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Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Homeschooling High School With A Special Needs Student
Many times people think a special needs student can not be homeschooled through high school and receive a diploma. My friend and I are trying to learn all we can in order to prove them wrong. This post is a collection of information and my thoughts. I am sure it will be updated many times as we learn more, but I hope it will be a help to others.
:) Vicki
[ The following information is taken from CHEF of La:]
Homeschooling Special
Needs Children
1. Join
HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association).
2. Assess
the child’s learning style – visual, audio, etc. A parent may enlist the
assistance of a therapist if the child is receiving speech, occupational or
physical therapy.
3. Select
and purchase curriculum with consideration of the child’s learning style.
4.
Brainstorm on ways to modify/customize your teaching style to match the child’s
learning style, e.g., use posters, videos and pictures for a visual learner.
5. Utilize
catalogs to get ideas on how to stimulate the child in a special learning style
and enhance the learning experience.
6.
Continually familiarize yourself with your child’s special needs and special
way of learning.
7. Frequent
breaks may be of great benefit in educating a special needs child.
8. Use the
child’s interests as starting points for studies.
9. Utilize a
library to supplement purchased curriculum or study materials.
10.Explore
items from nature and your general household to provide hands-on experience
while teaching.
11.Read
books on home schooling, both basic instruction and information as well as
emphasis on special needs children.
12.Guard any
and all personal information. Avoid participation in public/government surveys
of medical or educational nature if at all possible.
What else can I do for
my special needs child? by Joyce Herzog
Become a better teacher!!
A. Be very
consistent in treatment of behavior.
B. Organize
the physical setting where learning will take place.
C. Provide a
warm, caring, positive, encouraging emotional climate.
D. Analyze
the problem and find a next-step solution.
E. Keep your
cool and don’t punish inability or confusion.
F. Reward
effort and small signs of progress.
G. Find ways
to repeat information in different ways and with different materials.
H. Ask for
and use your creative child’s ideas when it is reasonable to do so.
I. Let down
and play with your child.
J. Decide
what is really important and concentrate on that!
K. Be on
your child’s side. Remember, he is a person: your spiritual brother or sister.
Does my child need a
High School Diploma?
A student almost never needs a diploma. Few academic institutions
accept diplomas for admission, and rarely do they or employers ever ask to
actually see one. Academic institutions are most often interested in
transcripts. Stating ‘yes’ and filling in the name of your home school or even
writing ‘home school’ on the application is sufficient for most employment. You
would, of course, need to research any institution or program that your child
may be applying to in order to determine whether or not a diploma is required
and if so, whether or not it must be from an accredited institution. If a
diploma from an accredited school is desired, there are distance-learning
programs offered by many accredited schools that cater to home educators. Be
sure a particular school’s accreditations are recognized in your state and/or
by the institution requiring the diploma before enrolling in any program.
Who issues the Diploma?
Unless your child will require a diploma from an accredited
school, you, the parent, acting as administrator or principle of your home
school will issue your child their diploma. A parent may ‘fill-in-the-blanks’
on a store bought preprinted certificate, print a computer generated diploma,
order one from a local printer or purchase an impressive diploma from one of
the many Internet businesses dedicated to serving home educators. HSLDA sells
diplomas on their website as well.
Should my child get a
GED?
In most cases, it is not necessary. There are some
situations where it might actually be detrimental. If your child plans on
attending an institution of higher learning of any sort, then you would need to
research the institution’s admission policies. Most institutions have developed
policies regarding homeschooled students. Some colleges treat them as equal to
GED applicants, while others place additional requirements on persons with a
GED than those who homeschool. The military no longer requires homeschooled
students to obtain a GED.
Do I need to keep
records?
Yes, even if your child does not plan to attend college, you
will need to keep accurate records of your child’s academic history. Some
states may require a student’s academic records in order to obtain a student’s
driver’s license, some auto insurance companies calculate their rates based on
the student’s records or they may be required for admission to a special
program for high school students. A program your child wishes to attend in the
future may not require any documentation at present however; the policy may
change by the time your child applies for admission. A young person’s career
choice may change many times during the high school years. Your child may
decide to attend college, after all. Some colleges require transcripts and some
do not. Transcripts might be required when applying for a particular
scholarship. In any case, it is much easier to maintain documentation as one
progresses, than it is to backtrack in order to collect the necessary
information. What type of records should I keep? Transcripts are the
documentation of the academic courses your child completed along with the grades
they received (GPA). There are many books, computer programs and websites that
offer various reproducible forms that will help you generate a traditional
transcript with instructions on calculating a GPA. A typical transcript will
not be sufficient in recording all of the information you might need or wish to
compile. Assemble a portfolio in which you would keep a complete history of
your child’s high school career.
