Homeschooling any child requires tailoring the experience to their needs. This is even more true for children on the spectrum. Becoming familiar with the needs of your child and the best way they learn is a good first step. Some other good ways to help your child learn include:
- Use a flexible schedule. This can be helpful to allow taking breaks whenever needed, make time for appointments, learning in any environment, and more.
- Focus on the child’s strengths. The parent or caregiver who is providing the homeschooling has the opportunity to promote the child’s strengths through one-on-one learning. This can include affirmations of the child’s strengths and providing them with opportunities to succeed by giving them tasks that are related to what they are best at. Understanding a child’s strengths can also help create a curriculum that is less frustrating for the child than a traditional curriculum might be.
- Individualize the instruction to the child’s needs. Like the benefits of a flexible schedule, individualizing the curriculum to the child can help them absorb the information if they are able to take breaks when needed and work in a sensory environment that is more friendly to them. One child might learn better through hands-on experiences, while others might learn better by listening to instructions or reading.
- Work with the child’s hyperfixations. One symptom of autism is hyperfixations on certain topics. This can be almost anything and can range in specificity. If there is a topic that your child loves to learn about, you can incorporate the topic into what the child needs to learn.
- Allow your child to make some of the decisions. Allowing your child to make some of the decisions when it comes to their education can increase their confidence. It also has other benefits, such as increasing their decision-making and critical thinking skills. It can also help them feel more motivated to complete tasks if they are a part of choosing it.
- Remember to include physical exercise. Homeschooling might make it easy to forget to get movement in, but all kids need exercise. Part of a typical school environment is usually physical education, and it can be a part of homeschool as well. This can be as simple as jumping, riding a bike, running circles or whatever movement your child wants to do every day.
- Create a predictable daily schedule. Some of the symptoms of autism can create anxiety if a daily schedule is unpredictable. Ensuring that the child knows what to expect can help both you and the child avoid stress.
Creating a Homeschool Schedule
There are a lot of different ways to create a homeschooling schedule for a child with autism. One of the best ways is including a visual calendar with pictures to go along with the words. Timing each activity can help the child know what to expect too. The Autism Helper has a great example of what to include on the schedule. The schedule should also include appointments unrelated to school, as well as leisure time, to go along with school activities. The most important part is consistency and predictability as much as possible, such as always having breakfast, then science class after, then lunch, then language-arts. Informing the child about what parts of the daily schedule are flexible, inflexible, and non-negotiable can mitigate anxiety and stress when they come up. Finally, having an after-school routine where the child can decompress from what they learned and transition to other activities is a good idea too.
Benefits of Homeschooling
There are numerous benefits to homeschooling. This is particularly true for children on the spectrum, since neurodivergent children may struggle more often in traditional school. Offering homeschool to your child on the spectrum can increase your bond and provide a safe environment for your child to learn without worrying about potential bullying. In summary, the benefits of homeschooling include:
- Flexibility. For busy families, especially those with children who have higher support needs, being able to work lessons in between various appointments and other obligations can benefit everyone.
- Higher engagement in learning. Homeschooling an autistic child can allow them to choose what they want to learn more than they could in a standardized classroom. This means that the child may be more interested in what they are learning. This can also be more fun for you as the caregiver.
- Learning style. Children on the spectrum may benefit from homeschooling if they have a learning style that struggles in a traditional classroom. Because homeschooling only involves teaching one or a few students instead of many, the child can get more attention from their instructor and learn in a way that works best for them.
- Socialization. Depending on your choices as the teacher and caregiver, it’s possible for your homeschooled child to get more effective and higher-quality socialization than in school, in an environment that you can choose to control what works best for your family.
Considerations of Homeschooling
While there are many benefits to homeschooling, there are also things to consider. Here, we will review these considerations so you can make the best decision for you and your family.
- The time commitment. With homeschooling, it’s important to ensure that the child is engaged and learning. This can involve a large time commitment to teach the child, ensure they are actually learning, and helping guide them along the way. This can vary depending on your child’s support needs, age, and personality.
- Potential isolation. Homeschooling a child often requires a parent to stay at home. For parents who are used to working and having the support of a school system, suddenly being isolated as the sole educator might feel difficult, especially if your child is struggling to learn certain things.
- Finances. The parent who chooses to be the educator might not be able to work as often as they used to, depending on the family dynamic, which can cause a decrease in finances for the household. This is important to consider before making the commitment to homeschooling.
Reference: https://abamastersprograms.org/ultimate-homeschool-toolkit-kids-with-autism/
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