Lest you get the idea that homeschooling my Munchkin is all wonderful, let me set you straight. There are a lot of good days and we've seen a lot of growth/improvements. But there are rough days.
In the start, the rough days out numbered the good days. Hard but honest. My son had a lot of bad habits to overcome. And a lot of sensory issues to get worked out. As a result, while we had lesson plans, I spent a lot of time during those lessons helping him with those issues. I would often finish up lessons feeling like nothing had been accomplished, either behavorial or educational. I was only looking back that I could see just how many changes occurred over that first time period. Keeping a journal, even impromptu, will help you with that. When you get too overwhelmed with current issues you can look back and see just how far you have come.
Nowadays, we have more good days than bad. But there are still occasional bad days. Normally, like this week, they are when my son is sick. In truth, a bad day of "school" is generally one of the signs that makes me look for illness if my son doesn't give me signals. But this week he got an eye infection and the doctor found the starts of an inner ear infection. Add to that the tooth coming in that seems to be causing all sorts of issues of its own, including headaches, and we had a doozy of a week.
So what does a rough week look like. Well it starts with him wanting no lights on at all throughout the house. Even if he's a couple of rooms away. And no sounds unless he's watching the big TV which he only does for short periods because of the noise. His preference is one of his small players with the sound turned almost completely off. And he tries to spend most of his time curled up in my bed under my very heavy comforter.
So what do I do? I adjust the lessons. When I can get videos watched, I do, with the sound turned down low. I climb into bed with him and read. We play counting games that involve tickling or other play things. If we have a really good segment to a day, we will do a worksheet or two. But I don't push excessively because he really is feeling bad. All of the missed videos, worksheets, and etc can be worked through rather quickly once he's feeling okay again. And in those first few days of suddenly feeling good again, he doesn't mind the extra material because he has the energy.
What I don't do? I don't abandon the lessons completely. Even if we are doing a much shorter, simpler lesson. Even if we are curled up in bed and hiding under comforters, I make sure that even those lessons are continued. It is much easier to get back to a normal level of schoolwork if you don't let it disappear completely. And sometimes, on especially bad days, all the lessons may be is curling up with him and watching the videos while snuggling. And we'll watch those videos again later when he is mentally processing things better. But the general structure of lessons remains.
Don't let the rough days get you down too much because you will get through them. One day you'll look back and realize just how far you and your child have come. And then, for a while at least, you will face the new day's issues with a smile because you know that you both have overcome things before and will continue to do so. And heck, sometimes that smile and lessening of stress is all that is needed this time. :-)
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Adapting Homeschooling
My apologies but the pain that caused one day off refused to go away. And the accompanying fatigue and brain fog left me with only enough energy for the mandatory things in life. So back to the topic.
This year is the first year that we are using several full, preplanned curricula. It's an experiment. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised to find the curricula had all daily lesson planning included which saved me a whole lot of work. But just because they're purchased, preplanned curricula doesn't mean that they don't need adaption.
My son is non verbal. While he does have some language and is gaining more, at this time, none of his language is functional for working on his school work. He also has great difficulty in writing which adds its own level of complications. In order to get his assignments done without making them too stressful, I use several tools. Schools call this assistive technology which is somewhat misleading because it makes you think of computers. I do use some electronic technology but, as you'll discover, I use a lot more simple stuff.
First is a communication program called Jabtalk. It's a free android app but it would be worth paying for. It offers many of the same things as most very expensive communication programs. In fact, the only thing it doesn't offer is a image library. This is perfect for us because I prefer to choose our own images. But it's also perfect for many others because you can use whatever image library you've been using elsewhere.
Jabtalk is installed on both his tablet and a much smaller android phone. I use it to make boards that he can use to "talk" when necessary to complete his assignments. This is a continual work in progress. And while I can get him to use it for school work, he doesn't really transition to using it for the rest of life. Most likely because the verbal vocabulary he has does work for most of that even if I have to resort to yes/no questions. Jabtalk is a tool that can be used in all of his subjects.
First/Then boards are great to a degree. When we first started out, I used them a lot. As we've gotten further along my son has learned to listen when I make statements like that. He's also learned to listen when I list multiple items, something I used to do with visible picture boards. Each child will move at their own pace but most can move beyond the need for those visible lists at some point.
In specific subjects it gets more detailed. For math, I use two sets of Melissa and Doug number magnets. I also print off sheets of numbers for use in assignments. A few sets are laminated but more are just cut apart and stored so that he can "write" his answers on his worksheets. You only need to do 0 through 9. And those bead sorters from the craft stores are a great way to keep these organized. You can also do math symbols. And yes, we go through a lot of glue sticks. Oh, and this year we are using the Math U See curriculum and it's accompanying manipulatives. My son loves the blocks so I'm hoping that it will help him grasp the concept of quantities.
For spelling, we use the Melissa and Doug upper and lower case letter magnets. I have multiple sets so that we have enough. The idea that he can "build" words is still very new for him so right now that is all we do. We "play" with building words. When it becomes more concrete, I will do the same thing for the alphabet that I do for numbers if it is still needed.
For reading, we do the same thing that many teachers do. I create a worksheet with blanks. Then there are pieces, with both word and image, that are used to fill the blanks. Sometimes I use JabTalk for those "blanks". Reading is still very simplistic right now. And this refers just to comprehension when we read a story together or complete a science summary for the week.
For actually learning to read, well that has been a challenge to navigate and test the last few years. This year we are using the Gemiini reading videos and their accompanying books. They are being paired with the LeapFrog Tag beginning readers as well. Actually, I'm making Gemiini videos for a lot of his subjects but in this one area they will be the primary tool, not an accessory tool. Because of the way that the videos and program are created, he can be fully tested despite being non verbal. He's made it more than obvious that he would like to learn to read over the past year so I'm hoping that this will help him to bridge the gap.
For science we are using a curriculum that was designed around the kid show "Magic School Bus" with some alterations. And I use all of the ideas above to let him interact with that curriculum. The only problem that has developed so far is that he doesn't want to watch the actual childrens' videos. So I may have to hunt up alternative videos. I'm going to give it another couple of weeks or so to see if the problem goes away or not.
