Homeschooling Special Needs Kids: Curriculum Choices and Methods

I have had two kids with professionally diagnosed ADD, who are now in tertiary education and doing well in the polytechnic/polytechnicon/TAFE context. This was before the time of much knowledge on how to help kids with special needs in the home schooling context....but just going at their pace and unknowingly possibly pushing them a little harder than most would think them capable, has helped. For ADD (minus the hyperactive aspect - just the visual and auditory processing) I have found that setting a date for something a very useful thing to learn and I wish I had done that more often.....as long as it is a realistic date, it teaches them to commit to paper - which is particularity hard for ADD students, and particularly important for further studies. My ADD kids tend to be perfectionists, and want to do well - so get a mental blank about 'getting going' and therefore finishing an assignment - I am told this is very common in ADD circles. They also struggled with wanting to know every inch of the curriculum before they start a project/assignment/test ... an impossible feat in the real world usually and so dare I say in home schooling maybe we can help kids learn to skip the not so important things sometimes, if they have this tendency! ( I find we have the tendency to want to cover everything as home schooling mums too!)

Two other of our kids is on the autistic spectrum, although high functioning, one has developmental needs while the other is academically gifted, their needs are a mixture that overlap with another kid who has no label at all but struggled with school work - just for the sake of it :-) .

Re speech therapy needs I have had two, one was very severe, and reading for both of them was/is very difficult to learn. But saying that I did find that reading/practising sounds etc was a double up for speech issues. (I had a third child who did not have the speech issues only the reading)  I eventually nicknamed these kid's reading problems as having 'reading dispraxia' as it followed the same pattern as speech dispraxia - I don't know if there is such a label???

Their greatest difficulty for reading was to learn firstly the alphabet/phonics and then to see and read a whole word. Essential whole words that could had to be learnt as sight words seemed insurmountable for these kids for years.....learning words like 'the' for 3 years seems unfathomable to us, but is sadly a reality for some. (It needs a compassionate, kind and gentle teacher indeed!)

Once they grasped the basics of alphabet and phonics, I hit another problem with these kids with reading; that is when they sounded a word out they had forgotten the letters at the beginning of the word by the time they came to the end of the word. And I am not talking about this happening for a little while - but again an ongoing such agony for years!

Eventually I discovered a 'Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons', which I hate for any normal reading process but it is brilliant for kids with this type for reading problem! http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Teach+Your+Child+to+Read+in+100+Easy+Lessons/002274/1297112102-1061901

Something I figured with these children was that having a different curriculum for the younger sibling especially if they are very bright great ( even if you have to borrow something different for them for a while) At least initially they are not always constantly being compared as the younger child inevitably flies ahead of the older. It is worth the extra work and effort on your part when it is very tempting to just 'combine your class' for a while!

Another thing I figured is to use the special needs child's special interest/gift to help with difficulties in reading ...one of these children is good at art, so we bought the Draw Write Now program, she has been writing out things she cannot read for months - just for fun! And it definitely has helped the reading process as she becomes more familiar with words. (copy work - with a difference!)  We started a personal recipe book (recipes typed out) for the other when he was little. He has caught up and is at his age level now as he hits high school, although he still struggles with stamina though a whole day.

Maths: My big older boys who love maths cruised through Saxon, while I have found that kids with issues seem to do better with Teaching Textbooks as they can instantly see when they have got something right or wrong! This instant response is fabulous and unless you have one child it is impossible to maintain such avid attention; and even if it were possible to sit and watch a maths lesson and mark every question as you go along would be pretty excruciating; at least I think so!

English: I have just discovered a Charlotte Mason program for English called Language Lessons by Sandra Queen, and love it particularity for those with extra needs as it is so gentle and interesting. It is concise and for me, none of it feels like a waste of time - I come away feeling uplifted after teaching with it! See  http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1297112102-1061901&subject=4&category=6960  Of course nothing beats reading to a child a lot either!

I add vocabulary cartoons when kids have learnt to read well, it makes vocabulary such hilarious fun see http://www.rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1297112102-1061901 . And then add Winston Grammar for early high school/late junior depending on the child - it uses multiple learning styles http://www.rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1297112102-1061901 . And everyone from 20 to 3 has used/uses Macroworks Word Wizard Spelling program, http://www.macroworks.com.au/word-wizard.php . By high school I introduce ABEKA literature, before that we just read and read and read whatever we love reading. We also use all of Excellence in Writing Courses as a child becomes fluent in thought and writing.

