Homeschooling our children has been extremely successful in many cases.  Some of the reasons include routine, stable environment, one on one interaction, and maybe even mother's communication.  This seems to go against all of the advice we've received that our children need professionals, but it works - and that's all the really counts in the end.  These stories are from the email list that supports homeschooling autistic children unless otherwise noted.  See this page for information on Aut-2b-Home.
 
 Michelle Deavenport  jdeavenp@brazosport.cc.tx.us wrote in April of 98:

         I'm the mother of L, 4, who has an autistic disorder.  His first diagnosis was PDD-NOS it has recently been changed to Asperger's.  Here is our story:

        When we first discovered that L had some developmental problems, I was homeschooling his older brother.  We sought help through our local Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program, and they found a speech/language delay, and later noticed he had problems with some sensory issues.  One referral after another led us to our current conclusion.

        At first I felt so ill equipped to handle the educational needs of an autistic child.  They needed more socialization, didn't they?  And what about all the special helps the school system could provide like speech, occupational and physical therapy?  Did I cause this disorder by having him home under my wing so much?  All of these questions haunted me day after day.

        I finally had the courage to ask the first speech therapist her opinion and that of her co-worker, the OT.  They both felt the best place for L was at home in a quiet and structured environment.  I was very surprised by this.  Later when we sought out an expert in the field of PDD's for private therapy, I asked her the same thing.  She felt strongly that a structured, stable, home setting was preferred over most classroom settings.  Her only exception was a classroom set up for PDD children only, which we didn't have available to us.

        After my fears were allayed, the process of learning to teach L began.  We use the Structured Teaching Method (TEACHH) in our home.  L is assigned tasks and centers through out the day.  He receives cards that tell him where to go next: computer, outside play, legos, movie, desk work.  I use allot of Montessori ideas for centers in shoe boxes.  He loves his work.  As our therapist always says, "For kids like L, work is play and play is work".  This fits him to a tee.

        One of the best advantages of homeschooling is in the area of play.  I am able to supervise when and how interaction takes place.  L has to be "trained" to play appropriately with other children.  Fortunately I can gauge his sensory problems for the day and decide if it's good for him to add the chaos of extra children in our home or not.  Some days the smallest sounds are painful to him and I know that he couldn't handle anything else.  Other days he is doing so well that I want to make the most of it and we call a friend over.

        No one knows Luke and the way he thinks better than I do.  That's not to say I  have him figured out, but I've got the time and the interest to do what's best for him.  It's also been great for my older son to learn how to get beyond himself and help L.

        I found an excellent speech therapist who was willing to come to our home and teach me how to conduct therapy for Luke.  She charged a very modest fee.  She comes once a month to evaluate L and give me new materials and ideas.  I have  a friend who is an OT and she has been very helpful in getting me the info I need to learn to do Luke's therapy in our home.  I've also sought  out and attended workshops for teachers of PDD kids and have found that I am very welcomed in their presence.  In fact, at one workshop I was "interviewed" about PDD kids from a parents perspective.

        Some days I'm overwhelmed with the task because of my insecurities and the struggle to get my things done, like housecleaning, errands, etc.  Thankfully I have been able to teach and include our boys in the jobs and Luke seems to enjoy accomplishing goals.  Best of all the security he feels with our family and the peace of his improvement is all the confirmation I need to know that we are doing the right thing for him and us.
Michelle Deavenport
jdeavenp@brazosport.cc.tx.us