Anyways, as you can see, I use a lot of assistive technology to give my son the ability to complete his assignments. These items can be used with any curriculum. I've used them with a few. So don't feel compelled to use only specific curricula. One thing I will warn about is to not get caught up in laminating, and reusing, everything. I was guilty of this until a friend pointed it out. You need to keep some basic proof and records so intact completed worksheets from your child are good things to have on hand. And remember not to aid them too much. It's hard to see them struggle, but all children struggle to learn and if you take that struggle away you limit their learning. Only assist/prompt the bare minimum needed to keep your child focused on the task.
As for the writing issues, the problem there isn't really fine motor control anymore. It's that he wasn't given any writing tutoring except for the random assignments throughout his school years. And almost every single time he was given completely hand over hand assistance. His writing skills have improved greatly since we started homeschooling but it's still very difficult for him. From a purely physical standpoint, his fingernails shaped differently because there was no continual writing and he has no writing callouses on his fingers. These are things that make it easier for the rest of us to write frequently. Anyways, writing is a "subject" which we practice for 15 to 20 minutes a day. I use a variety of writing surfaces and materials so that he can work on control with all of them. One day he will be able to use his writing skills as freely as you and I do.
This year is the first year that we are using several full, preplanned curricula. It's an experiment. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised to find the curricula had all daily lesson planning included which saved me a whole lot of work. But just because they're purchased, preplanned curricula doesn't mean that they don't need adaption.
My son is non verbal. While he does have some language and is gaining more, at this time, none of his language is functional for working on his school work. He also has great difficulty in writing which adds its own level of complications. In order to get his assignments done without making them too stressful, I use several tools. Schools call this assistive technology which is somewhat misleading because it makes you think of computers. I do use some electronic technology but, as you'll discover, I use a lot more simple stuff.
First is a communication program called Jabtalk. It's a free android app but it would be worth paying for. It offers many of the same things as most very expensive communication programs. In fact, the only thing it doesn't offer is a image library. This is perfect for us because I prefer to choose our own images. But it's also perfect for many others because you can use whatever image library you've been using elsewhere.
Jabtalk is installed on both his tablet and a much smaller android phone. I use it to make boards that he can use to "talk" when necessary to complete his assignments. This is a continual work in progress. And while I can get him to use it for school work, he doesn't really transition to using it for the rest of life. Most likely because the verbal vocabulary he has does work for most of that even if I have to resort to yes/no questions. Jabtalk is a tool that can be used in all of his subjects.
First/Then boards are great to a degree. When we first started out, I used them a lot. As we've gotten further along my son has learned to listen when I make statements like that. He's also learned to listen when I list multiple items, something I used to do with visible picture boards. Each child will move at their own pace but most can move beyond the need for those visible lists at some point.
In specific subjects it gets more detailed. For math, I use two sets of Melissa and Doug number magnets. I also print off sheets of numbers for use in assignments. A few sets are laminated but more are just cut apart and stored so that he can "write" his answers on his worksheets. You only need to do 0 through 9. And those bead sorters from the craft stores are a great way to keep these organized. You can also do math symbols. And yes, we go through a lot of glue sticks. Oh, and this year we are using the Math U See curriculum and it's accompanying manipulatives. My son loves the blocks so I'm hoping that it will help him grasp the concept of quantities.
For spelling, we use the Melissa and Doug upper and lower case letter magnets. I have multiple sets so that we have enough. The idea that he can "build" words is still very new for him so right now that is all we do. We "play" with building words. When it becomes more concrete, I will do the same thing for the alphabet that I do for numbers if it is still needed.
For reading, we do the same thing that many teachers do. I create a worksheet with blanks. Then there are pieces, with both word and image, that are used to fill the blanks. Sometimes I use JabTalk for those "blanks". Reading is still very simplistic right now. And this refers just to comprehension when we read a story together or complete a science summary for the week.
For actually learning to read, well that has been a challenge to navigate and test the last few years. This year we are using the Gemiini reading videos and their accompanying books. They are being paired with the LeapFrog Tag beginning readers as well. Actually, I'm making Gemiini videos for a lot of his subjects but in this one area they will be the primary tool, not an accessory tool. Because of the way that the videos and program are created, he can be fully tested despite being non verbal. He's made it more than obvious that he would like to learn to read over the past year so I'm hoping that this will help him to bridge the gap.
For science we are using a curriculum that was designed around the kid show "Magic School Bus" with some alterations. And I use all of the ideas above to let him interact with that curriculum. The only problem that has developed so far is that he doesn't want to watch the actual childrens' videos. So I may have to hunt up alternative videos. I'm going to give it another couple of weeks or so to see if the problem goes away or not.
Anyways, as you can see, I use a lot of assistive technology to give my son the ability to complete his assignments. These items can be used with any curriculum. I've used them with a few. So don't feel compelled to use only specific curricula. One thing I will warn about is to not get caught up in laminating, and reusing, everything. I was guilty of this until a friend pointed it out. You need to keep some basic proof and records so intact completed worksheets from your child are good things to have on hand. And remember not to aid them too much. It's hard to see them struggle, but all children struggle to learn and if you take that struggle away you limit their learning. Only assist/prompt the bare minimum needed to keep your child focused on the task.
As for the writing issues, the problem there isn't really fine motor control anymore. It's that he wasn't given any writing tutoring except for the random assignments throughout his school years. And almost every single time he was given completely hand over hand assistance. His writing skills have improved greatly since we started homeschooling but it's still very difficult for him. From a purely physical standpoint, his fingernails shaped differently because there was no continual writing and he has no writing callouses on his fingers. These are things that make it easier for the rest of us to write frequently. Anyways, writing is a "subject" which we practice for 15 to 20 minutes a day. I use a variety of writing surfaces and materials so that he can work on control with all of them. One day he will be able to use his writing skills as freely as you and I do.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
One Day Off
I haven't forgotten the blog. I'm just in a lot of lower back pain. So I'm taking a day off because the medicines make me wobbly.