I love the South African SMILE educational toys etc for early Maths and English / thinking skills and have used those particularity for my kids who have extra needs. I really, really love them! http://www.smileeducationaustralia.com.au/international.htm

On-line computer programs: Starfall for English reading has been really helpful for remedial work, More Starfall is excellent and worthy of payment when you have done all of the Starfall for free. More Starfall has excellent basic maths too...learning numbers, learning +-x/ etc . Matheletics http://www.mathletics.com.au/  looks good and is highly recommended but we have never had the money to try it, the boys do their world maths day for free though!

I keep a child at G 1-3 level until they are ready to move on to more serious work, even if they are not at age appropriate levels....it is just agony and discouraging for both teacher and child if they cannot cope with G 4 level and are being pushed beyond their ability, besides they miss out on essential basics that are necessary building blocks. ( You have to try Ruth Beechicks books, the 3 R's to understand this fully. Her books are wonderfully practical with lots of game ideas)

For science and social studies I can often read/teach well above their reading/writing ability. I use Abeka Science for g 1-3 level with lots of nature study! Then Apologia Science right through to the end of high school - together with science kits, science DVDs and experiment books for fun (Usborne/Kingfisher type). The kids mostly are self motivated for science kits and experiments. We do scrap booking or just reading for elementary work and when kids are ready they combine Excellence in Writing with science write ups/ or use the proper science journaling that Apologia recommends, when our children are ready. The hardest jump is to the General Science, that 1 st chapter needing the most help from the teacher, especially for those who struggle.

Initially we use Story of the World and Mystery of History audio for social studies. We progress to scrap booking/journaling Mystery of History combining with Excellence in Writing when kids are ready. At high school level we move to Abeka History and Geography, minus all the American stuff! And add things pertinent to the countries we have lived in.

Gifted children are often not in this category of special needs but they do require a program that has extra stimulation and from that point of view needs more effort and thought.  SMARR English is good for a meaty English program.  Excellence in Writing's Advanced courses, SAT prep etc are a must.  And we are looking forward to using Apologia Advanced courses for one child.

This is just a skeleton - hope it helps. Feel free to add your tips in comments! Teaching Special kids is a real blessing if we can have the right attitude of patience, love and kindness! God bless you all, Joy

An Education Quote

"Much education today is monumentally ineffective.  All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants." - John W Gardner (1912-2002)

Queensland, Australia needs continued prayer

Brisbane flooding may have been abandoned by international press but there is still a park bench sitting wedged in a tall tree in Goodna. Sadder still are the ghost shops and homes...where people still fight dried mud and it's consequences. Or should it be 'fried mud' as the heat keeps hitting us at sun up; humidity is also at it's best as it squeezes out a free and easy feeling of breathing. Oh how I take almost guilty pleasure in the joy of airconditioning! I noticed today that cement is still being pumped under the Ipswich Motorway in little dribs and drabs though a garden hose sized hose as giant trucks rumble high above. You can see where the river eroded the edge of the man made hill, where it had no business to be. And you wonder if the Ipswich Motorway designers had calculated what an enormous cement swimming pool/dam they were creating in flood times - the rows of shops alongside the Motorway bear witness to this. Or would they have been hit despite the new cement monster of a motorway was that we were all nagging for but a few years ago - weary of slow commuting to and from Brisbane.

Some flood hit residents have returned to their shells of homes, and make do. Others are lucky enough to have elsewhere to live for a while.  Brisbane City is reported to have hit an all time high for homeless victims as lower income renters have nowhere to call home. I thought Evacuation Centres were to remain open until everyone was properly housed - so why are people being reported to be sleeping in cars?

And yet our focus and prayers today are shifted to those who are about to face yet another Queensland crises up North, as the catastrophic CycloneYasi threatens to rip lives apart. Like ants humans run have run hither and thither to safety. They squash and jam together in safe places. At lunch time ABC radio reported that some children had been separated for their mother as evacuation centres left people stranded outside - too full, doors closed! Many have sand banked this morning in desperation in places where Anna Bligh, Queensland's Premier has predicted a 7 meter wall of water.

Hopeless we stand and watch Yasi decide where to take it's path.

Please pray that many would turn to God and know His peace at this time. Please pray for Doug's cousin and family in Townsville too, as we worry about their Queenslander house being battered by Yasi.

Here are a few of the 3781 Cyclone Yasi news articles available on the web!

