This is one of the many reasons that I love homeschooling!
Posted Dec 29 2008 5:57pm
There are many reasons that I love home schooling. I get to watch my children learn, play great games with them and I know that they are getting a Christian education. One particular reason has presented itself in my local support group lately and in other autism blogs.
Children with autism are not very good at routine changes. While Logan has improved in this area tremendously, he can still get out of sorts if there are a lot of routine changes. One thing that we used to dread when he attended public school was any sort of break like Christmas break. He would be out of his routine for 2 weeks and would come unglued daily. He didn't know what to expect & wanted his routine back. Then when he got school back, he would come unglued at that schedule! This made for a very stressful time for all of us!! Don't even get me started on summer vacation!
We have homeschooled for the past 3 years. I can structure his lessons so that we do less on days when we have things planned (like ot, pt, etc.) and more on days when we get to stay home. I really like being able to school all year at a slower more relaxed pace and just take December off. We actually take off from the week of Thanksgiving to January 1st. During this time, we do informal lessons and work on a Christmas service project.
The difference has been that Logan knows what to expect and when. As he is more relaxed and feels way more competent, he transitions a whole lot better. I have learned that he works better when he knows the schedule. And this short break is just enough to recharge our batteries but not enough to get him off kilter. Besides, we are still learning informally. SHHHHH! Don't tell my children that secret!
Children with autism are not very good at routine changes. While Logan has improved in this area tremendously, he can still get out of sorts if there are a lot of routine changes. One thing that we used to dread when he attended public school was any sort of break like Christmas break. He would be out of his routine for 2 weeks and would come unglued daily. He didn't know what to expect & wanted his routine back. Then when he got school back, he would come unglued at that schedule! This made for a very stressful time for all of us!! Don't even get me started on summer vacation!
We have homeschooled for the past 3 years. I can structure his lessons so that we do less on days when we have things planned (like ot, pt, etc.) and more on days when we get to stay home. I really like being able to school all year at a slower more relaxed pace and just take December off. We actually take off from the week of Thanksgiving to January 1st. During this time, we do informal lessons and work on a Christmas service project.
The difference has been that Logan knows what to expect and when. As he is more relaxed and feels way more competent, he transitions a whole lot better. I have learned that he works better when he knows the schedule. And this short break is just enough to recharge our batteries but not enough to get him off kilter. Besides, we are still learning informally. SHHHHH! Don't tell my children that secret!