But one thing to share. Yesterday I offered my son the choice of watching Shrek or Reading Rainbow. I didn't expect a verbal response. I figured I would have to break the question down further to get yes or no answers. So when I got a verbal response, one that was completely new unheard words, I was floored. My son said "Reading Rainbow". It was muffled but I double checked it with him. I asked him if he wanted "Reading Rainbow" and he said yes. Needless to say, he got to watch Reading Rainbow. And I had a quiet happy cry to myself for a few minutes.
But one thing to share. Yesterday I offered my son the choice of watching Shrek or Reading Rainbow. I didn't expect a verbal response. I figured I would have to break the question down further to get yes or no answers. So when I got a verbal response, one that was completely new unheard words, I was floored. My son said "Reading Rainbow". It was muffled but I double checked it with him. I asked him if he wanted "Reading Rainbow" and he said yes. Needless to say, he got to watch Reading Rainbow. And I had a quiet happy cry to myself for a few minutes.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Homeschooling with Autism - Step Two
By the time I reached this step we were starting a new school year. The local school system offered to send a homebound teacher for 2 hours a week and an occupation therapist for a half an hour a week. The homebound teacher was also a speech therapist so that would be covered. I decided to give it a try.
First I found a free pre-K curriculum online that I could expand on. Then I looked up my state's mandatory goals. Then I sat down and made a detailed IEP that blended both. I was under no illusion that 2 and a half hours a week was enough education time so I was going to homeschool as well. I made sure that we were all functioning on the same page.
To be honest, it was an abysmal failure. Not on the part of the teacher, who tried very hard. Or on my part because I provided whatever she needed, including helping with the lessons. But because she had to meet those mandatory goals and the information she was getting on how to do so was extremely counter productive. Up to and including being told not to use his communicator, and if he did, not to report it! And this wasn't really an issue at the local level either. It was an issue at the state level. And many things just made no sense.
But there were several silver linings. First was that since she was a speech therapist, she confirmed that the adaptations on materials were good and workable. She used many of those and she took some ideas to use in her school. She shared ideas that I continue to use. She also confirmed my assessments about his actual skill levels in his subjects.
The occupational therapist confirmed that I had very effectively woven his OT therapies into his school work and gave me what I considered to be the highest praise. She wished that the schools could do as well in combining the therapies into everyday lessons. And it was always amusing, for all of us, when I would find new toys or activities that would help with his therapies yet be "play".
But that was the school involved stuff. On the home side, things went okay.
I took the free curriculum and I made communication boards for him to use. I found extra activities that would provide him with different ways to learn the material. We explored some more. He started experimenting with spelling. And struggled hard with math. He also learned some basic self care skills.
Yet we still had issues. He loves videos and they provide him with the best way of learning. I found a lot of good videos but at the same time a lot of them had the same issue. They were too long. They covered too much. And in doing so, they caused him to lose focus on what we were working on. And there were almost no math videos that focused purely on quantities, not counting.
So I adventured into learning new skills. I took his favorite educational DVDs and made them mp4s. Then I learned to edit them into segments that only focused on what we were working on. For the alphabet, this turned out to be wonderful and he loved it. I no longer had to wonder, at all, whether he comprehended his letters. For math, well, while I can edit videos, I'm not so good at making them from scratch so we continued to struggle. But we did seem to be making some progress there just not as much. I started to involve him in counting whenever possible and sometimes he would have breakthroughs.
By the end of the year we were still working on pre-K in some areas but were at first grade on others. We just moved slowly through the curriculum and I would add in additional activities until he displayed a good grasp of whatever we were reviewing. Hence the reason why an IEP didn't work. I used the curriculum as our goals with the sole intent of getting as far as we could without focusing on having it all done by X time. It's worked and helped both of us stay sane.
This is the way we did things for two years. And I'll admit that while we've slowly progressed further than the schools had, his core subjects are slow moving. But there have been other amazing breakthroughs that have more than balanced that issue.
The unintentional "lessons" that my Munchkin learned because of homeschooling are plentiful. First, he learned to use the few words he had. And he added more! He learned the give and take of conversing. And he does it very well with his limited vocabulary. He went from one, occasionally two, word phrases to sentences! And just recently he surprised me with a whole sentence that included the proper pronouns and all! Even better, he started doing it with other people. One of my friends and her husband were the first to hear him say "Thank you." I missed it! Basically my Munchkin has proven that the expressive language skills are there in his brain. His speech problem is almost purely getting the words from his brain and out through his mouth.
He has more than proved that his receptive language skills are excellent. And when there are issues it is typically because he is either ill or because I used a new word. So we're working on expanding the vocabulary. And if there are issues on a day, I watch to see what is going on with him body wise.
He has learned that it okay to express his needs and wants. He has also learned how to do some of those things himself. He can get his own drink now. He can help himself to servings of food. He can also put his dishes in the sink. He can tell me what he does and doesn't like. He's learning to tell me when, and where, he hurts at. And he's learning to do all these things in a calm manner, not with tantrums or meltdowns.
He has learned that things have "homes". He has learned how to do basic clean up. And yet, like a typical teenager, those skills never seem to apply to our DVDs.
He has also learned that he wants friends. He has changed behaviors in order to not upset people (on his own). But on the painful flip side, he is very much aware of when he is excluded. His desire to be able to communicate is never more obvious than in those moments. Yet, he also observes the other kids around him and experiments with new things afterwards. He recently spent a day with a very talkative child and spent the next couple of days experimenting with sounds and sentences. And came out with a few!
And I've learned. I've learned to listen for him trying to "talk". I've learned to help him learn to do it himself. I've learned not to assist but instead to teach it a different way. And if I wasn't patient before, I learned to be patient again. I learned what tools, from simple to complex, to use in different situations to enable him to be "present" in the regular world and not overload. I even have a wheelchair that we use when an environment is likely to be difficult for him, or otherwise unattendable.
But perhaps the most treasured lesson, I learned to see the normal boy that was suffering from autism. For most of his life every one of his behaviors was seen, judged, and treated through the lens of his autism. I learned, through great friends and family, what was typical behavior for his age. And from there I could see what the autism affects. It has caused a drastic shift in our world. And it has brought great joy for both of us, once Munchkin got past the knowledge that some of his manipulation no longer worked. :-) It's more than obvious that he enjoys the respect he gets now.
