special needs students - hslda: homeschooling advocates ......special needs students “give me a...

Exploring Homeschooling for Special Needs Students

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2016 Copyright HSLDA 1

• Individualized phone consultations• E-mail support• Free, monthly e-newsletters• Rental of the Brigance assessment kits• Access to Private Consultant Locator/Database of

homeschool friendly professionals• Struggling Learner Website resources• Webinars/Workshops• Prayer support and encouragement• Special Needs Children’s Fund Grant, through the

Home School Foundation

We Provide Our Members…

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Goals~ To discuss the benefits of homeschooling

To discuss the roadblocks to homeschooling

To present diagnostic checklists and assessment tools

To describe practical resources and teaching strategies to help you homeschool a child with special needs

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IndividualizedExcellentProgram



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The Gift and Benefits of Homeschooling~

Roadblocks:

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Feeling Fearful and Inadequate 2nd Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind.”

Roadblocks:

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Feeling FrustratedGalatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest.”


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Roadblocks:

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Lack of Support

Psalm 3:3 “But, LORD, you are my shield, my wonderful God who gives me courage.”

Benefits of Utilizing an Educational Consultant~

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• Support, resources, feedback• Teaching ideas and strategies • Goal setting, program planning,

and progress monitoring• Added “security” and stress relief • HSLDA members have access to our searchable

database of professionals www.hslda.org/strugglinglearners/Consultants

• “Can I use my school for testing and services?”

• “In the States” section of the Struggling Learner website, www.hslda.org/strugglinglearner

• Private services, if at all possible, are best• “Free” services are not truly free


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Roadblocks:

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Lack of Funds

Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Alternative avenues of funding…

Foundations National Charitable

Organizations State Scholarships Employers Other resources


Roadblocks:

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Unrealistic Expectations

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me all who are weary andburdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”


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One size does not fit all.

In planning- Peruse, Pick, Prepare and Pray


Some programs are more suited for children with special needs than others.


Curriculum programs vs. teaching strategies

Top picks for helpful websites and vendors



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Tech Tools and Adaptive Equipment• Adapt My World by J. Rose Plaxen• Learning Ally- www.learningally.org• Inspiration and Kidspiration• Co-Writer• Dragon Naturally Speaking• Kurzweil 3000• Ginger Spell• Tango• Board Maker• Mind Mapping software, such as CMAP• Powerpoint or www.prezi.com

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3 Things to Do with Information~

Input/Take it in-reception or perception

Process It-store, recall, manipulate, comprehend

Output-Express it or put it out in some way (verbally, spelling/writing, reading)


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Integrate Primitive Reflexes



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Attention/Focus Visual Auditory Writing (Visual-Motor)

Checklists to Help Identify the Areas of Struggle

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Attention/Focus

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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) Checklist • Distractibility.• No persistence with a task.• Inconsistency in performance from one

day to another.• Excessive daydreaming during a school

related task.• Needs to have mom next to him or her

in order to finish work.• Forgetfulness (of previously learned material,

daily plans, etc.).



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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Checklist

• Excess motor activity- something is always moving

• Impulsiveness- acts without thinking much of the time

• Insatiability- never satisfied with an activity

• Poor response to discipline• Moodiness• Sleep disturbances- very restless sleeper


Attention/Focus Resources~

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• Natural treatment—environment, supplements, diet (work with a natural-path, integrative health specialist, or certified nutritional health consultant)

• Medication—see psychologist or psychiatrist, family medical doctor

• Programs to Teach Focus/Concentration Skills (see Abilitations catalog, Pro Ed)

• Brain Training programs, such as Cog-Med or Brain Builder


“Give me a break!”

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2 Good Reasons for Taking Breaks• New neural connections formed by the learning need time to fix and strengthen themselves without competition from additional, novel stimuli.• Fatigue sets in without breaks.



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Errors Break Time


“Give me a break!”

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Practical Applications:• Provide exercise opportunities immediately following a learning episode (stand, walk, stretch, cross crawls, jump on a trampoline….)• Avoid simple carbohydrates and fats at breaks; these can cause drowsiness. A complex carbohydrate is preferable. We need more good/healthy fats!• Schedule time for talk/walks—Take a walk and review content.


