What do I need to do to homeschool my daughter who has autism?

Question

I have a 3 year old daughter who has autism. She is going to start going to PPCD this month and we are going to see how that goes. However, I have done quite a bit of research on the public school system and how lacking it is when it comes to meeting the needs of autistic children. I have also spoken with many parents who have horror stories to tell about how it affected their children, and I have decided that I will homeschool my daughter when she is ready for kindergarten if I feel it is needed. I need to know what the laws are and how I go about doing this (we live in Texas). One of the parents at her therapy group was telling me that the school district will fight us on this choice and the state will be on their side. I would really appreciate some feedback from someone who is familiar with the laws and regulations regarding this issue. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I would contact Clonlara. www.clonlara.org

I have special needs children and years of experience with them. They are not cheap, but well worth it. Just call them up and express your concerns and ask them how they can help you.

Answer 2

here's the laws http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp?St... It looks like Texas, isn't too strict with their homeschooling laws.

Answer 3

The school district has absolutely no say. They can't fight this choice, because it's a parental choice and protected in Texas. Be warned that you might not receive services such as speech, OT, PT, etc..most districts will not provide for homeschoolers. But in our case it really didn't matter, 20 minutes a week of speech really was not helping our daughter all that much.

Homeschooling has been wonderful for our kids on the spectrum (we have several). They are learning MORE, learning FASTER, and are much HAPPIER (my aspie was clinically depressed and suicidal IN THE FOURTH GRADE!) They are much more social.

Now I will grant that most preschool programs and pretty good, the classrooms are smaller and they get more attention. In my experience, after kindergarten, the schools start trying to farm them to an autism classroom, which doesn't serve them well. It does NOT help to be surrounded by 12 to 15 stimming kids all day. Or they want to put them in mainstream and NOT provide services, like a paraprofessional or a behavior plan.

Answer 4

Do check out your local district to see if they offer anything that you will need - the needs of autistic kids vary so greatly, and sometimes a school will have an incredible instructor that can truly help your child.  Sometimes, these services are available whether your child is enrolled at the school or not, simply because you live in the district.

That said, you don't have to do anything to legally homeschool her in TX - you just do so.  In TX, homeschools are considered private schools and are not required to notify the state.  They can't fight what they don't know ;) and even if they do, they have no legal ground to stand on.  I'm right over the border in OK, and our laws are very similar.  If you're concerned about it, you can join a legal advocacy group like HSLDA or others (I know they're out there, but I don't remember the full names of them).  For something like $80-100 per year, they will take on the school district, board of ed, social workers, or anyone else who gives you grief.  They basically provide an attorney to do whatever you need them to regarding homeschooling.

You have complete freedom to homeschool, and the state can't say a darn thing about it.  You do not have to test her or have her evaluated, and the only time the state can legally step in is if there is evidence that she's neglected or abused.

Hope that helps!

Answer 5

It's all about the district and the teacher. It's the teachers that matters the most.

I have a three year old vaccine injured(autistic)son and I was very worried about preschool but I can't tell you how truly excellent the teachers are and how great my son is doing.

He goes three hours a day four days a week and requires a one on one associate.  The district has been nothing but cooperative and proactive. Frankly I have been amazed.

We are re writing his IEP later this month.

I guess I am saying don't give up on the public school until they force you to.

That being said I MOVED my family to this district because of the crappy school system we were living in. I have 5 kids and our third boy had adhd and they repeatedly lied to us about availability of resources and only threat of lawsuit got us the services he needed to thrive. Again the special ed teacher was awesome and soon had our son 2 years above grade level in reading. The kid they said belonged in an institution takes no medication and graduates from high school in a month!

god bless

Answer 6

The nice thing about living is Texas is that there are no major regulations.   Check out www.hslda.com for the actual laws.

I homeschool my son who is on the Spectrum - it's the best thing I ever did.  We started when he was going into grade 5 and he's now finishing grade 9.  

The school district can't fight you because you have the legal right to homeschool.   They can't do anything about it.