First I found a free pre-K curriculum online that I could expand on. Then I looked up my state's mandatory goals. Then I sat down and made a detailed IEP that blended both. I was under no illusion that 2 and a half hours a week was enough education time so I was going to homeschool as well. I made sure that we were all functioning on the same page.
To be honest, it was an abysmal failure. Not on the part of the teacher, who tried very hard. Or on my part because I provided whatever she needed, including helping with the lessons. But because she had to meet those mandatory goals and the information she was getting on how to do so was extremely counter productive. Up to and including being told not to use his communicator, and if he did, not to report it! And this wasn't really an issue at the local level either. It was an issue at the state level. And many things just made no sense.
But there were several silver linings. First was that since she was a speech therapist, she confirmed that the adaptations on materials were good and workable. She used many of those and she took some ideas to use in her school. She shared ideas that I continue to use. She also confirmed my assessments about his actual skill levels in his subjects.
The occupational therapist confirmed that I had very effectively woven his OT therapies into his school work and gave me what I considered to be the highest praise. She wished that the schools could do as well in combining the therapies into everyday lessons. And it was always amusing, for all of us, when I would find new toys or activities that would help with his therapies yet be "play".
But that was the school involved stuff. On the home side, things went okay.
I took the free curriculum and I made communication boards for him to use. I found extra activities that would provide him with different ways to learn the material. We explored some more. He started experimenting with spelling. And struggled hard with math. He also learned some basic self care skills.
Yet we still had issues. He loves videos and they provide him with the best way of learning. I found a lot of good videos but at the same time a lot of them had the same issue. They were too long. They covered too much. And in doing so, they caused him to lose focus on what we were working on. And there were almost no math videos that focused purely on quantities, not counting.
So I adventured into learning new skills. I took his favorite educational DVDs and made them mp4s. Then I learned to edit them into segments that only focused on what we were working on. For the alphabet, this turned out to be wonderful and he loved it. I no longer had to wonder, at all, whether he comprehended his letters. For math, well, while I can edit videos, I'm not so good at making them from scratch so we continued to struggle. But we did seem to be making some progress there just not as much. I started to involve him in counting whenever possible and sometimes he would have breakthroughs.
By the end of the year we were still working on pre-K in some areas but were at first grade on others. We just moved slowly through the curriculum and I would add in additional activities until he displayed a good grasp of whatever we were reviewing. Hence the reason why an IEP didn't work. I used the curriculum as our goals with the sole intent of getting as far as we could without focusing on having it all done by X time. It's worked and helped both of us stay sane.
This is the way we did things for two years. And I'll admit that while we've slowly progressed further than the schools had, his core subjects are slow moving. But there have been other amazing breakthroughs that have more than balanced that issue.
The unintentional "lessons" that my Munchkin learned because of homeschooling are plentiful. First, he learned to use the few words he had. And he added more! He learned the give and take of conversing. And he does it very well with his limited vocabulary. He went from one, occasionally two, word phrases to sentences! And just recently he surprised me with a whole sentence that included the proper pronouns and all! Even better, he started doing it with other people. One of my friends and her husband were the first to hear him say "Thank you." I missed it! Basically my Munchkin has proven that the expressive language skills are there in his brain. His speech problem is almost purely getting the words from his brain and out through his mouth.
He has more than proved that his receptive language skills are excellent. And when there are issues it is typically because he is either ill or because I used a new word. So we're working on expanding the vocabulary. And if there are issues on a day, I watch to see what is going on with him body wise.
He has learned that it okay to express his needs and wants. He has also learned how to do some of those things himself. He can get his own drink now. He can help himself to servings of food. He can also put his dishes in the sink. He can tell me what he does and doesn't like. He's learning to tell me when, and where, he hurts at. And he's learning to do all these things in a calm manner, not with tantrums or meltdowns.
He has learned that things have "homes". He has learned how to do basic clean up. And yet, like a typical teenager, those skills never seem to apply to our DVDs.
He has also learned that he wants friends. He has changed behaviors in order to not upset people (on his own). But on the painful flip side, he is very much aware of when he is excluded. His desire to be able to communicate is never more obvious than in those moments. Yet, he also observes the other kids around him and experiments with new things afterwards. He recently spent a day with a very talkative child and spent the next couple of days experimenting with sounds and sentences. And came out with a few!
And I've learned. I've learned to listen for him trying to "talk". I've learned to help him learn to do it himself. I've learned not to assist but instead to teach it a different way. And if I wasn't patient before, I learned to be patient again. I learned what tools, from simple to complex, to use in different situations to enable him to be "present" in the regular world and not overload. I even have a wheelchair that we use when an environment is likely to be difficult for him, or otherwise unattendable.
But perhaps the most treasured lesson, I learned to see the normal boy that was suffering from autism. For most of his life every one of his behaviors was seen, judged, and treated through the lens of his autism. I learned, through great friends and family, what was typical behavior for his age. And from there I could see what the autism affects. It has caused a drastic shift in our world. And it has brought great joy for both of us, once Munchkin got past the knowledge that some of his manipulation no longer worked. :-) It's more than obvious that he enjoys the respect he gets now.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Homeschooling with Autism - Step One
Okay, as I promised, here's a basic idea of where to start from. The first place to start from is your child's IEP. Actually you want their last few IEPs. And you can get copies of them from your school board. Just send a polite written request. Some school boards will provide them upon verbal request as well. Just check with your school board and see what they need.
If your child is still in school, arrange to observe the classroom. If you're lucky you can get a few days in. Just remember, don't disrupt the class and don't interfere. You are an observer only. And what you want to observe is how, specifically, they are working with your child. Are they using worksheets, file folders, task boxes, etc? How often are they using hand over hand to assist your child? How independent is your child when doing work? All of those sorts of things. This will help you.
Now, my son isn't an Aspie so most of what I'm going to tell you from here on out may or may not apply if your child is.
