The Special Need Child Education and Home Schooling
By D. P. Brown
No one can deny that children come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of learning ability. This being the case, it is possible that your child might have some special challenges when it comes to learning. Home schooling can be difficult enough for students without any special issues to address. It takes it to a whole new level for children that need additional resources. The question then is asked:
Can a special needs child be home schooled?
Even though there are parents who would respond with a big "yes", one difficulty children with special needs will face is the necessary time and attention needed to make homeschooling possible. Each state offers resources for parents when educating their special needs children in the public school system. This may or not be the case when desiring to teach your special needs child at home. In the end, it is up to parents to see that their children get what they need to succeed educationally.
There is no argument that every child is entitled to an excellent education. For too long, parents and children have settled for a cookie cutter education, because that was what the public school system offered. Home schooling has changed that perception with the desire to reinstate the individual attention each student needs to succeed. The evidence of the success of home schooling of special needs children is still being revealed.
To begin with, let's look at attention deficit disorder. It is considered by the school system to be a special need. Children have a hard time concentrating and keeping still. School work that is not challenging enough just increases their level of anxiety. Instead of resorting to medicating the student, this situation can be resolved through home study.
Even though being home schooled doesn't provide an instant fix for educational problems of the special needs student, it does allow a child with special needs to learn in a more relaxed environment, and at a pace that suits them. If reaching them requires three hours one day and four the next, a home school curriculum can work well with the child. As a result, their grades won't suffer simply because they can't keep up in a more traditional classroom setting.
Parents know their children better than anyone. No one else will take the time that is warranted to keep him or her on track with their education. For example, your child may be a visual learner or more inclined to learn with a hands-on approach. In a classroom of thirty students, it is hard to create a lesson that will challenge both the visual learner with those who can read and comprehend more easily. Quite simply, there isn't enough time to give to each child individually.
With the help of tutors (if needed) and counselors, students with special needs enjoy a fulfilling educational experience at home. No longer do they have to suffer through being picked on or frustration because they "just don't get it." The home school environment is conducive to helping them learn the way that feels comfortable to them. And that individual attention is what sets homeschooling apart from the more traditional classroom setting more than anything else.
If you can honestly answer that you have the time and energy to teach your special needs child at home, there is every reason to believe that your child will succeed!
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