Has anyone homeschooled a child with Asperger's Syndrome?

Question

If so, how did he or she turn out? Do these kids overcome a lot of their obstacles, and are they able to adjust socially when they go to college on their own? Everyone keeps telling us that putting our son in public school will be the best way to help him with Asperger's. We've homeschooled for five years, but this year he went to public school because we had so much going on with moving, selling our house, and etcetera. He went from straight A's to C's, D's and even F's. He forgets to bring home his homework or to turn it back in, kids pick on him, he gets in trouble for things he doesn't know is wrong, and even though the school is supposed to work with us there isn't the communication I expect. Tomorrow, I'm going to make some phone calls and do some research on Tennessee homeschool laws, and we plan on pulling him out next week and start homeschooling again. He did A LOT better in every aspect (including socially) when were doing school at home! Please tell your experience

Answer 1

I was just about to ask this question (just discovered there is a homeschooling board here - will have to hang out here more often!).

My son is almost half way through his kindergarten year, but is not doing well.  He's smart and academically he's right on target for his age, but he's very immature and doesn't do well socially.  The school tested him for Aspbergers, but he ended up "borderline", whatever that means.  Even if he was eligible for special services, he would need to change schools.

I'm seriously considering pulling him out after the Christmas break and homeschooling next semester.  I have to pick him up half the time over behavioral problems anyway.  Whether or not he has a label, I think it would be better for him to take a break from the school environment for a while since he obviously doesn't fit in there.

Answer 2

My son has Aspergers.  He was in school up to the end of grade 4.    While he did okay there, I knew that moving up to the middle school was going to be a horrible experience.  Different teachers, lockers, classrooms, having the right books at the right time, in the right room HA!

So, we pulled all 3 of our kids and decided to give hs'ing a try.   We've been at it over 5 years and it was the best thing we ever did for him.

It has allowed him to mature at home and now he is able to make friends on his own when we do field trips or recreation with other homeschoolers.  He actually has real friends now instead of the fairweather "friends" he had in school.  

He works at his own pace and knows a lot more math then I do.   Thankfully he just "gets" it.    He has joined a homeschool band and plays 2 instruments!   We had no idea he had musical ability but wow does he ever.

As a family it's now just a lifestyle.  None of my kids have any desire to go back to school.    I truly believe that for those who can, especially those that have special needs, it's the best way for them to learn and grow.

Answer 3

Our aspie kiddo was in school for five years, and doing mediocre, and was miserable. We pulled him out to homeschool and things are much better!

He's almost 13, so I don't know how he'll turn out as an adult. i can say that he has matured quite a bit with being at home, he has consistency and compassion, which are important. We can work on life skills, he can make friends, do everything on his own time. He learns quite quickly, but the way schools work, none of that showed because of the arbitrary homework, rules etc.

I know adults with aspergers, and no, all those arbitrary school things ARE NOT important. any adult can get a job with people who will make concessions, and the funny thing is, you don't even have to claim you have a disability. Adults are just nicer than teenagers are (for the most part)

Tennessee is supposed to be not so bad. You have to do testing in certain years, and you have to have a college degree to homeschool 9th thru 12th (or get an exemption)

Good luck, it has worked wonderfully for our family.

Answer 4

I haven't personally.  However I have a few friends who homeschool their children who have Asperger's, and it is a very good choice for those kids.  Even with Asperger's each child is still an individual, so it might not be best for every Asperger's child, but it is the best choice for many.

School has distractions, social pressure, teasing, overcrowded classes, overwhelmed teachers, and all sorts of other obstacles for the child with Aspergers.

My nephew has Asperger's. He went to Public school where he was teased, called stupid, never got the help he needed, and was passed along without learning anything.  He is 25 right now and the best job he has managed to hold is as a dishwasher at a restaurant.  I can't imagine that homeschooling could have been any worse on him than the "education" he recieved through the public school.