First, take those IEPs and see what goals have carried over from year to year. Those are going to be your child's difficult subjects. And bottom line, whatever they were doing at school wasn't working so you're going to want to find new ways to introduce and work on those subjects.
But before you work on anything, you are going to have to test your child on his actual skill level. So create fun "tests" that are similar to the methods the school uses and see how your child does. See how your child does independently. Yup, the skill isn't learned if your child can't do it on their own.
When I did this it ended up taking a few weeks. I kept having to back up the skill levels until we either reached a point where he could do something without prompting (beyond prompting to focus his attention) or we reached pre-K levels with no true success. In addition I discovered that my son was extremely addicted to hand over hand guidance.
To be honest, I was more than a little furious over those discoveries. But since that wasn't going to help either of us, I channeled it and got to work.
I wrote my first completely independent IEP. I'd had lots of practice through the years. I was happy that, for once, I wasn't going to have to argue over what was in it. It was everything the experts tell you to do. Detailed precise goals with firm guidelines and assessments. It was a thing of beauty. And within a month I threw it out. Yup. It didn't really fit well with homeschooling. It might for you. I found it too restrictive and difficult.
So instead I found a bunch of Pre-K curriculum materials, added a bunch of manipulatives and videos. And went to town. I experimented with all sorts of teaching methods. I got my son a tablet for school work and communication. For 6 months, we worked freestyle. And I worked on observing which methods seemed to get through the most and on breaking his hand over hand dependence.
It last 6 months because that was about the amount of time we had left in that first school year since I pulled him at mid year. At the same time I worked on several health issues he was suffering from that had environmental triggers.
At the end of that 6 months, I had a good idea of where he actually was in all subjects. Any transference issues had been worked through and if he had the knowledge, he showed it. In addition, I had a wonderfully complete idea of what methods actually broke through and helped him to learn. For my son, it's a combination of videos and kinesthetic learning. Photos, books, worksheets, etc are all fails for helping him get the knowledge although they can be used to help verify the knowledge.
But even better than all of that wonderful knowledge was the surprises. My son's stress level decreased drastically. Acting out behaviors faded. He saw what "real" life was like and started doing "real" life things. I was able to pay attention to his verbalizations and respond as if he was fully talking so he started verbalizing more. He got more solid words and he experimented with more sounds. All in all, there were some really pleasant surprises.
So, if you are going to take the leap, don't expect instant success. You need to learn what works for your child and how to apply it. And your child will learn even more just by being around you all day. Take your time. Let both of you breathe deep and explore. The journey is so worth it.
If your child is still in school, arrange to observe the classroom. If you're lucky you can get a few days in. Just remember, don't disrupt the class and don't interfere. You are an observer only. And what you want to observe is how, specifically, they are working with your child. Are they using worksheets, file folders, task boxes, etc? How often are they using hand over hand to assist your child? How independent is your child when doing work? All of those sorts of things. This will help you.
Now, my son isn't an Aspie so most of what I'm going to tell you from here on out may or may not apply if your child is.
First, take those IEPs and see what goals have carried over from year to year. Those are going to be your child's difficult subjects. And bottom line, whatever they were doing at school wasn't working so you're going to want to find new ways to introduce and work on those subjects.
But before you work on anything, you are going to have to test your child on his actual skill level. So create fun "tests" that are similar to the methods the school uses and see how your child does. See how your child does independently. Yup, the skill isn't learned if your child can't do it on their own.
When I did this it ended up taking a few weeks. I kept having to back up the skill levels until we either reached a point where he could do something without prompting (beyond prompting to focus his attention) or we reached pre-K levels with no true success. In addition I discovered that my son was extremely addicted to hand over hand guidance.
To be honest, I was more than a little furious over those discoveries. But since that wasn't going to help either of us, I channeled it and got to work.
I wrote my first completely independent IEP. I'd had lots of practice through the years. I was happy that, for once, I wasn't going to have to argue over what was in it. It was everything the experts tell you to do. Detailed precise goals with firm guidelines and assessments. It was a thing of beauty. And within a month I threw it out. Yup. It didn't really fit well with homeschooling. It might for you. I found it too restrictive and difficult.
So instead I found a bunch of Pre-K curriculum materials, added a bunch of manipulatives and videos. And went to town. I experimented with all sorts of teaching methods. I got my son a tablet for school work and communication. For 6 months, we worked freestyle. And I worked on observing which methods seemed to get through the most and on breaking his hand over hand dependence.
It last 6 months because that was about the amount of time we had left in that first school year since I pulled him at mid year. At the same time I worked on several health issues he was suffering from that had environmental triggers.
At the end of that 6 months, I had a good idea of where he actually was in all subjects. Any transference issues had been worked through and if he had the knowledge, he showed it. In addition, I had a wonderfully complete idea of what methods actually broke through and helped him to learn. For my son, it's a combination of videos and kinesthetic learning. Photos, books, worksheets, etc are all fails for helping him get the knowledge although they can be used to help verify the knowledge.
But even better than all of that wonderful knowledge was the surprises. My son's stress level decreased drastically. Acting out behaviors faded. He saw what "real" life was like and started doing "real" life things. I was able to pay attention to his verbalizations and respond as if he was fully talking so he started verbalizing more. He got more solid words and he experimented with more sounds. All in all, there were some really pleasant surprises.
So, if you are going to take the leap, don't expect instant success. You need to learn what works for your child and how to apply it. And your child will learn even more just by being around you all day. Take your time. Let both of you breathe deep and explore. The journey is so worth it.
Monday, August 10, 2015
I Can't Do What The School Can!
That is the most common reason given/heard for not homeschooling kids with autism. And be aware, this topic may cover a few days.
First I'm going to explain to you what the school day is like for a typical special needs kid, in a confined classroom, up through 6th grade. Or what it was like for my son, in multiple schools.
First they arrive at school and are taken to their classroom. This can be anywhere from half an hour before the bell to just before the bell. In some classrooms, the teacher and aides try to provide breakfast during that time. In other classrooms the first half hour after the bell was "breakfast" time. Most families with special needs kids qualify for free or reduce lunches. While we did because of food allergies we rarely ever used it. In fact, the school was only allowed to provide safe drinks for my son and the occasional salad.