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/were-scared-cardwell-a-ghost-town-ahead-of-yasi-20110202-1addw.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/02/australia-cyclone-evacuation-idUSL3E7D205M20110202?pageNumber=2
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/02/australia-cyclone-evacuation-idUSL3E7D205M20110202 http://www.qld.gov.au/cyclone/

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/cyclone-yasi-generates-social-media-storm-20110202-1adgr.html 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2011/02/02/3127780.htm

Crisis Management, a few ways to cope when things go wrong:

In the light of the recent floods, I have been prompted to write this - although it has been dawdling in my mind for a while as I suffer and see others suffer in differnt and varied circumstances. It is applicable to any crises, although obviously slanted from my view point, influenced by the crises we have faced. Crisis management is not usually an isolated thing. It usually involves a family and or friends. How does one cope in the midst of a crisis? Here are a few ideas.

(1)    One has to acknowledge that it is okay to feel as if you are not coping; that it is okay to feel overwhelmed and to need to cry or even okay to be too sore to be able to cry – to be  emotionally exhausted.  It is not nursing pain to face pain. There is a difference between licking a wound forever to having the guts to walk through and beyond pain.  Being sad is part of facing pain, working through that sadness takes courage and is the only step forward. Acknowledging and facing and looking at pain is not cowardly - quite the opposite, it takes guts to face it and deal with it. It is a waste of time and energy to feel guilty for feeling pain and needing time to deal with it.

(2)    A crises brings with it grief or loss of some sort. Acknowledge and think about the process of grieving that you are working through. Remember that everyone works through these stages differently! Remember we can go through grief when we face any crises, not just death. If we face flooding, empty nest syndrome, fire, theft, illness, depression etc these thing may all warrant going through the process of grief. If you are struggling to cope with these issues, I would encourage you to find a counsellor. Grief can follow a pattern, here is Kubler-Ross pattern, it may help to understand it. 

Kübler-Ross : the five stages of grief quoted exactly from WIKE, so it is specifically related to death, you can adapt it to your circumstance to be of help ; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model

a.       Denial—"I feel fine."; "This can't be happening, not to me."
Denial is usually only a temporary defence for the individual. This feeling is generally replaced with heightened awareness of positions and individuals that will be left behind after death.

2. Anger—"Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; "Who is to blame?"
   Once in the second stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue. Because of anger, the person is very difficult to care for due to misplaced feelings of rage and envy. Any individual that symbolizes life or energy is subject to projected resentment and jealousy.
3. Bargaining—"Just let me live to see my children graduate."; "I'll do anything for a few more years."; "I will give my life savings if..."
   The third stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow postpone or delay death. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made with a higher power in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. Psychologically, the individual is saying, "I understand I will die, but if I could just have more time..."
4. Depression—"I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die... What's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?"
   During the fourth stage, the dying person begins to understand the certainty of death. Because of this, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time crying and grieving. This process allows the dying person to disconnect oneself from things of love and affection. It is not recommended to attempt to cheer up an individual who is in this stage. It is an important time for grieving that must be processed.
5. Acceptance—"It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."
   In this last stage, the individual begins to come to terms with his mortality or that of his loved one.

(3)    Find good things that can come out of this nightmare….talk about these good things together; thank God for these good things. For example… I am closer to my daughter now, or I know my neighbour now. These good things can never make the grief go away but it helps your long term recovery to think about positive things 'out loud' and often.

(4)     Pray that you will never take everyday life for granted again; that you will always treasure every day more than ever;  that your crises will change you for the better forever; that your pain would mean you lean closer to God – listening to His sweet whispers of love in your ear. Take time to listen to his words of love and comfort in the Bible.

(5)    Allow others who are with you to grieve and cope in different ways; don’t expect them to be at the same stage as you, or process things and see things in the same way as you. Becoming impatient and intolerant will only make things much worse in the long run. It is always the easiest thing to do in a crisis but it makes you feel worse and your loved ones to in the long run.

(6)    Don’t blame those who are closest to you, again an easy thing to do. You need each other in a crisis!

(7)   

(8)    Reassure and praise those who are in the crises with you…. acknowledge achievements verbally! Do so as often as possible but make sure they are real things; make sure to praise the person genuinely. Don’t go so over the top you that you sound fake and corny! (That is the last thing someone needs in a crises.) Be consistent, praise more often than usual, but be real.

(9)    Face fear, desperation, and despair…talk, pray, acknowledge these powerful feelings; and find ways to overcome them slowly but surely. Crying together, being together is a way of coping and recovering.

(10)Find time (no matter what) to do happy things together. Crises eat away time. Most often they last a long time. Even when others think you are over them and coping and living a normal life again, you could still be facing an inner crises or family crises.  In reality the crises at hand will take time away from loved ones at a time when you most need each other.

