. It not only effects his abiblity to form thoughts and put them on paper it effects the clarity of his hand writing and the time it takes for him to write. If you asked him to TELL you an answer he could give an articulate verbal answer. If you asked him to write that answer down it would be almost illegible, disjointed, confusing and to do it would take him a lot of time. As a result he is falling behind in school, and his performance and grades are only as good as who his teacher and intervention specialists are.
I am considering trying home schooling him this year. There are classes that he can breeze through and then others where he requires more time. He needs to go back a little bit and relearn how to do some things when he is given time to master them and he needs to be able to take the time to learn how to write essays and research papers at his own pace so that when does go to college he can do those things on his own and public school just doesn't offer the time and support for him to do this.
So I am just wanting personal experiences, advice and an idea of how it all works from anyone who can offer it. I am capable of teaching him so I'm not worried about that. I just want to know what has worked and not worked for home schooling moms.
Thanks for the help
Thanks everyone for the thoughtful advice. I even had some nice ladies send me a message offereing more information. I would like to be really clear on some things, though. I in no way want to do the work for my son or make the work easier for my son. Because of past teachers that were ineffective and even neglectful, and because of a lack of cooperation from school (they won't let him record lectures or use special graphic organizers for papers and notes) he is so far behind that with his current skill set he has no hope of succeeding in college, which he absolutely wants to attend. I can have him enrolled in the classes he would be taking in public school but we can be focussing on how he best learns, which will be necessary when he goes to college and has to do it on his own. We can use a laptop for everything from notes, to homework , to tests, which he can't do at school. He can be self pased, doing the easier work quickly and allowing him time to master things he should have learned in sixth grade, like sentence structure. If he can't write a sentence how is he going to write a college research paper? He will be socialized with peers and in team sports. He will be learning exactly how to this on his own once he goes to college and there isn't anyone there to tell him how to do it. He will be learning how he does it.
My niece has a similar struggle. She has dysgraphia, she is very bright and articulate as well, but just can't formulate the thoughts or words to print. My sister has struggled with teachers in the past but recently has found that she does much better typing on a computer. Many teachers (not all) allow her to do assignments, spelling tests, etc. on the computer. It has improved her grades tremendously.
Hope this helps.
We use and love Connections Academy. It is a free virtual school.
Check out the site.
www.connectionsacademy.com
I wish you all the best.
Does he type well? I'm sure the school would let him bring a lap top to do all work that most students hand-write.
We use OHVA, but there is also Connections Academy and ECOT just to name a few. The benefit is that they are public schools and because of that there is nothing you really have to plan or file, you simply need to enroll.
We used a combination of curriculums. You might look at Institute for Excellence in Writing for your son. My advice don't feel like you must teach every assignment from every subject. For instance, my children in History, read the chapter, did the review and took the tests. We did not do the section assignments unless they did poorly on the review. Math do odd number problems. If he does not master the review in Math, make him do the even number problems before he takes the test. I would make up the lesson plan for the week for all subjects, if my children wanted to buckle down and do all of their work in 3 days instead of 5 days, I let them. If they did not finish their lesson plan for the week by Friday, they were not allowed any weekend activities (except church) until the lesson plan was complete. It helped them understand the college teaching method, more so than if I was to nuture them through every assignment.
My daughter has been ill most of the school year so we have to replace some of classes with correspondence classes. They supply the textbooks and it does cost for the books. They grade the exams. You have one year to complete the program. They offer a range of classes and they have a list of people who have completed their program. Our high school recommended it. It is called the American School. I think it is located in Illinois. Check out their website.http://www.americanschoolofcorr.com/flash/am_school.html
I also have a son who is 11 who sounds a lot like your child. I had such a wonderful experience with the elementary school and now I am just hating the middle school. We seem to have a better high school. Good luck to you.
There is also a virtual school called K-12 Virtual Acadamy that looks pretty good. I've only seen it online but have considered it myself for my high school son.
Good luck to you.
Investigate www.OHVA.org which utilizes the effective and fun K12 curriculum. You are provided support from professional teachers, group activities, and can proceed at your own pace. Yes, there are progress and attendance requirements, just like a brick and mortar school, but that is not surprising. It is the only school my boys, ages 8 and 6, have known. Give OHVA a call, or visit their website to address any questions you might have. Oh, and it is a tuition-free public charter school, so your son will graduate with a certified high school diploma.
Best wishes,
K.
When i started homeschooling, one of the moms who helped me had a son with a learning disability as well. He had to read all of his materials aloud in order to learn it. You can basically use any cirriculumn you want and whatever means for him to learn it.
I noticed that a lot of people suggested groups and sites for you to look into. If those work for you, that is great, but if it seems a little intimidating, then you might want to steer away from them. It may take you a little while, but you will find what works for you and what materials you like best. YOU are really the best judge of how to make it work for you.
I think you will find that if you jump right in, it won't be nearly as hard as you think. Part of the blessing of homeschooling is that you can make changes when and where necessary. You will also be able to get feedback from your son. My kids were excited to learn that they could really learn in the way that works best for THEM for a change so it naturally made school more exciting. And, those classes that he breezes through, he won't be discouraged with busywork. Once he knows it, you can move on!
And, you definitely CAN get a diploma!! The Indiana Homeschooling Foundation has a graduation ceremony and does give out a diploma upon gradation. www.indianahomeschooling.org There is also the Indiana Association of Home Educators convention which can be very helpful and has a large exhibit hall.
If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a private message. I have one graduating this year and another who is in 8th grade. I've been homeschooling for about 10 years.
Good luck!!