Now that food is in them the teacher typically starts a lesson that lasts about a half hour. Then the kids are broken up into smaller groups that will work on other things for another half hour or so. This will go on throughout the day with some segments being only 15 minutes long. Included in there will be recess, sensory time, therapy time, lunch, another snack and then PE. It sounds like so much to do until you hit practicality.
Even in the most efficient classroom my son was in, there was a lot of wasted time as kids moved from activity to activity. A half hour scheduled typically became 20 minutes in practice. And even less if one or more of the kids were having a bad day. While the teachers would try to make sure that the kids got one on one time with them it normally ended up only being about 15 minutes a day. And maybe another 15 minutes of one on one time with an aide. I can't even count how many times doing an activity ended up completely dropped and the focus shifted to keeping the calm when a child (or two) began acting out. Or how many times a day ended up improvised because the teacher got pulled out for meetings and things went sideways. But honestly the worst was when there were time constraints, so the kids got "helped" to finish an activity.
My son typically spent time with an aide who was also helping at least two other kids. Since he was typically calm he didn't get the focus of their attention because they were expending energy trying to get the other kids on task. But calm didn't mean my son was on task, just that he wasn't causing as many problems.
Now, please understand, I don't blame the teachers or aides for this. They are overworked. They have a classroom full of children who need one on one teaching and not enough adults to provide it. They try the best they can with the tools they have. They are torn between parents who want their child to do well and administrators who want it done for as cheaply as possible. And in some states by BOEs that have "guidelines" that the teachers are evaluated on that have nothing to do with what a child actually needs.
But yes, you can do what the school can. You can do it at home. And you can do it better. And honestly, I have a longer school day with my son but it's filled with energy and sensory breaks that let him concentrate better on the hard parts. You can design the school day however works best for your and your child which means if reading works better in the morning and math at night then that's when you do them.
What is even better than all of that is that most likely you can do it, and do it better, while lowering both your stress levels and those of your child. I've got to say that one thing I really don't miss is the continual meetings (fights) to get services for my son. Now there are no fights. If I want it done, I do it.
Tomorrow I'll go over how I determined my son's actual skill levels and some issues we ran into during the first few months. And how we overcame them.
First I'm going to explain to you what the school day is like for a typical special needs kid, in a confined classroom, up through 6th grade. Or what it was like for my son, in multiple schools.
First they arrive at school and are taken to their classroom. This can be anywhere from half an hour before the bell to just before the bell. In some classrooms, the teacher and aides try to provide breakfast during that time. In other classrooms the first half hour after the bell was "breakfast" time. Most families with special needs kids qualify for free or reduce lunches. While we did because of food allergies we rarely ever used it. In fact, the school was only allowed to provide safe drinks for my son and the occasional salad.
Now that food is in them the teacher typically starts a lesson that lasts about a half hour. Then the kids are broken up into smaller groups that will work on other things for another half hour or so. This will go on throughout the day with some segments being only 15 minutes long. Included in there will be recess, sensory time, therapy time, lunch, another snack and then PE. It sounds like so much to do until you hit practicality.
Even in the most efficient classroom my son was in, there was a lot of wasted time as kids moved from activity to activity. A half hour scheduled typically became 20 minutes in practice. And even less if one or more of the kids were having a bad day. While the teachers would try to make sure that the kids got one on one time with them it normally ended up only being about 15 minutes a day. And maybe another 15 minutes of one on one time with an aide. I can't even count how many times doing an activity ended up completely dropped and the focus shifted to keeping the calm when a child (or two) began acting out. Or how many times a day ended up improvised because the teacher got pulled out for meetings and things went sideways. But honestly the worst was when there were time constraints, so the kids got "helped" to finish an activity.
My son typically spent time with an aide who was also helping at least two other kids. Since he was typically calm he didn't get the focus of their attention because they were expending energy trying to get the other kids on task. But calm didn't mean my son was on task, just that he wasn't causing as many problems.
Now, please understand, I don't blame the teachers or aides for this. They are overworked. They have a classroom full of children who need one on one teaching and not enough adults to provide it. They try the best they can with the tools they have. They are torn between parents who want their child to do well and administrators who want it done for as cheaply as possible. And in some states by BOEs that have "guidelines" that the teachers are evaluated on that have nothing to do with what a child actually needs.
But yes, you can do what the school can. You can do it at home. And you can do it better. And honestly, I have a longer school day with my son but it's filled with energy and sensory breaks that let him concentrate better on the hard parts. You can design the school day however works best for your and your child which means if reading works better in the morning and math at night then that's when you do them.
What is even better than all of that is that most likely you can do it, and do it better, while lowering both your stress levels and those of your child. I've got to say that one thing I really don't miss is the continual meetings (fights) to get services for my son. Now there are no fights. If I want it done, I do it.
Tomorrow I'll go over how I determined my son's actual skill levels and some issues we ran into during the first few months. And how we overcame them.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Schedules
I'm about to say something that most of the autism world will consider sacrilege.
You don't need rigid schedules. Okay, not all of our children are the same so there may be some who need rigid schedules. But before you allow all the experts force you into such a thing, learn and watch your child.
Yup. The only rigid schedule in my house is bedtime. Well, that and lunch time. But lunch time was set by 7 years of school and my son's body. I follow that schedule for those reasons, not because his mind needs it. Bedtime is set in concrete in order to help my son do what he needs so that he's ready to go to sleep. There are specific things I say at different times that let him know that bedtime is coming. He knows the words. His reactions let me know if this is going to be a hard night or an easy night. Most nights are easy. (And please don't let that jinx us.) The reason this is a hard line is because my son is super hyper most of the time and needs help remembering that he needs to settle down for the night. Each child is different.
If you think about it, you know exactly what I'm saying. Rigid schedules work in a school environment where teachers are making a lot of rapid changes. And honestly, they aren't needed there. What is need is clear communication.
That's all. Clear communication. That's what those strips of PECS pictures actually provide once a child knows what the picture stands for. Until then those strips of pictures are pretty worthless, unless you are actively teaching your child what those symbols stand for.
