How can I homeschool my child with autism?
An increasing number of parents of children with autism now homeschool or home educate (if you’re in the UK) their child. This might be because they homeschool their other children, they don’t feel the school environment will meet their child’s sensory needs, or they tried public school but their autistic child was struggling.
I’ve been there. My son attended school part time for a few years and I taught him at home the rest of the time, while his sisters attended their local schools. Unfortunately my son he was asked to leave the local school because they could no longer meet his needs. I found myself unable to work (at that time I was lecturing part-time in early education) as I had to teach my son full time at home. At that time I spent many hours searching online for resources as well as making my own, but my son loved it! He was so much calmer because there was a lot less sensory stress, and the behavior boundaries were clearer.
What do I need to do to motivate my child with autism to learn at home?
Meet your child’s sensory processing needs
Meeting the sensory needs of a child with autism will help them feel safe enough to focus and learn.
Adapt your seating, lighting, space and even decor where necessary. Think about how you can reduce any distracting noises. Schedule regular movement breaks before and after seated tasks. Be careful not to get into the habit of allowing your child to persuade you to provide extra breaks when they actually just want to avoid a task which you know they are capable of.
Build on the strengths of your child with autism to help them learn:
Is your child good at taking things apart, for example? Give them fine motor skills activities and crafts to get those fingers moving. Does your child learn more easily by listening? Read to them - non-fiction and fiction. Listen to music together, or try percussion instruments. Do they pick up math concepts quicker than language? Use math to broaden their vocabulary. Does your autistic child recall facts and list? Go with these strengths and gradually build on them.
Start where your child is comfortable with a topic or subject so that they feel successful. Telling a child “This task is really easy so you’ll be able to do it no problem” puts pressure on your child not to fail at something you’ve told them is easy, Instead, say “I know this activity is tricky and it might be hard to learn …..” so that the pressure is off Giving your child with autism a confidence boost will motivate them to learn more.
Plan relevant goals and skills to work on:- What skills are most relevant to your child? Depending on where you live there may be parts of the curriculum that you are legally obliged to cover, but as far as possible think about what matters to your child.
Learning money skillsandtelling the time might be much more useful to your child with autism than learning more abstract academic concepts. Teaching life skills doesn’t mean you need to miss out teaching academic skills to your child - shopping and cooking can include math and reading skills; cleaning and other chores can help with motor skills and following directions. Check out myLife Skills and Social Skill resourcesfor kids with autism
Plan a daily schedule which fits with your family’s routines:
Plan and stick to (as far as possible) a realistic schedule which works for your child. Is your child with autism a morning person or do they focus better in the afternoon? If your child has the language skills to be involved in choosing a schedule, give them some input by completing a simple Learning Plan