Think about this……truly ….if you spend an hour at least of good quality time together (really together not always together in front of the TV or sorting out the problems of your crises but doing nice things together); relaxing in a special way every single day – it will not make the crises go away any slower...but it will make a world of difference to how you all cope in the long term of tough times. Souls are worth investment of such time. Find fun things to do, to talk about and laugh about. Find ways to make memories about starting over again. Take photographs if you can get comfortable with this. Even if this is the last thing you want to do it can help process the crises, especially for children

(11) And last but not least remember you have a Creator who loves you dearly!  We face crises because we live in an evil world. The last thing you need in the middle of a crisis is to get angry with God. Turn to God and find comfort, mercy and eventually joy.  He is the only friend who sticks closer than the closest person, who listens and understands all the time, the one who reads your mind, who loves and forgives. He has suffered immensely too, he knows how we feel. He cries with us, he intercedes for us. Unfold you pained heart to Him and know His peace!

Flood Recovery....random snippets of memories.

*It's a perfect day. The rain has dropped it's tears to clean some areas nicely but just as you begin to think that the smell is all gone, you turn a corner and the wreaking stench hits you hard, like a hidden but festering heart - a sore wound suddenly exposed from under it's protective cover of near clean bandaged facade. You try not to retch and hold your nose tight.

The roads that have been closed seem to be the worst. The houses furthest away from the city the worst and the hearts furthest away from God too.

"Oh God give us chance to tell of your love. To tell their muddled minds that it is not your fault. That you stick closer than a good helping brother; that nothing can take us away from the love of God."

Trees cleaned after rain; the pond??? puddle and surrounds still struggle in a once nice spot

 *Roads going uphill tell the secrets of the seeping, weeping ground. The steady ground too heavy, too saturated to hold any more in, allows the water to ooze... spilling it tears down the broken road to drain away eventually to the emptying rivers. Crying for the people too sore, too tired to cry themselves.









* People left with nothing but what is left in the bank and a  few handouts (or maybe some are lucky enough to get insurance payouts if they had the right type of flood cover). But with virtually nothing they still buy buy themselves flags to make ready for Australia Day next week.

There they have just been hung on upright, wooden electricity poles, which stood tall and strong against the rivers' forces. Besides them piles of rubbish lie in mounds much higher that the fences that prop them up. Decaying heaps decorated by crumbling Gibb like some sick joke to make it look snowy and  christmassy. Children's Christmas toys lie smelly, muddied and broken. Unrecognisable, their pleasure destroyed in a few days of  torturous waiting to see what the river would do. The sweltering heat makes sickly smells waft up to the proud and perfect flags. They do not care .... they are celebrating the triumph of human beings in this country, where people will fight and conqueror with strength and dignity -  together...as fellow countrymen do! ( no photographs, for by now I am crying, and think these people deserve their own space and privacy - how does a journalists cope?)

* A week after the highest flooding and a mud encrusted miniature rose bud pushes open it's perfectly mud free red flower. No mud inside but surrounded by mud drying and cracking on it's tiny baby rose leaves.  The wind vigorously battles to help the little flower rid itself of mud. But the mud stealthily clings to it's haunting power; laughing at the deluded photographer who sees the wind as enemy.

* Shipping containers are strewn about like matchboxes. Caravans are  heaped up in the corner the river chose to send them.  While a car stands perfectly well where it was left outside it's house,  wedged between the Bremmer and Brisbane Rivers - where they bullied each other for territory and only they thought they had won. Muddy silt tints the windows brown. Its body is dusty red. Later in the week it is gone, forever bar in memory lane.

* The white car gleams on the outside now. The inside too is clean - how did they get the mud out you wonder? The windows so misted up, as the heat makes it work up a sweat, that no demister will ever change. The owner tinkers with the engine....has he put  new one in? Or has he given up and is now taking out salvageable bits to sell for spare parts? You wish you could do something to make such desperation better.

* Brand new driveway, black and sticky and hot....so that they can get in to begin the work of cleaning up without wading into slush from swollen door to new rubbish dump about to start beneath their mail box, upon their pavement.

*I wonder what they think...our unaffected kids - whose house is reasonably  tidy and has no mud to clean? We set up a cleaning station at their friends house. They have cleaned some stinky mud off Someone Else's treasures; using gloves in buckets full of HOSPITAL GRADE DISINFECTANT.  Some have donned winter jeans and gum boots as a little extra protection, and after sweltering all day thus clad in 33 degrees plus, they burst with the rainclouds as they dance and run in the rain. Then they fill up the rather hopeless thin gloves to make giant water bombs to get each other as if life is just the same as ever.