As a person who has worked through divisibility and become stronger for it, I feel that taking your son out of the main stream to home school him will only cause issues when it is time for him to reenter the main stream. Will he attend collage based on your availability and time to assist him.It is important for him to know how to not only learn how to put his thoughts into written words , but to also cope and assimilate with the pace of the main stream. What is your back ground in teaching people with disability. Parents often times are too quick to protect there children from the world.
Instead, if you are truly concerned about his well rounded education. Let him attend school. You do your homework on programs, activity's, organizations, and other students with the same issues. Look for local tutors (some are free) that has the back ground to help your son. You can take time outside of school to work on this issue. Do not make him dependent on you. You will become his crutch and he will suffer. I know he complains about teachers picking on him, or he just cant keep up.There will always be a boss, coworker, or some one who will make his life hard. It is up to you to motivate him and teach him how to work through the tough times. Not to save him from the big bad world. Your continued research on his issues will uncover the tools to help him. In my opinion the removal from the school system is not the answer, but that is just the opinion from some one who has gone through it on the learning side of the process. I know your heart wants to protect him and do for him what he cant do for him self. Just as a little example try this . Make him keep a journal - do not criticize how he organizes his thoughts. The more time writing about things he knows the better he will express him self written. Take one Saturday and don't speak make him communicate with you only through the written language. You too a marker board or legal tablet works great. Find out what he is most interested in and pick up some books and magazines more reading more reading more reading. Reading of any kind will help him recognize sentence structure and the rhythm of writing. I know you can be a great help and influence to your son. Find out how with out removing your son from the social environment that a child at your sons age needs,and hay he might meet a friend in school that helps him more than you,me or anyone else. Best of luck to you and your son through the tough times. You will both make it through and be stronger for it.
I homeschool and am all for it, but I would suggest you look at a place called Langsford Accelerated Learning Centers. Their website is www.LangsfordLearning.com and their phone number is ###-###-####. I have a friend who took her daughter there because of a learning issue and she said they have been incredible and have helped her in ways that she didn't expect. It is a bit pricey, but the problems her daughter was having would have effected her for life and now she is doing things she has never been able to do before. They help the child learn where it was thought they could not. I know of others who have taken their children there with great results as well.
Good luck.
home schooling doesn't give a diploma. I would send him to sylvans learning center. you can find accredited schools that they can work on line. They work at his pace not him work at thier pace. I suggest put him in public school for what hes passing and sylvans accredited for what hes having problems in.
sylvans told me my son needed $5000 worth of tutoring but $500 made a huge diffrence to the point he went from failing to passing. I strongly recommend sylvans instead.
if hes not ieped get him that way if your state does it. the iep is geared to thier learning disability. good luck go sylvans for his sake please.
Since you said that there are intervention specialists involved, I would assume that he is on an IEP. My suggestion to you before you remove him from school, call an IEP meeting. If you do not feel as though his needs are being met and/or he has greater needs then are currently being addressed on his IEP, you need to call the team together. As a team you all need to discuss what is happening and together develop or change his current IEP in order to better address his needs. Can he have a scribe? It is unreasonable for him to dictate his written work onto a recorder and either have someone else type it and/or have the teacher grade it orally? Has he tried dictating his thoughts on a recorder and then listening and writing what he has dictated himself? Just ideas because I believe if he is taking college prep or honors classes in high school, those are the classes best preparing him for college.
I understand why you're looking into alternative options, but taking your son out of school is not the answer. I've been there. My teachers in grade school wanted to put me on Ritalin because they said I couldn't focus. It wasn't that I couldn't focus, it was that I didn't learn according to traditional methods, and neither does your son. Is it his fault for being wired that way, or the school system's fault for not wanting to "cater" to your son? It's nobody's fault, it's just the way it is.
Your son will need to find a way that he can study so that he'll be able to make the grades. If that means he needs to use a laptop to type notes or type papers, or even use tape recorders to tape the presentations to listen to again later, then so be it.
I was in college about to graduate before I finally "learned" the best way for me to study so that I could "make the grades". It took me 8 years to get through college, but when I go to interview or am in a discussion - nobody ever asks me how long it took to get my degree - just care that I actually have one.
Most teachers give out a syllabus that shows what they'll be going over and when. He won't like to do it, but have him actually read ahead some for the next class....It will help. He can take notes on what he reads in his computer, then "add emphasis" to those notes from the teachers presentation. Yes, it's "extra work" - but I took 15 hours over a summer - including 12 hours of intensive spanish, and got a 3.76. That's the highest GPA I received in a semester. I think it was worth it.
Your son doesn't have to be a straight-a student or on the honor roll every semester, but you know he's smart and can pass his classes. Keep him in school - sign him up with someplace like Sylvan Learning Center where they can help him find ways to work around what he's experiencing. No, you're not wanting to do the work for him, but you do want to make it easier for him - that's coddling him. He's going to need to find his place in this world, and that isn't going to help.
It isn't that I'm against home schooling - I'm all for it under the right circumstances. I know people who have done home schooling and it's turned out great. BUT they didn't do it to keep their kids from having trouble with the public school system for any learning disabilities or other like circumstances.
His success or failure in school is not just based on his teachers or specialists - yes, you do play an important role in that too in working with them and making sure he's getting the best education possible, and that they're doing what they need to be doing. Maybe he needs an individualized education plan that really addresses his needs. Maybe he just needs to work with tutors or someone at a learning center to help adapt his learning style to something that works for him.
Good job in keeping the options open and looking for input. That shows you're a great mom and want what's best for your son. You definitely deserve an "attaboy" for seeking input!!!
For what it's worth - and good luck!!
