So many families are starting to homeschool. Many are families of kids with some type of special learning need.
Nearly every day I hear in facebook groups, “We’ve decided to homeschool, but I have no idea where to start!”
I also hear, “I am starting to homeschool. What is the best curriculum for ADHD?”
This is another common question. “My kid was just diagnosed with Dyslexia. How do I teach reading so my child will learn?”
These three questions are just the tip of the iceberg that moms ask about homeschooling kids with special needs. Parents ask about how to get their child to actually do schoolwork, how to find a social group, how to find a curriculum match for their unique learner after trying about five different programs.
After homeschooling myself for about 25 years and having graduate degrees as a learning specialist, I have helped hundreds of homeschool families as a homeschool consultant. I often help new homeschoolers get started – for FREE. Sometimes I suggest the “best” homeschool curriculum, tweak a routine to help their children be more efficient and eager learners. I have also helped moms learn specific teaching strategies using the curriculum they chose to make learning to read, write, and do math more effective for kids with dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism, and other special needs. I have also been a homeschool “supervisor” for families needing accountability on their state homeschool notification.
Families often think that having an educational consultant will be more expensive than they can afford. It’s often only after spending many hundreds of dollars on curriculum that “didn’t work” that parents will turn to a homeschool consultant for guidance. And now it’s even more affordable, as Unique Learners prepares to launch a monthly membership that gives you access to the help you need!
In this article, I want to share the five main benefits of a homeschool consultant that I have seen over the years. Think of a consultant as your own personal homeschool coach!
Guidance on Homeschooling Regulations and Getting Started
While a homeschool consultant is an educational advisor and not an attorney, the coach is able to show you the ropes of where to find the information you need in your specific situation. The consultant has connections and knowledge that will save you a ton of time.
A special needs consultant can make recommendations as to whether you are in need of seeking an advocate, a homeschool attorney, or a special education attorney. A coach can also give suggestions about questions to ask therapists and other service providers.
If your state requires yearly standardized testing or a supervising teacher, an educational consultant who specializes in homeschools of kids with special needs can provide the kind of backing needed to ensure your family’s privacy and the minimal documentation needed to satisfy your state requirements.
Assistance Creating an Individual Learning Plan and Personalized Homeschool
A homeschool consultant should understand the difference between a public school Individual Education Plan (IEP) and a homeschool Individual Learning Plan (ILP) for kids with special needs. You may even be surprised at how much you can accomplish using an ILP in your special needs homeschool. The ILP can help ensure that you are meeting the academic, social, and behavioral goals for your child without the red tape of the public school’s special education process.
Setting up your personalized homeschool structure and routine is just as important to start and maintain a homeschool that will work for your family. A homeschool coach can help you think through what will work in your situation.
Support in Choosing the “Best” Curriculum
A homeschool consultant should be familiar with the major homeschool approaches and what programs are designed for those approaches. A special needs consultant should be familiar with reading diagnostic reports from a neuropsychologist or school psychologist to determine your child’s strengths and weaknesses. The information in assessment reports can help in guiding which special needs curriculum may fit your child’s needs best. Even if you don’t have a diagnostic report, the coach can offer guidance and support in choosing the appropriate curriculum and resources for each student’s unique needs and learning styles.
Perhaps you found a curriculum you like and thought that it would be right for your child, but after a few weeks or months you decided the curriculum just isn’t working. A homeschool coach can work alongside you to determine if the curriculum would be fine with a different teaching technique.
You may actually need a program that has different features. Perhaps your child is distracted by good and beautiful pictures and needs clear and clean pages with lots of white space. Perhaps your child needs a faster or slower pace through the curriculum. An educational coach can tell you different considerations for tweaking or changing your program without spending a lot of extra money and time.
Your educational consultant may even have curriculum tailored specifically for your learner. Unique Learners is developing homeschool curriculum for special needs learners that is fun and effective based on years of homeschooling and teaching unique learners. And the Unique Learners curriculum will be greatly discounted or even FREE for our members.
Assistance in the Transition from High School to College or Work
A homeschool consultant can provide templates for transcripts and keeping track of high school work for graduation. You may have questions about accreditation or online programs. You may need ideas for keeping grades, support for college entrance exams, or advice for college admissions.
Many homeschoolers take concurrent or dual enrollment college classes. Some states provide free or reduced tuition for high schoolers taking college courses. New homeschool parents often wonder if their teens will be able to get into college. The answer is absolutely “YES,” if the student is prepared for how college works.
Some homeschooled high schoolers want to go into the military. Others want to train for a technical trade. Many students with special needs require alternatives to job training or state vocational rehabilitation. An educational coach can help you think through the various options for your high schooler.
Create a Community with Other Homeschoolers
Almost all new homeschoolers are questioned about socialization. Often parents of kids with special needs are discouraged by doctors, therapists, or the public school because of perceptions that kids with special needs must be in an “inclusive” environment with age-level peers to be able to learn social skills. Parents also worry that their child with special needs won’t be accepted by the homeschool community.
Our own experiences and observations of many other homeschool families are that community-based organizations and homeschool groups are more welcoming of families and children of all different types. Parents can teach social skills and/or character traits more easily than the indirect learning by exposure often used in a school setting. An educational coach can give you ideas and assist in finding local homeschool groups for social activities or learning co-ops.
Our Unique Learners membership will give you an online homeschool community with other parents of kids with special needs. You may even find a mom friend! As we grow our online support, we will be offering live group classes for students and possibly social skills training gaming groups!
On-going Support
Of course, getting started is just the beginning. As kids go through different developmental stages, homeschooling sometimes changes a bit. Perhaps you are using a Montessori approach while your kids are little. As they grow, you may want to provide more direct instruction and do a unit study approach. An educational coach can help you when a routine change is needed or brainstorm when you need to deal with behavior issues. They provide time-saving and stress-reducing services when you need them most. Some consultants can help with progress monitoring. Ask your coacht as many questions as you need, no matter how large or small the issue.
A special needs homeschool consultant can provide on-going support and guidance throughout the homeschooling journey. Your coach can help to ensure that your family stays on track and has access to the resources they need for your child with special learning needs. Your consultant can help you not only survive that challenges of homeschooling, but thrive long-term in successfully raising life-long learners in a homeschool lifestyle that fits your whole family!
Keep watching for our membership launch! We would love for you to join our online community! You will have FREE video course that walks you through the process in our Learning Plan Success Kit. We will have daily conversations in our private, members-only Facebook group. Sue will have regular live Zoom consultation sessions with members on topics that matter to YOU. You will have opportunities to communicate with parents who have kids with similar diagnoses as your child. Members will have unlimited emails support for curriculum advice and to answer your specific questions. There will be so many more benefits, like inexpensive and free curriculum and live Zoom group classes for kids with special needs!
Links:
- https://uniquelearnersllc.com/membership/#
- https://uniquelearnersllc.com/homeschool-parent-freebies/
- https://hslda.org/teaching-my-kids/special-needs
- https://worldfamilyeducation.com/do-i-need-an-educational-consultant-for-my-family/
- https://homeschoolsuccess.com/what-to-look-for-in-a-educational-consultant/
- https://www.homeschoolconsulting.org/
- https://blogshewrote.org/consulting/