When my Munchkin was a toddler we, and his teachers, took efforts to make sure that he didn't "lock" himself into a schedule. This was done by varying his activities, when they were done, and how they were done. Instead my son learned to adapt with a few tools to aide him. In later years he had a teacher that obsessed on the schedule issue which resulted in a lot of adaptation issues for my son. It affected every single area of his life and was causing him to have severe rigidity issues. I was not happy.
Any of our children can be taught to adapt but it will take time and effort on the part of everyone in the child's life. The longer they've been kept to a rigid schedule, the longer it may take to break the pattern. Maybe. Some children adapt really quickly. Remember our children are trapped, not stupid.
Now that doesn't mean that my son is completely free of the autism "rigidity" when it comes to changes. He needs to sit at the same seat when at home for meals. He claims specific things as his whether they are or not. He claims the entire back seat of the van as his and won't sit anywhere else without massive fights. And he isn't too keen on sharing the back seat when necessary, even if he likes you. Sometimes, he has problems with new environments. But honestly, now that I've spent more time around "typical" kids, I can see that they have these issues as well.
But he doesn't require schedules. Instead, I clearly communicate what we are going to do before we go to do it. For example, if we are running errands for the day I tell him what stores we are going to. All of them. And then I verbally remind him of what we have left when we finish each store. If you aren't sure about your child's receptive language skills, you can use pictures for this. We did until my son more than proved that he understood.
If there is a new experience, I clearly tell him that we are going somewhere new and that I think he will like it. Or if it may have issues, I tell him what the issues may be and what things I have with us to help him overcome them, if he wants to. There are successes and failures. One of our most recent failures meant I had to make sure he knew, every time we pulled in the parking lot at Aldi, that we weren't going to Shakalaka. Now I don't have to say it, but I'm not sure I'm allowed into the thrift store next door again yet. :-)
But our days aren't scheduled from minute to minute, hour to hour.
When it's time to work on school things, I tell him that we are working on them. We work until I can see that he's no longer able to process new material on that subject. Then we take a break. I change up subjects and how they are taught to keep him from getting bored. We use a whole variety of materials.
But underneath it all, I make sure to clearly, simply communicate what is happening.
There are reasons that schedules work. But the core of the reasons is that they communicate. They communicate hard things, they communicate easy things, they communicate comforting things. But if used rigidly without a thorough understanding that their purpose is communication, they can lock our children in boxes that are very hard to break. Those boxes make it very hard for our children to "fit in" and deal with the rest of the world. And that isn't a help for them.
So before you set rigid schedules with your child, work on simple communication. Any form of communication that works for you and your child, but communication. Trust me, no matter how trapped they are, they are trying to find a way to communicate.
You don't need rigid schedules. Okay, not all of our children are the same so there may be some who need rigid schedules. But before you allow all the experts force you into such a thing, learn and watch your child.
Yup. The only rigid schedule in my house is bedtime. Well, that and lunch time. But lunch time was set by 7 years of school and my son's body. I follow that schedule for those reasons, not because his mind needs it. Bedtime is set in concrete in order to help my son do what he needs so that he's ready to go to sleep. There are specific things I say at different times that let him know that bedtime is coming. He knows the words. His reactions let me know if this is going to be a hard night or an easy night. Most nights are easy. (And please don't let that jinx us.) The reason this is a hard line is because my son is super hyper most of the time and needs help remembering that he needs to settle down for the night. Each child is different.
If you think about it, you know exactly what I'm saying. Rigid schedules work in a school environment where teachers are making a lot of rapid changes. And honestly, they aren't needed there. What is need is clear communication.
That's all. Clear communication. That's what those strips of PECS pictures actually provide once a child knows what the picture stands for. Until then those strips of pictures are pretty worthless, unless you are actively teaching your child what those symbols stand for.
When my Munchkin was a toddler we, and his teachers, took efforts to make sure that he didn't "lock" himself into a schedule. This was done by varying his activities, when they were done, and how they were done. Instead my son learned to adapt with a few tools to aide him. In later years he had a teacher that obsessed on the schedule issue which resulted in a lot of adaptation issues for my son. It affected every single area of his life and was causing him to have severe rigidity issues. I was not happy.
Any of our children can be taught to adapt but it will take time and effort on the part of everyone in the child's life. The longer they've been kept to a rigid schedule, the longer it may take to break the pattern. Maybe. Some children adapt really quickly. Remember our children are trapped, not stupid.
Now that doesn't mean that my son is completely free of the autism "rigidity" when it comes to changes. He needs to sit at the same seat when at home for meals. He claims specific things as his whether they are or not. He claims the entire back seat of the van as his and won't sit anywhere else without massive fights. And he isn't too keen on sharing the back seat when necessary, even if he likes you. Sometimes, he has problems with new environments. But honestly, now that I've spent more time around "typical" kids, I can see that they have these issues as well.
But he doesn't require schedules. Instead, I clearly communicate what we are going to do before we go to do it. For example, if we are running errands for the day I tell him what stores we are going to. All of them. And then I verbally remind him of what we have left when we finish each store. If you aren't sure about your child's receptive language skills, you can use pictures for this. We did until my son more than proved that he understood.
If there is a new experience, I clearly tell him that we are going somewhere new and that I think he will like it. Or if it may have issues, I tell him what the issues may be and what things I have with us to help him overcome them, if he wants to. There are successes and failures. One of our most recent failures meant I had to make sure he knew, every time we pulled in the parking lot at Aldi, that we weren't going to Shakalaka. Now I don't have to say it, but I'm not sure I'm allowed into the thrift store next door again yet. :-)
But our days aren't scheduled from minute to minute, hour to hour.
When it's time to work on school things, I tell him that we are working on them. We work until I can see that he's no longer able to process new material on that subject. Then we take a break. I change up subjects and how they are taught to keep him from getting bored. We use a whole variety of materials.
But underneath it all, I make sure to clearly, simply communicate what is happening.
There are reasons that schedules work. But the core of the reasons is that they communicate. They communicate hard things, they communicate easy things, they communicate comforting things. But if used rigidly without a thorough understanding that their purpose is communication, they can lock our children in boxes that are very hard to break. Those boxes make it very hard for our children to "fit in" and deal with the rest of the world. And that isn't a help for them.
