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Homeschooling Your Gifted or Special Needs Child

Reasons to homeschool for your gifted or special needs child:

• You can give your child the individual attention and custom program that best suits his or her needs
• Spending time together preserves and strengthenss the family bond and makes the family the primary socializing agent
• You can delight in being with your child to witness- and be a part of his or her discoveries

IEP's

My child has a current IEP. I know he is entitled to received speech services, but I how do I proceed?
According to the VA DoE's "Fact Sheet on Home Instruction," the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that all children with disabilities have availabel a free appropriate public education designed to meet their individual needs in conformity with the child's Individualized Education Program (IEP). Both the regulations and the United States Department of Education's General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) make clear that public education is not the only alternative for children with disabling conditions. However, children who are being educated in home instruction programs, are still entitled to take part in related services provided by the school division for which they are eligible. School divisions must remain ready to serve these children when parents seek services either through regular enrollment or as nonpublic students.

Still, each county seems to determine its own interpretation of the law. Some school divisions have become tighter, rather than looser, in provision of services to handicapped or disabled non-public students, both home and private schooled. I recently spoke to a Home Instruction Specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools who believes that the FCPS system should "bend over backward" to assist homeschoolers. She said that if a child has an IEP in school, and is subsequently homeschooled, the IEP becomes an ISP - which is the same, except it doesn't inlcude testing for the child. Ms. Kammerdeiner states that children with ISPs are "entitled to all services" recommended by the ISP. She said taht, while they will not test homeschooled students with ISPs, they will make recommendations about testing protocol accomodations for these children.

Obviously, if you are not in Fairfax County, contact your local division and asking them about their policy on homeschooled students with IEPs.

Tips

• Don't spend money until you have done a lot of reading.
• Read books and magazines and browse Web sites.
• Relax: there are no educational emergencies.
• Evaluate your method regularly and make adjustments as you see fit.
• Realize you'll have ups and downs--they are part of the process.

Articles

• But I Have So Many Questions!
• Dyslexia: How do I teach this child?
• Education without Medication
• TC Two Cents-Dyslexia
• Unschooling the Gifted Child: Defining the Challenge from Within

Resources

ADD/ADHD

• ADD Resources
  Reviewed links from A to Z Home's Cool
• Born to Explore!
  The Other Side of ADD a non-commercial site devoted entirely to exploring alternative views of attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) in children and adults.

Autism

• Aut 2B Home
  Email list for families who are homeschooilng their autistic spectrum children full-time, or part-time. Conversations encompass both education and autistm: developing programs that meet individual needs and learning styles, teaching methods, curriculums, resources (books, Web sites, orgnaizations, etc.), autism therapies, homeschool laws, IDEA laws as applied to homeschoolers, homeschool support groups, addressing lack of support from family and professionals, environmental issues, diet, nutrition, etc.
• Aut-Home-Fam
  A group of diverse families who have chosen to homeschool their child(ren) with autism. We recognize and honor that each family unit has its own unique logistics, beliefs, perspectives and experiences that shape their lives and decisions. We believe in the adage that "parents know their children best" and "there are as many ways to homeschool as there are families homeschooling".

Deafness

• Another Path
  A comprehensive guide to homeschooling for parents who are considering homeschooling, or who have decided to homeschool, a deaf or hard of hearing child.

Dyslexia

• A to Z Home's Cool Dyslexia Resources
  Reviewed links from A to Z Home's Cool.
• Virginia Branch of the International Dyslexia Association
  The Virginia Branch of the International Dyslexia Association is a branch of The International Dyslexia Association, an international organization that concerns itself with the complex issues of dyslexia. The membership of this branch consists of a variety of professionals in partnership with dyslexics and their families.

General Special Needs

• A to Z Home's Cool - Special Needs Homeschooling
  Articles, advocacy, online support, screening resources. Reviewed links from A to Z Home's Cool
• LD Online - Homeschooling
  Some parents opt to educate their children at home, to provide individual attention to their children. If you are homeschooling, and you suspect your child has a problem, these articles may help you get your child assessed and discover some techniques that will help your teaching.
• Homeschooling a Child with Special Needs
  Special needs page at the National Home Education Network includes legal information, FAQs, Web sites, e-mail lists, message boards.
• NATional cHallenged Homeschoolers Associated Network
  NATHHAN is a Christian organization that offers advice and links for those with challenged or disabled homeschoolers.

Gifted

• A to Z Home's Cool Gifted
  Reviewed links from A to Z Home's Cool
• Hoagie's Gifted Page
  Considered by many to be the best site for information and resources on gifted children.

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VaHomeschoolers works hard to protect your homeschool freedom and empowers you by giving you the information that helps you homeschool with confidence. This is all a free service to you. But providing these services does cost money without which we could not maintain this site, cover our lobbyists' expenses while they work for you at the Virginia General Assembly, or produce and mail the VaHomeschoolers newsletter. Show how much you value the indispensable services VaHomeschoolers provides you--by joining or donating to VaHomeschoolers! If you are already a member, check out our give-back programs where purchases you normally make can earn money for VaHomeschoolers at no cost to you. When you join or donate to VaHomeschoolers, you are supporting the Old Dominion's only fully inclusive, member directed, and volunteer driven state homeschool association.

The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers is a non-profit public charity with 501(c)(3) status; your donation is tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.

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