I just wanted to let you know how uplifting your story was for me- all too often parents are prevented from providing their children with the care and education that they need and deserve, and every victory on this front is an important one. Thank you so much for your hard work and for chronicling it here on teenautism.

If you ever need additional resources, stop by & say hello http://fb.me/rethinkautism we believe in supporting progress in the autism community.

Best,
Kent

Thanks for stopping by the website, and for your comment. Lack of social interaction is one of the main reasons that people question the benefits of homeschooling, but if you have your child involved in other social outlets, it shouldn’t be an issue. In our case, during the time that I homeschooled my son, he had three different sources of social interaction: Boy Scouts, a weekly social skills class, and neighborhood kids. Other sources could be church, local activity clubs, or classes like gymnastics or bowling or that sort of thing. Another thing to consider is that you could do part-time homeschooling, which is something we did for a while as we eased my son back into regular school. He attended two or three morning classes and then came home for homeschool the rest of the day, which enabled me to work part-time as well. You just have to talk to your school district and see what options they’ll work with. Lastly, homeschooling doesn’t have to be forever. Even if you just do it for one year, your child will still reap many benefits. Having decreased social interaction might even be a relief to some kids, as it was to my son. He was homeschooled for a year and a half and went back to regular school with even better social interaction afterwards. Everyone’s experiences with homeschooling are different, of course, but I hope this is helpful for you in making your decision.

Best wishes,
Tanya