Special Needs

by Patty
(Arkansas)

My son has had seizures since 2008 and is in Special Needs. He is way behind in school and is getting worse, it seems that he would do better if he was one on one. Sometimes he will come home crying because of the teasing, or he can't understand something. That's when I really want to help my child learn better if I home school.

Diane's Reply to Special Needs:

Hello Patty,

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding your son. I have no personal experience with seizures or special education, but I hope to steer you in the right direction.

There is a link on our Learning Disabilities page to an article entitled When Traditional Schools Fail: Homeschooling May Be a Better Option. When you click on the Learning Disabilities link on that page, it will take you to another page to find that article.

Another source of encouragement to you would be a book I often refer to: Homeschooling in Wisconsin - At Home with Learning. I know you're from Arkansas, but Chapter 9 - Homeschooling Children with Special Needs would be very helpful. Try to locate it at your library via inter-library loan. It lists a number of advantages to homeschooling, suggestions for parents and a number of mothers' success stories.

Be sure to check the homeschooling laws in Arkansas at www.hslda.org

Read everything you can get your hands and maybe even find another family in your area with the same situation. You librarian might be able to help you with that also.

All the best to you.