By: katrina

katrina — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:56:44 +0000

It scares me to the core to hear that homeschooling is illegal in some countries. Our family would not survive as a unit if that were to happen here. Our 6year old boy simply cannot cope in mainstream public school, and the private school my daughter attends prefer not to take him because he won’t attract disability funding in their system. He is not safe at school, being a ‘spinner’ and sensory seeker (puts rocks and sticks in his mouth, has broken all his front milk teeth, climbs heights and has frequent falls and crashes into walls and doorways etc.). In mainstream school he has consistently been denied his asthma medication, because the teacher and aide were of the opinion that it was best not to give it as they felt it “hyped” him up. This was not their call, as we had an asthma management plan (required by law) and it was signed by a doctor. He was also denied the basic strategies of managing his autism and high anxiety through a quiet retreat area in times of high agitation and challenging behaviour. He was bullied and put-down. He became aggressive and obstructional. He is in the gifted range of IQ but was not gaining academically at school because of his psychological torment and confusion. He lost bladder control in the afternoon, was constantly constipated and could not sleep easily (being unable to ‘shut down’ until midnight most nights) and kept getting sick with viruses and rashes. Homeschooling has brought back the beautiful little boy that we had before school in 2008. He falls into a deep sleep within 30 minutes of going to bed. He is beginning to learn to write at last, feels safe and is very loving. My health suffers when my boy suffers, having chronic pain and fatigue. Our whole family is doing better now because homeschooling is so relaxed, nurturing, and productive. It is so very rewarding for my son to see the improvements he has made in his writing, to be able to explore topics and concepts that he is yearning to learn about (this week it is Siberia). He looks forward to continuing homeschool for a very long time, as do I. His thirsty brain is drinking up life, he is better able to learn social skills because he is no longer overloaded and over-anxious. He is gorgeous and less ‘autistic’ because he is being educated in the way he learns. It’s not hard, it’s not too demanding, because we teach and learn with love. Somedays I struggle to connect the dots with him, but every single day was that way in mainstream school. Homeschool is ‘medicinal’, therapeutic and necessary to our family’s existence.

Comments on: In a Different Class

By: katrina