Considering the switch to homeschooling...
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:54 pm
I apologize in advance for the long, drawn out post. I'm a mother of a 7 year old with special needs in NY. I did do some browsing of the forum already and I'm glad to see there are other parents going through the same in my state. I'll explain more as the post goes on, but I just generally want to know from the more experienced homeschoolers on here on whether it would be beneficial to him or do him a disservice to homeschool.
I have considered this option for a while now. He had an IEP meeting today that has just left my blood boiling all day. It's my understanding, so far, that in NY he is still entitled to receive OT and Speech Therapy through the district. So, that's one concern alleviated. His other impairment is ADHD. The committee is pushing to have him re-evaluated by a specialist because they feel "ADHD is not enough of an impairment to cause his learning delay". Since Pre-K he has been in a self contained class environment mixed with k-2 graders. He received a lot of 1-on-1 guidance to complete his work. At the beginning of this school year his IQ was tested to be 91. Right on the ball for state guidelines.
3 weeks ago we moved into another school district. Here's where things get infuriating. They retested him and his IQ dropped 30 points into the 60s. In NYS, that is considered mentally handicapped. This current district he's in doesn't have specialized classes because (and I quote from today) "He's the only one in the district with a disability that needs attention. We can't make accomodations for one student." So, needless to say, he's been placed into a mainstream class where (surprise, surprise) he's struggling to catch up. His teacher made comments today along the lines of "I can't deal with him. I can't be a babysitter and look over his shoulder every minute." On a good note though, they did state that behavior wise, he's excellent. As for curriculum, he was doing the same work in the self contained class previously as they are doing now in his new district. Just at a slower pace.
Here's the part that really got to me. The committee placed a lot of emphasis on him being on track, but he needs the 1 on 1 attention that the school can't give him. They want to place him in a local specialized school. I am familiar with this school and it's honestly more of a school for kids with behavior, truancy, etc issues and those whom are severely mentally handicapped. Even then, there is no guarantee that this other school will even take him. It'll all be based on their evaluation. When I tried to exemplify his strengths from my observations and solutions (like integrating the computer with his lessons because it keeps him highly focused), I got replies along the lines of "Again, we can't babysit him or give him special accomodations". "He's too far behind, he'll never catch up". "The scores never lie, time to accept the situation for what it is". The entire tonality of the meeting gave me the impression that they just wanted to pass the buck. It puts my son in such a catch 22 though. Sure, he's not learning at the pace of his peers, but he's not so far behind that it warrants going to this other school. His problems are retention and independence. In a non distracting environment, like home, he does the same level work on his own and he does it correctly. Only once in a while I have to push him.
The pros weighing my decision are-As his mother I'm aware 24-7 of what works for him and what doesn't. He could work at a pace appropriate for his disability and not be influenced by a mainstream pace or one geared towards a class of 5-7 year olds mixed together. It would be structured and he would get his 1 on 1 attention they so eloquently demand. Not to mention, I'm actually disappointed in the way teaching in NY has become. It seems that every curriculum is made to just pass the state tests. Due to that, it leaves very little opportunity to supplement the class with broader knowledge.
The cons of course-I'm afraid my lack of teaching experience would do him harm. I was warned by the committee that home schooling would just cause him to regress. That he would never get the structure he needs and it would further prevent him from ever being mainstreamed in the future.
I say that homeschooling would give him the special attention that they stress and he would flourish
I have considered this option for a while now. He had an IEP meeting today that has just left my blood boiling all day. It's my understanding, so far, that in NY he is still entitled to receive OT and Speech Therapy through the district. So, that's one concern alleviated. His other impairment is ADHD. The committee is pushing to have him re-evaluated by a specialist because they feel "ADHD is not enough of an impairment to cause his learning delay". Since Pre-K he has been in a self contained class environment mixed with k-2 graders. He received a lot of 1-on-1 guidance to complete his work. At the beginning of this school year his IQ was tested to be 91. Right on the ball for state guidelines.
3 weeks ago we moved into another school district. Here's where things get infuriating. They retested him and his IQ dropped 30 points into the 60s. In NYS, that is considered mentally handicapped. This current district he's in doesn't have specialized classes because (and I quote from today) "He's the only one in the district with a disability that needs attention. We can't make accomodations for one student." So, needless to say, he's been placed into a mainstream class where (surprise, surprise) he's struggling to catch up. His teacher made comments today along the lines of "I can't deal with him. I can't be a babysitter and look over his shoulder every minute." On a good note though, they did state that behavior wise, he's excellent. As for curriculum, he was doing the same work in the self contained class previously as they are doing now in his new district. Just at a slower pace.
Here's the part that really got to me. The committee placed a lot of emphasis on him being on track, but he needs the 1 on 1 attention that the school can't give him. They want to place him in a local specialized school. I am familiar with this school and it's honestly more of a school for kids with behavior, truancy, etc issues and those whom are severely mentally handicapped. Even then, there is no guarantee that this other school will even take him. It'll all be based on their evaluation. When I tried to exemplify his strengths from my observations and solutions (like integrating the computer with his lessons because it keeps him highly focused), I got replies along the lines of "Again, we can't babysit him or give him special accomodations". "He's too far behind, he'll never catch up". "The scores never lie, time to accept the situation for what it is". The entire tonality of the meeting gave me the impression that they just wanted to pass the buck. It puts my son in such a catch 22 though. Sure, he's not learning at the pace of his peers, but he's not so far behind that it warrants going to this other school. His problems are retention and independence. In a non distracting environment, like home, he does the same level work on his own and he does it correctly. Only once in a while I have to push him.
The pros weighing my decision are-As his mother I'm aware 24-7 of what works for him and what doesn't. He could work at a pace appropriate for his disability and not be influenced by a mainstream pace or one geared towards a class of 5-7 year olds mixed together. It would be structured and he would get his 1 on 1 attention they so eloquently demand. Not to mention, I'm actually disappointed in the way teaching in NY has become. It seems that every curriculum is made to just pass the state tests. Due to that, it leaves very little opportunity to supplement the class with broader knowledge.
The cons of course-I'm afraid my lack of teaching experience would do him harm. I was warned by the committee that home schooling would just cause him to regress. That he would never get the structure he needs and it would further prevent him from ever being mainstreamed in the future.
I say that homeschooling would give him the special attention that they stress and he would flourish