They have baked and written letters, smiled and given them out to strangers - little blondies traipsing through the mud like angels... mostly bringing smiles to weary faces. We had one cookie refusal by a fed up man - ready to break; too tied to eat or care about eating.

We focus on the happy ones and their helpers too, who take encouragement from little girls who want to help a bit. I wonder what they think...our unaffected kids - whose house is reasonably  tidy and has no mud to clean?

* We get home exhausted, ready to go to bed. But first we must clean ourselves up, and eat a  delicious meal generously prepared by babysitter and babysat. The little ones are hurried into bed, with guilty kisses and extra hugs that come with being apart all day. But wait, the shopping list can't wait another day, tomorrow is a birthday and late night shopping offers treats above the pressies hiding in the mud free cupboard.

Our suburb is unaffected  and the shops are full like Christmas time - visitors from neighbouring areas have come in to get things that their shelves nor their supermarket's shelves stock. Some just escape to pretend for a while that everything is normal, that nothing really happened, but they leave a trail of dried mud through the shops.

Most teens seem unaffected, they laugh and look at things that don't really matter in life. Wearily we push the trolley up the travelator to get to our car above. Too tired to talk we stare ahead in comfortable silence, my helping child and I. As we reach the middle I see three teens sitting on a bench above. Normally they would ignore a friendly 'old lady' like me. Two do. One is on the phone. Another texting fast. The middle bloke just staring...his cheeks are wet with tears. As I reach the top, our eyes fix for a long few moments...I give a feeble smile, to replace the hug I want to give him. He understands and is grateful that someone cared a little - but no wry smile can reach his lips.

"Dear God be with that kid - why didn't I talk to him? What private hell has he been through this week? Does he have someone to talk to? Lord may he talk to you!"

is our hurdle set too low?

It is easy to be lulled into thinking we are doing  great job or a good enough job as we rush around with our busy lives. As Christian mum's we often think that our goal is to train our children to become 'good' well behaved kids who will grow into responsible adults. Our prayers are that God will graciously draw our dear children to Him in the first place, that they would be helped with difficulties etc. But today I was really challenged....In this race of life, I have forgotten my former vision!  I have lowered the hurdles and forgotten my true vision! Yes, training 'good kids' is not good enough! We should be training our children to such excellence that they will be good and strong, passionate and compassionate 'missionaries' wherever they are called to be used of God. We need to raise the hurdle in our own lives and in the lives of our children. As coaches we need to prepare more vigorously in reading, meditating and praying.

When Doug and I were at University and then as young parents we were very blessed to have a Christian leader, Dr Chris Warton, who had this vision and passed it onto us, but over the years we have got tired, focused so heavily on daily trials and everyday life issues that we have neglected to pass this baton onto our kids properly. The need for this seems far less urgent in first world countries, where people do not usually die of AIDS. ( In South Africa there are places where 1 in 5 are HIV +, and that is probably underestimated!) Things clutter up our lives here and distract us from our focus. Our hurdle is lowered to make it easier, more comfortable. In practise it does not take more than a few words each day, a prayer in a different direction, the use of many opportunities as we talk and walk life with our kids. But we ourselves have to be thinking these things if we are to talk to our children  about them. Our children will not see the vision it if we don't. We will not be properly diligent in raising our children if it is not important to us to raise kids who will pass on God's love with passionate mission mindedness. We need to join the dots for them as we reach out to others.... telling our children  why we love to help, praying as a family  that we will reach others for God; we need to talk and talk and talk and talk.  Are we raising strong future missionaries, or just good Christians?

Take a look at this free curriculum: http://harvestministry.org/twghw

I hope it will inspire you as much as it has me! You do not need to use it fully to benefit from it's mindset and to be inspired by it's mission mindedness! ( I have not read all the way through it, so please read with discretion as there may be some parts we may not agree with) May we reach people with God's love and compassion right now, just where we are! May our children grow up with a passionate desire to to touch others with God's love too!

Above images are from http://chestofbooks.com/sports/athletics/Outdoor/Running-And-Hurdling-Continued.html

Happy new school year! God bless you all as we run this race together, pass the baton onto our children, and raise the hurdles to their proper height in training ourselves and our children for life's race. Thank you for your blessing and encouragement over the years, love Joy

( This image is from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-41708-0008,_Heinz_F%C3%BCtterer,_Manfred_Steinbach.jpg )

Before and After: 2011 Floods

http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/qld-floods/beforeafter.htm