We started hsing (homeschooling) our dd (darling daughter) C, now 8 yrs old, about 2 years ago. She had already been in the ps (public school) system for 3 years and I slowly realized that we were in for a battle, because she was not getting what she needed and was really stressing out because of the atmosphere there. They had never given my any guidance towards finding out what was different about her and after I found that she has Autism, I was having to teach them what Autism is and how to handle her. We got her diagnosed just before her 3rd year in school ended, but already knew and were supposedly working with them to help her, that she was Autistic. But they never got it, they always candy coated everything that they were doing that was wrong and after that last year, I was not going to send her back there to have her coming home crying uncontrollably, because of something that these so called "adults" had done to her. One time she had come home tell me she was a "bad" girl, "BAD" just who would have the gall to tell a child this. I was so horrified that the next day I called the school to talk to her teacher and she said that she did not know who would have said this to her. Well later, after I found that when she was having a bad day, they were sending her to the next door teachers class and the aid there was always very mean to C. How do I know that? One day I was at the school for a project that I was doing with the children and C had fallen outside and hurt her knee and couldn't stop crying.  She and 3 other girls were in line at the water fountain and she just couldn't stop crying. Well, this aide came over to her and I was standing very close to C and she did not know that I was her Mom and started screaming at her to stop crying and bring a "bad" girl. Well, just as she started to grab my child's shoulders and shake her, I let her know who I was and that she needed to learn about Autism and just how to be a "decent" human being if she was going to be around children. This is not the only time that I have seen this done to a child, and I sure has heck was not going to stand there and see it done to my child, as I had not stood and said nothing when I have seen it done to other children. They were slowly destroying her self-esteem as they had already done to my oldest daughter A who is now 16. A has been home for 1 1/2 years now. A has ADD and what is so sad about this is that the school system is supposed to know how to teach these children that are ADD or ADHD and they do not have a clue. Oh, there are a few that have wonderful teachers, but for the most part these teachers have know idea how to teach these children and in the process they destroy their natural instinct for learning. Now that she has been at home she now realizes she is important to this world and has taught herself how to write HTML and built her own site dedicated to her favorite band, the Hansons. She has done extensive studies on the subjects that interest her and is learning Financial Planning, something that she will need for her future. I do wish that I had started doing this at an earlier age with A, as with C, so that we would not have so much to build back up in her now, after these so called teachers almost destroyed her. I am not so fearful for her future now, as I was while she was in the system. She now is getting ready to start doing web sites for "money", now that is a career in the making and she would have not gotten that in the system.  She is a very bright and loving child, it just takes a bit longer for things to register with her and the ps system is not setup for that and never will be. We have a 3 yr old son, B who is speech delayed, at least that is what they would call him in the system. And we are not going to put him in the system. He is a beautiful loving and bright child and is already enjoying books, not reading per say, but sure loves being read to and just looking at the pictures and making up a story to go with the
pictures. This is just a part of our story, there is a lot more to it than that and one day I will be able to finish it with the knowledge that we as parents "knowing" our children in and out like "no one" else can knows our children, did the best thing for them, not keeping them in a system that expects "sameness" for everyone.


R S  in Georgia ~A~ Homeschooling Mom

I have 2 special kids, and I put them in school because I'd rather work than stay home. The first 2 years went fine. The oldest, L, is profoundly gifted and was reading at 3-4 years old. His teachers in pre K and K were very sensitive to challenging him and not singling him out. My autistic daughter started special Ed for a speech delay (before I knew it was autism) supposedly "just to complete the evaluation of her skills" That evaluation took a year and a half and her language skills didn't get any better. She even had to see a behavior specialist who didn't add much to the mix. I started up on the internet, and found out for myself what autism is - the school didn't believe me. My oldest began first grade and was set up as a "peer tutor", then he was out sick for about 3 weeks. Meanwhile I was up at the school every day with hubby watching my littlest to make sure they implemented what the behavior specialist had to say.

Well, the sky fell in. My daughter started hitting, kicking and biting at her teacher, and pulled her older brother across a room by his hair. The first grade teacher charged us with truancy for unexcused absences - really dumb as I'd been at school while hubby was home with the boys! I'd like to know how she got 70 absences out of 2 1/2 months of school! (It was in November) The Teacher, the admin secretary, the superintendent, the DA, and the DA's secretary all handled this truancy paperwork and the MN law says that a child is truant after 7 years old. The legal paperwork has his birth year as 1990. Well, my education says 1996-1990 is 6 years old. HMMM And these people educate our kids and fight crime??? 

I went into school with the information that I found out about autism, and they scheduled a meeting with the state autism specialist.  Well, it was the same sweet lady who was billed as the "behavior specialist" before!  Lyle Chastain is very knowledgeable and listens very well to my opinion, questions and concerns.   Meanwhile, the teachers "in charge" of my daughter brushed me off, ignored me, and asked me to not come to school.  Instead, they hired 2 aides to take my unpaid place!!  Still nothing got better, and the violence kept getting worse - I pulled her out of school about 2 weeks later.

How's homeschooling treating us? My oldest designs web pages, reads chapter books, and understands math up to basic algebra - he turned 8 in Feb. My daughter, the one who had basically a one word vocabulary - "NO!"; is speaking in full complex sentences with only minor word dropping, she's running, jumping and skipping (her large motor impairments), she now uses scissors just fine, and co-operates fully with me. Not only is there only minor sibling arguing, My daughter is READING at 6 years old!!! My 5yo is disassembling things, "reading" comics and maps, digging dino bones and doing crafts. The upshot is that my family is learning to get along with each other without outside pressure to BUY, be sarcastic, or be anti-authority.

Quick update - Nikki's language skills are almost normal with some echolia (repeating) and some mumbling.  At almost 7, she loves to watch Cartoon Network in Spanish, and is also learning Spanish by mumbling it first!  Her small motor skills are just incredible now, and she loves to work on plastic canvas projects.  She has been learning to ride her bike with training wheels and has very good flexibility from our informal practicing of basic ballet.  She's been chiming in with off hand comments that are just TOO funny.  The teacher who served her so poorly asked Nikki "Wouldn't it be great to come back to class...?"  and Niki's answer was "No, not now.  School sucks!"  September 98

Dec 98   SHE'S READING!!  And, I'm convinced she started from trying to watch her shows when her brother's had the remote. The first obvious clue that she was really reading the stuff on the program guide screen was "I want BLUE'S CLUES!"   WOW

Shannon