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Autism/Autism & Homeschooling

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Expert: - 4/9/2009


Question
Do you think homeschooling is a good option for a high-functioning autistic child who has been in public school for almost 10 years?  What would be the pro's and con's in your eyes?   Thanks!

Answer
Hi Sarah

sorry for not replying sooner. I was away over the holidays.

I'm in a country where homeschooling is not an option so I'm probably not the best person to ask, but generally I believe homeschooling is a great thing (although - please keep that in mind - I'm not fully aware of the (possible) consequences like - if your child wanted to go to university later, would he/she have more difficulties to get into his/her preferred university if homeschooled or doesn't it matter at all and similar questions - please ask someone who is also in the US about it, preferrably someone who is already homeschooling their kid).

If your child has been in public school for 10 years I assume he/she is a teenager, so you should ask him/her if he/she wanted to leave school and be homeschooled. If he/she's anything like me I guess he/she'll say yes (I would have glady left school after years of bullying), however if he/she has friends in class and feels okay there (even if there are occasional difficulties with teachers and classmates) and *wants* to stay in school, I'd leave him/her there.
I'd only change the situation if it seems necessary and if you feel he/she'll be happier when he/she can leave school (as people with autism don't like changes).

Generally I'm a big fan of homeschooling (although it's not allowed here) as it enables people to learn at their own pace and make adaptions that encourage an individual learning style (visual, auitory, hands-on) that would be impossible when in public school and in a large classroom. Also, there is one-to-one tuition, which might help grealy with keeping the student focused, or, if that's their preferred learning style, the student might be allowed to learn on his own from books most of the time.
If you're homeschooled there are no kids bullying or distracting you, and you can follow a routine which will make your child more comfortable.

I don't really see any disatvantage, apart from the (possible) problem with getting into tertiary level education which I don't really know anything about, and the possibility of depriving him/her of social contacts (if he/she's well integrated in class, and has friends there, and WANTS to stay). (But then, if he/she has friends in class they might still come around to your house if he/she's homeschooled).

Hope this helps,
C.  

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*DISCLAIMER*

Please note I am not a healthcare professional or a doctor.
I cannot provide a diagnosis or give any medical advice.
Therefore I cannot answer questions like "is my child autistic ?" other than by telling you to go and see a specialist
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Please be aware that if you are in the US it will usually take at least 24 hours until I can answer your question, as I'm in Europe and don't have access to my email during the day. I also cannot answer questions concerning the US educational or law system (other than by looking up things on google, but that's probably not the expertise you need), as I'm not in the US.
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Please also be aware that I'm a person with autism. My answers may sometimes be very blunt and direct and I may tell you things you won't like to hear. Diplomacy is certainly not among my talents. I'm never being rude on purpose, and I always try not to hurt or offend people, but it has happened before and may happen again. It's NEVER on purpose. I just want to help.
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What I *can* do for you is gather information on any aspect of autism and therapy of autism you're interested in and give you my personal oppinion about it (if you want to hear it) or, if it applies, tell you about my personal experience. I can answer all questions about what life is like for an autistic person.

I can also answer questions asked in German or French (but will have to answer in English to questions asked in French as my French is a bit rusty).

Ich beantworte gerne auch Fragen auf Deutsch.

Vous pouvez poser des questions en Francais, si cela ne vous dérange pas que je responds en anglais.

Experience


As I'm not doing well right now and am not in the shape of answering questions well - I recieved a few low ratings lately - I'll take a break from AllExperts for the next few weeks/until I'm doing better

I am an adult diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome/High Functioning Autism and ADD.

In the past years I have also read a lot about autism and its comorbid conditions and related subjects (as I am experiencing symptoms of most of these or know others who do) , so I have accumulated a lot of layman knowledge in this area (AD(H)D, Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, sleep disorders, allergies, sensory integration dysfunction, learning difficulties, left/right-brain, giftedness, Irlen Syndrome, prism glasses, executive dysfunction (aka. "inertia"), "special" diets).

Education/Credentials
None in the field of autism, apart from being autistic myself !

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