Answer 5

I know a couple of families with Aspie kids. Their kids do MUCH better with academics and social stuff at home than in the overwhelming school environment. They're still homeschooling, so I'm not sure how they'll turn out as adults, but I know one mom's son is turning out better than she had ever hoped. His social skills are much improved, less stress with the academics, all kinds of things. And she's been able to guide him, monitor when something is just too much for him to handle, etc. Some people say that they need to be in school to learn how to deal with it all, but there's a point where they crack and it's just too much. Homeschooling allows a parent to give their kids as much as they can handle and stop when things are beginning to crack. This allows an Aspie child in particular to grow much more.

Answer 6

A good friend of mine homeschools her aspie son; he does sooo much better in a homeschool situation.  Before, he was stressed to the point of medical conditions; now, he has the freedom and the confidence to be himself and learn according to his interests.  He still has things to overcome, but having the freedom to handle social situations on his own terms, especially at his age (10) is such a great thing for him.

Answer 7

I don't know much about aspergers, but I know a lot of kids with autism (played baseball with a few just yesterday, actually), and most of them are homeschooled. They do in fact do better socially and academically, and it only makes sense, doesn't it? Socially... Well, I know as a homeschooler i have a lot more confidence now than I did when I was in public school, and therefore it was much easier to make friends, to communicate affectively, to express myself, and just to generally interact with all different types of people. And I don't have autism or aspergers syndrom. I imagine with the challenges these kids already face socially, the confidence boost that comes with homeschooling, as well as the ability to ease into certain situations that would be difficult to handle all at once (dealing with a croud of 30 other screaming and troublemaking kids who are likely to tease you and put you down, for example) instead of being thrown into the situation all at once. I think socially he will just have more freedom to adjust to things with considerably less ridicule.

Academically... Well, i'm sure as his parent you've seen the difference. Kids with disabilities, especially mental challenges, can often (and do often) fall through the cracks in public school. I am blind, and when I was in public school I was either being denied independence to a humiliating and confidence-breaking point, or given no consideration... No textbooks in accessible format, no magnifiers, no braille, no accessible locker combination, no computer access, no way of taking notes. There of course were ways to do all of this and I knew what they were and we requested them often, but I always fell through the cracks. (This isn't the reason we homeschool. Not the only one at least. The main reason is lack of an academic challenge in school, but that is certainly part of it.) I know kids with cerebral palsy who also don't get the help they need, or get so much "help" that they never actually learn anything. I can only imagine the problems you've faced in the public schools.

I say homeschooling is the way to go. I know you asked if anyone had done it and how their kids turned out. I'm sorry I can't really help you with that, but I do believe that homeschooling would not dammage your child. If anything it will only do great things for him and make it easier for him to adjust to the real world, both academically and socially.

Answer 8

It is the social component of schooling which causes AS people to get stressed. This affects their grades negatively.

There are also many distractions, such as noises, sights, and smells, that inhibit the ability of the AS person to stay focused.

Home schooling is a great option.

There are some great podcasts out there that will help you learn what people with AS experience both outside the home and within it. This may help you decide how to better work with your child.

http://mic.mypodcast.com/

"Autism on the Homefront: Parenting Autistics" is a good one for helping you understand how an Aspie percieves things at home.

"Special Feature Interview with Lewis Schofield" touches on schooling.

"Autism, Asperger Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders" gives a generalized view of AS.

Good luck and best wishes.

Answer 9

I have aspergers myself.  While I agree that it would have been a lot less stressful to have been home schooled, it would have been the wrong thing to do for someone with aspergers.

One of the most important things for an aspie to learn how to do is to learn how to get along with other kids/people.  Learning how not to be different so he doesn't stand out is very important.  He will not succeed in the real world if he can't function with normal people.  The fact that he isn't succeeding in public school right now is proof of that.  Its a hint as to how things are going to be in college if he even goes at all.

Aspies by definition have above average intelligence.  So he will do OK with the academic portion of his learning with no problem no matter where he goes.  However, he needs social training and his mom can't provide all that he needs.  He needs peers his own age to do that and without mom watching to make sure he's all right.

You need to contact the school and tell them that you want him in social training classes for aspies.  Social training is the thing he needs more than anything.