Homeschoolers of Special Needs Children HELP

[rachaelsscraps]

My son has a lot of trouble with school... Where to begin... He's in first grade and is behind on learning. He was born 9 weeks premature and has a slight learning disablilty along with social problems (also speech problems and Sensory Processing Disorder and possibly Tourette's Syndrome). He's on an IEP at school, but the main problem is THE SCHOOL. They don't have a special educator, the SE has been filling in as principal at another local school because the other school fired their's and we did not find this out for at least 2 months (they have multiple subs with regular teaching degrees taking turns standing in). And apparently he has been having problems all year, but we just found out about it 2 weeks ago at a special meeting! (I am NOT happy with the public school system here if you can't tell- this is the same school who went on strike for 3 weeks last fall... my son's teacher just told me I should keep my son home "sick" for the two half days last week because "Half days are worse for the kids who already have a tough time.")

Anyways,
we're thinking about homeschooling him starting next year (well, breaking into it during the summer and officially starting in the fall).... But I'm not sure about homeschooling a child with special needs. Is it good for special needs children? Luckily I know the Speech Therapist at his school and know she would meet with him for private sessions (she has worked wonders with him after 2 others failed miserably) And I know that play groups and social activities with other kids are great, we're planning on signing him up for Cub Scouts this year too (We're excited about it!)
For the homeschool mamas, do you use a program? If you have a special needs child, is it better than public school?
I work at home, is homeschooling practical while working 6-8 hours a day? I'm so confused, and overwhelmed, and frustrated.. He's so bright, he can read and write complete sentences, but his social problems are causing him to be sent out of the classroom so much, he's not able to learn as much as he could. I don't want to see him fail, and I really feel like the public school is failing him.

[rach3975]

((hugs)) Your school district sounds like a real prize :( I don't have advice, but I'll be watching to see what people say. My 6-year old has multiple special needs, too. (Motor planning and speech disorder, sensory processing disorder, fatigue issues, and possible autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.) Thankfully we've had a good special ed experience so far, but he's only in K and things may change. For now I think my DS is better off in his school setting, but I'd probably be weighing the same questions you are if we'd had the special ed experience you have. As an alternative, can you make a fuss with the school district and get him moved to a school that can handle his needs better? It's hard to imagine any of them wouldn't be an improvement over his current school.

ETA: Does having familiar listeners matter for your DS? In other words, can kids understand him well if they haven't been around him much? That's a huge problem for my DS, and it contributes a lot to his social problems. He socializes much better with the kids he's around the entire school day than the ones he only sees an hour or 2 a day when he's in the regular classroom (and better still with his siblings), and the special ed teachers and I think the difference is in whether the kids have been around him enough to understand his speech. That's one reason I'd be hesitant to take my DS out of school and rely on activities a few times a week for social practice.

[Leila]

I homeschooled Devin (he has Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD-Hyperactivity type, GAD, OCD and ODD) for first grade, then enrolled him in a virtual school for third and now fourth grades (he skipped second grade). For D, schooling at home has been so beneficial. He's a straight A student, he does receive services (Occupational Therapy and some extra classes to help with his difficulty with abstract concepts.) He's not a big fan of other kids, at least not large groups of them, so we don't make too much of an effort in socializing. It rarely turns out well. It's usually best to let him do his own thing with the kids in the neighborhood, under close supervision.

I wish I had some advice on curriculum. Ours is provided by the school (Connections Academy), we enhance it where we see fit/it's needed. He (and my other son) loves it!!