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Discussion Title: Speech delayed kindergartner
Created by: sweetkitte...
Created on: Mon, 04/14/2008 - 10:29pm.
Hello. I'm new to homeschooling in the sense that I've never been the teacher. However, I home schooled my senior year and my husband was homeschooled entirely by his mother. I know there are a great many benefits in homeschooling and approve entirely, but was originally going to send my son to the public school anyway. After some extensive research I discovered that the local school is unsatisfactory. On top of that my son has speech issues. I've made the decision to homeschool him myself and feel it would be the best approach as he learns best one and one rather then in a class (yes, he goes to preschool and we have proven this). I had registered him for kindergarten (before making this decision) and they want to evaluate him for a learning disability. I know he doesnt have anything serious, but I'm afraid that no matter what label they attach to him -- they will make it harder for me to homeschool him. I plan only to homeschool him for kindergarten and maybe first grade. Just until he has his feet and is better able to communicate with his peers and educators. Does anyone have any experience with homeschooling special ed students? Do the schools generally give you a hard time about homeschooling them?? Would it be better to not approve the evaluation at this time, so there is no label?? His speech is delayed only it really is a minor problem that we have improved greatly over the last year and a half and feel we can overcome within the next few years. right now it makes communicating with him difficult for individuals who don't know him and I'm afraid he will get lost in the cracks during these first critical years in his education. Please, any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Author: concerned ...
Replied: 4/15/2008 9:22am.
Hi,
I read your post, and I sympathize w/ you. My son also has a speech problem, among other issues. He attends a pre-school disabled program as well as our public pre-k. We love the private school b/c it has a small class size and teachers trained in special education. The public school program is a lot less structured and has a larger class size. We put our son in that school b/c we thought it would better help him w/ his social skills. So there's pros and cons to both settings. I've considered homeschooling my son, too, but I don't know that much about it either, although I know moms who have done it w/ their children. I would first suggest that you have your son privately evaluated by a speech therapist(however minor the problem is). At that point, decide on what path you want to take. Maybe you can homeschool him, and also get him private speech therapy. Look into your insurance to see if they cover services, or otherwise ask your local school district if they'll supply speech services. They may still want to evaluate your son to see if he qualifies for services, but it would be worth it. You can always get the socialization for your son in recreational activities outside of school, as that's an important part of the learning process as well. Good luck! Please let me know how you make out in this process. Also, if you have any good resource info on homeschooling, please pass it along. I'd love to look into it further as an option for my son as well. Best wishes to you both.
Author: gail
Replied: 4/15/2008 11:08am.
Each state has a different approach to homeschooling. I would google "your state, homeschool" and talk to the people who have experience where you are.
Author: im_a_flymo...
Replied: 4/15/2008 12:05pm.
gail is right - each state is different. You should do some research and talk to local homeschoolers. About the evaluation...If it's not required by law, I wouldn't do it. Lables stick. My now 9 year old son was put into speech classes when he was in public school and I was told it was not my decision weather or not he continued or did not continue with the program. It was up to the speech teacher. Not me. what's funny is that my son doesn't even have a speech problem. We live in the south and have for many years now, but when my son learned to talk we were living up north. He has an accent. The teachers at the school here did not even know the difference. Duh! Anyway, I hope all works out for you. Homeschool is a wonderful thing. I'm sure you and your son will both benifit.
Author: concerned ...
Replied: 4/15/2008 1:38pm.
Forgot to mention that your school district has to give your son services if you request them. However, you shouldn't feel coerced into getting your son evaluated if you don't want to. That's why I feel the private eval is the way to go. You can get some answers, w/out having your son labeled by the district. I think, though, if you wait to get your son tested, and it turns out he needs services later on, it might be harder to get them. But I don't see why the school would give you a hard time about homeschooling him now. If anything, it saves them money, and from my experience w/ our school district, it's all about money.
Definitely look into the laws for your state as the others have suggested. Each state is different.
Author: CCA mom
Replied: 4/15/2008 8:54pm.
I home school both of my children. My youngest has ADHD and also takes meds to help her with depression. I had no problem taking her from a public school to a home school setting. As far as I know its your right to have your child schooled any way you choose. As long as you meet the required hours and days needed for your state, there should not be a problem. We school at home through a cyber program and she still has the benifit of an IEP. State testing is still a must for her, other than that as long as we put in 25 hours a week and she shows she is making reasonable progress in her studies we dont have any problems.
Author: sweetkitte...
Replied: 4/16/2008 10:20am.
We Live in PA and so the laws are more relaxed then some states. I know you don't have to register for kindergarten or until age 8 I think. Basically he would have to take a short eval when/if I did decide to put him into the public school. Just so they can make sure that is the grade for him according to their standards. As it is the local elementary school just found out they have a HUGE mold problem and are relocating the students for the rest of the school year. I heard tell it might take a year to fix the problem, but thats speculation I think. Anyway, thats reason more then ever and maybe they wont give me a hard time because it's one less kid they have to find another school for. As for the speech I re- read everything they gave me. By all accounts (though I still have one or two more school admins to talk to) I can homeschool him and still get him the speech therapy through the school. I know CIU will do it for another year yet too, so I might do that instead because of the mold issue I would have to hike my son to another school for speech. Thank you again for all your advice I really appreciate it.
Author: woundedini...
Replied: 4/25/2008 10:07am.
Hi I started homeschooling my 3 children 6 yrs ago when all they did was bring hours of homework home and not retaining any of it. My daughter now graduated is mentally handicap, the school tried to give me a problem but I joined HSLDA.org and paid $8.00 a month to keep people off my back. I took the boys out of school easy, just gave them the address of the homeschool and we went on our way. Look at the website for the Homeschool legal defense association. If you have any questions please dont hesitate to email me at godofcreationluvsu at yahoo dot com.