So before you set rigid schedules with your child, work on simple communication. Any form of communication that works for you and your child, but communication. Trust me, no matter how trapped they are, they are trying to find a way to communicate.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
By Request - Don't Give Up!
It's been a really long time. I honestly didn't think I was ever going to come back to this because "real" life has gotten so busy and hectic.
But a friend confronted me. She asked me to restart this blog, even if it was only little tidbits here and there. Apparently there aren't a lot of blogs about autism and homeschooling. And, whether I realize all of it or not, I've been through a lot over the past decade or so that might help out some other families. And, last but definitely not least, a lot of autism families are trying homeschooling and are scared. So I will try.
So today's subject, because it was one she and I were discussing, is Don't Give Up.
My son is nonverbal. He has been nonverbal since he regressed while a toddler. It's made life interesting. I was always good at reading body language and all of my skills (and then some) have been used to try to help my son. But he resists using communication boards or devices. Instead he invents his own ways of telling me what he needs occasionally falling back on the "scream my head off" method.
While he was attending school he had a few "words" that he would use frequently. And another smattering that he would use rarely. Every once in a rare while I would see signs that he was trying to communicate more. When I pulled him out of school we spent 6 months or so figuring out where his actual skill level, in all things, was and letting him "destress". Activities were designed to be fun (still are) and he was allowed all the time he needed to blow off steam between activities. I also avoided environments that contained his headache triggers as much as possible. Which meant we only did grocery shopping once a month and didn't stay in any store more than 30 minutes with at least 15 minutes between stores. I've actually learned now to just sit and wait in the van. It's rarely even 5 minutes before he's pushing me to get out and get moving. Such big changes.
Anyways, back on track, his rare words started to become daily words. And they are much clearer and defined. And then the rare bursts became new words and two word sentences. Then two word sentences became much more normal and the rare bursts became new words and three word sentences. Almost always, the new words fade and only pop back occasionally. But the rest stays over time.
He now understands the concept behind conversing and applies it with all the words at his disposal. And his body language. My Munchkin can definitely dish out some sass when he's in the mood.
So why "Don't Give Up"? Because a few days ago a blog came across my feed about a Mom fighting to get her child to speak. All of the experts that she dealt with told her that if it didn't happen within a specific time frame, it wasn't going to happen. And she was stressed about it. I found it depressing because we are way out of the listed time frames. So I just accepted that it was what it was and kept moving on. I figured that, over time, I would find a way to get Munchkin to use a communication device.
I'm not going to give you the time frames that were listed though. Because my loving, puckish Munchkin just completely blew them out of the water. For the first time in his life he said a complete, appropriate, fully enunciated sentence. 5 words. One contraction. It once again proved that while he can't always get the words from his brain to his mouth, he thinks in completely appropriate expressive language.
Don't let the "experts" define what your child can, or can't do, because I promise you: Each of our kids are separate individuals. They will come into their own, in their time, not ours, not the experts'. My son has the body of a teenager and the mind/soul of a 5 year old. Actually it may be further along but we don't have the communication tools yet to bridge the gap. Have faith in them, show them ways while watching for the ways that they create. Whatever you do, don't give up. If you won't stand by them, no one else will.
But a friend confronted me. She asked me to restart this blog, even if it was only little tidbits here and there. Apparently there aren't a lot of blogs about autism and homeschooling. And, whether I realize all of it or not, I've been through a lot over the past decade or so that might help out some other families. And, last but definitely not least, a lot of autism families are trying homeschooling and are scared. So I will try.
So today's subject, because it was one she and I were discussing, is Don't Give Up.
My son is nonverbal. He has been nonverbal since he regressed while a toddler. It's made life interesting. I was always good at reading body language and all of my skills (and then some) have been used to try to help my son. But he resists using communication boards or devices. Instead he invents his own ways of telling me what he needs occasionally falling back on the "scream my head off" method.
While he was attending school he had a few "words" that he would use frequently. And another smattering that he would use rarely. Every once in a rare while I would see signs that he was trying to communicate more. When I pulled him out of school we spent 6 months or so figuring out where his actual skill level, in all things, was and letting him "destress". Activities were designed to be fun (still are) and he was allowed all the time he needed to blow off steam between activities. I also avoided environments that contained his headache triggers as much as possible. Which meant we only did grocery shopping once a month and didn't stay in any store more than 30 minutes with at least 15 minutes between stores. I've actually learned now to just sit and wait in the van. It's rarely even 5 minutes before he's pushing me to get out and get moving. Such big changes.
Anyways, back on track, his rare words started to become daily words. And they are much clearer and defined. And then the rare bursts became new words and two word sentences. Then two word sentences became much more normal and the rare bursts became new words and three word sentences. Almost always, the new words fade and only pop back occasionally. But the rest stays over time.
He now understands the concept behind conversing and applies it with all the words at his disposal. And his body language. My Munchkin can definitely dish out some sass when he's in the mood.
So why "Don't Give Up"? Because a few days ago a blog came across my feed about a Mom fighting to get her child to speak. All of the experts that she dealt with told her that if it didn't happen within a specific time frame, it wasn't going to happen. And she was stressed about it. I found it depressing because we are way out of the listed time frames. So I just accepted that it was what it was and kept moving on. I figured that, over time, I would find a way to get Munchkin to use a communication device.
I'm not going to give you the time frames that were listed though. Because my loving, puckish Munchkin just completely blew them out of the water. For the first time in his life he said a complete, appropriate, fully enunciated sentence. 5 words. One contraction. It once again proved that while he can't always get the words from his brain to his mouth, he thinks in completely appropriate expressive language.
Don't let the "experts" define what your child can, or can't do, because I promise you: Each of our kids are separate individuals. They will come into their own, in their time, not ours, not the experts'. My son has the body of a teenager and the mind/soul of a 5 year old. Actually it may be further along but we don't have the communication tools yet to bridge the gap. Have faith in them, show them ways while watching for the ways that they create. Whatever you do, don't give up. If you won't stand by them, no one else will.
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