New here, couple of questions

Are you homeschool a special needs child? Are you personally physically challenged? Here is the place to share your questions, tips, and experiences.

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lady_katie
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Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:53 pm

New here, couple of questions

Postby lady_katie » Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:12 pm

Hello, I'm new here and I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind. My son is 2.5 and was diagnosed with Autism over the summer (moderate functioning). He is currently in a special needs preschool and receiving speech, OT and PT along with having a special education teacher. I would like to home school him, starting at age 5 when he enters kindergarten, but I am concerned about having access to therapy services and assistance. His preschool serves as a form of respite for me, as it gives me a chance to rest and take care of my other responsibilities.

1) Would my son completely lose his access to therapy services through the local school district if I choose to home school? Are there any options regarding this? I'm assuming this is different in every district/state, but is there some general way that this works? Our insurance will only cover something like an hour a week, which is something, but not much.

2) Do I have any options for assistance during the day? We have applied for the medicaid waiver, which should include some form of respite care. I am thinking that I can utilize that, possibly. But is there anything similar available? I am willing to pay out of pocket for someone to come in and help me, but I cannot afford much. Is that my only option?

I really do not like the idea of my son being in public school, but we could never afford private (if that's even an option in his case), and I'm just not sure that I am going to be capable of handling him all day, every day - unless there is a dramatic improvement in his behavior over the next couple of years.

I understand that the point of homeschooling is for your child to be HOME with you, and that is ultimately what I want. I'm just trying to be realistic about my own limitations and get some information so that I can more accurately begin to weigh the pro's and con's of our options.

Thanks so much!

gardensparrow
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Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 1:32 pm

Postby gardensparrow » Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:55 am

Hi lady_katie!

I just caught your post and thought I'd hop on here with some info I've read about on some of the questions you shared. Specifically, as it relates to your local school district, it may be a good idea to ask them what resources they make available to homeschoolers in your area. A lot of public schools actually can help parents who are planning to teach their children at home (particularly those with special needs). And you’ve already paid for the services through your taxes, so it wouldn't hurt to see if you can take advantage of this. Of course, like you said, it will depend on your area as far as what's available, but you may be surprised at what you find if you do some research locally.

Lastly, if you haven't heard of them, you may want to look up online an organization called The National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network. They're actually set up specifically to help homeschooling families that have children with special needs. So, I think they would probably have a lot of info on what help is available and how you should prepare to homeschool your son.

So, just some ideas that may be useful. I hope they help-my prayers will be with your family!


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