The
documentation you may wish to put in your student’s portfolio could include:
· Transcripts
· Annual standardized test
scores (CAT, IOWA, Stanford, etc.)
· Scores from college
entrance exams (ACT, SAT, etc.)
· Letters of recommendation
·
Student essays
· Commendations received
through participation in clubs and organizations (4H, Scouts, civic and
political groups, etc.)
· Certificates earned
through instructional courses (CPR, life guard training, foreign languages,
cake decorating, computer programming, etc.)
· Music and dance
competition scores
· Records of sports
participation and statistics
· Records of employment and
apprenticeships
· Records of community
service projects and hours of service Anything that shows your child has
demonstrated leadership skills, responsibility, ability to learn, and ability
to finish a task should be included in your record keeping.
Not all of
this material may be necessary, but as stated earlier, you may need it down the
road.
[The
following information is taken from HSLDA]
High School Diplomas: “[A] high school
diploma awarded by a home study program approved by the State Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education shall be deemed by all public postsecondary
educational institutions, all state departments, agencies, boards, and
commissions, and all other state and local governmental entities to have all of
the rights and privileges afforded to a high school diploma awarded by a
state-approved nonpublic school.” La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 17:236.1(G).
A renewal
application [to be an approved home study] “shall be approved” if … a teacher certified to teach at the
child’s grade level writes a statement that he has examined the program being
offered and that in his professional opinion the child “is being taught in
accordance with a sustained curriculum of quality at least equal to that
offered by public schools at the same grade level” or “at least equal to that offered by public schools to
children with similar disabilities.”
(NOTE: It
doesn’t say how many years a student is required to register as an approved
home study if they want a high school diploma but not TOPS. My best guess would
be 11th and 12th grade would be required.)
The best I
can tell from looking at the La DOE website, minimum high school credits should look
something like this:
Subject Credits
English 4
Math 4
Science 3
P.E. 1.5
Health .5
Social
Studies 3
Electives 7
_____
Total 23
This is just
a general guide for what to take and the actual course content can vary according
to the interest/ability of the student. The decision of what to include in each
class and how to assign grades is up to you. If you know
someone (maybe a counselor or teacher) who works with special needs students
they should be able to give you some guidelines of what is expected. This will
help ensure that what you choose is at least equal to what is offered by public
schools.
Your plan
may look something like:
English
classes = Ancient Lit, British Lit, American Lit, and Business English.
Read books (can use audio books) from these time periods and do a report on
one. Throw in a Grammar workbook if you feel the need. Bible class can also be
used as English if you consider it Literature.
Math
classes = General Math I, General Math II, Personal Finance, Business Math.
Science =
Just choose three: General Science, Physical Science, Geology, Astronomy, Earth
Science. Read short biographies of scientist in these fields, and watch some
PBS shows.
Social
Studies = Geography, American History, World History. Do map work, read
biographies and historical fiction from time period you’re studying, and watch
some movies.
Electives
= Options are endless. Home Ec, Nutrition, Speech, Word Processing/Typing,
Music Appreciation, Art Appreciation, Church History, Ag, Woodworking,
Quilting, Auto Mechanics, Drafting, Photography, Cinematography, Pottery, Basket
Weaving, Choir, Theater, Computer Science, Ethics, Carpentry, Plumbing, Fashion
& Design, Animal Care, Cosmetology, … I think the topic of any 4-H book can
be an elective. ( I got ideas from http://www.lpssonline.com/uploads/1011Courseguide.pdf).
Work through
each class at the students own pace, but keep a record of hours worked because
1 credit is earned after approximately 150 hours of work. (30 weeks of school,
5 hours a week). It doesn’t have to be “book work”. Any time spent on the
subject counts – i.e. watching movie about historical event, visiting science museums, etc.
I found an
interview with a woman who runs a Christian school and had great ideas on
homeschooling high school with a special needs student. Her school offers a
“General Education” diploma. It is designed for students who can work at or
near high school level with modifications and who are not meeting all of the
courses for a “college ready” diploma. For example, they may need to work more
slowly through the materials or may need to have their textbooks on tape or to
use some of the lower reading level textbooks for more difficult classes. These
students often skip the foreign language requirement that would be necessary to
go straight to a 4-year college. (the whole interview is at http://creation.com/high-school-with-special-needs-yes-you-can).
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