Other Tips for Promoting Attention~

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• Provide advanced organizers• Post/share outcomes or key results• Eliminate distracters• Ask for expectations• Activate background knowledge• Consider using a K-W-L chart • Use one to three minute pauses• Lots of water throughout the day



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Visual Processing


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Visual Processing Checklist• Reading reversals • Skipping of small words when reading.• Needing to use finger to track after age 7.• Oral reading that is smooth at the beginning of the

page, but more labored the longer a child reads.• Experiencing eye fatigue shortly after reading begins.

(watery eyes, rubbing eyes)• Yawning shortly after reading begins.• Continuing to struggle even after being prescribed eye

glasses.


Visual Processing Resources~

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• Vision Therapy • Visual tracking exercises• Dianne Craft’s Brain Integration Therapy• Colored overlays, easy reader windows, and text

“trackers” • Irlen’s Reading By the Colors program (Irlen Syndrome) • Low Vision resources (www.hslda.org/strugglinglearner

under Resources tab)



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Auditory Processing

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Auditory Checklist• Difficulty remembering sight words• Naming Skills- trouble retrieving names of

letters, words, people, and things. • Expressive language- laboring over verbal

expression.• Difficulty with phonics- trouble remembering

sounds of letter combinations such as ‘au’ or ‘oi’.• Difficulty applying phonics rules in a reading setting.• Sounding out the same word over and over in the same

passage.


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Auditory Checklist (con’t)Spelling difficulties, including:

• Trouble spelling phonetically (the child may spell “team” as “tie” or “went” as “wat.”)

• Spelling the same word differently each time.Difficulty sequencing sounds, including:

• Trouble learning and retaining days of the week and months.

• The child guesses at words because reading longer words is very hard.

• The child puts extra sounds in a word (ie.-contribution becomes contribu’ta’tion), “band” becomes “brand.”



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Auditory Checklist (con’t)Difficulty saying longer words:

• Transposing letters: “animal” is “aminal;” “magazine” is “mazagine;” “suddenly” is“sundenly.”

• Avoiding difficult words when speaking. The child’s silent voice disappears:

• He or she subvocalizes when reading silently, or needs to read aloud to understand a passage.

• He or she needs to repeat the alphabet in his head when writing it out.


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Auditory Checklist (con’t)Difficulty with speech, including:

• Trouble articulating many sounds.• Exhibiting language delay.

Difficulty understanding verbal instruction:• He or she needs to ask for directions to be

repeated frequently.• He or she says “what” a lot.


Auditory Processing Resources~• Language/Speech Therapy• LiPS program/intervention• FastForWord- www.gemmlearning.com• Earobics- www.superduperinc.com• Sounds Abound- by Catts and Williamson available at

www.linguisystems.com• When the Brain Can’t Hear- by Dr. Terri Bellis• Auditory Integration Training- www.aithelps.com• Sound Therapy• Phonics Phone

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Visual Motor Processing

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Visual Motor (Writing) Checklist• Reversals in written letters both laterally and

vertically, six months after being taught to write them correctly if written daily.

• Reversals in written numbers.• Poor spacing in writing.• Difficulty copying from book or board.• Resistance to learning or writing cursive.• Displaying awkward writing posture, with eye and hand

very close together.


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Visual Motor (Writing) Checklist (con’t)• No “helping hand” used when writing despite

being instructed to do so.• Failure to complete written assignments despite

performing well on tests.• Spaces math papers poorly.• Tells great stories orally, but writes very little.• Leaves out letters in a spelling test, but could

spell the word orally correctly.• Wants to do all math “in his head,” no matter how

long the problem is.



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Visual Motor Processing Resources~• Occupational Therapy• Handwriting Without Tears• Loops and Other Groups• When They Can’t Write, book available

www.proedinc.com• Dianne Craft’s Brain Integration Therapy Manual, which

includes Writing 8 exercise • Use of dictation, oral narration, reduce writing load,

voice recognition software, or keyboarding

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Isaiah 40:31“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength and soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not grow faint.”


Questions????

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special needs students - hslda: homeschooling advocates ......special needs students “give me a...

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