I know nothing

[entirelyLIFE]

Hi everyone.

I want to home school my DS (9) who has been diagnosed with ASD. Where on earth do I start. I am in the UK. Please help. My son is miserable and anxious at school and despite my many attempts nothing is improving for him. I'm feeling quite emotionally drained now and I just can't continue this anymore. I'd rather home ED and support him in the ways I know he needs. His school is clueless and absolutely arrogant to his needs. Thank you for reading xx

[sleepismysuperpower1]

this website here explains how to withdraw your dc from their school. what year is your dc in? people on here will be able to recommend resources x

[entirelyLIFE]

Thank you. He is now year 5. I just don't know what to learn from, what to teach him, do I follow a curriculum? Is it expensive? Etc.. I'm so lost xx

[Saracen]

In the short term, the most important things to know are these.

You can home educate for a long or short time. If you change your mind about home ed, you can send your son back to school. If there is no space at his current school you would have to send him to a different one - but you wouldn't HAVE to home educate indefinitely. School is always an option.

You don't have to have a plan for how you are going to home educate before you get started. You can figure it out as you go along. It will take time for your son to recover from his school experiences, and during that time, most home educators recommend a break from any enforced academics - let him relax and play until he is in the right frame of mind to focus.

There are many ways to learn. You may or may not have some ideas already about how to tackle it. Even once you do think you have it sussed, more than likely it will take some experimentation over the months and years to understand what he needs and find a way to provide it to him - and his needs will change and you will need to adapt. That is absolutely right and fine; it doesn't indicate that you are getting it wrong but rather that you are responding to his needs.

You have plenty of time. Once he is out of school there is no pressure to "keep up with the rest of the class". What your son doesn't learn this month he can learn next month, or next year. When he works at his own pace there is no such thing as falling behind.

My motivation for all that I've said above is to reassure you that there is no serious risk involved in taking your son out of school. Imagine yourself removing him from school right now, immediately, this weekend, and assuring him that he never has to set foot in that school again. What is the worst consequence you can imagine?

You know that his current school is wrong for him. He is suffering. Take him out now, and see him transformed. Once he is safe, take your time to try home education or explore other schools. There's no need to wait.

[MrsMozartMkII]

Marking as will be back to help when I'm on my laptop.

[entirelyLIFE]

Wow I could literally cry reading that. It sounds so much easier and more relaxed to just be able to say he's not going back to school. Im terrified at committing to it and then if it doesn't work out then having to send him back to school. I wouldn't send him back there but still it's the transition from school to home, home to school etc.. his ASD plays a massive part in change and changing of minds and plans etc.. I'm also scared that he's year 5, only 2 more years until secondary education and am I going to be able to keep him up to date enough to take his GCSE's on time and for him to get the grades he wants or needs for what he wants to do in the future. I know it's a long way off I'm just worried I'm racing against time, I also struggle with anxiety so this is just going wild in my head if I'm honest. I am not sending him back to that school that's for sure but he's absolutely so set on being home schooled. He came to me separately (even though me and my husband had already discussed it) and asked for home schooling and told me all his reasons why.

[sleepismysuperpower1]

could you do online school OP? one like this means your dc would still follow the national curriculum, and have set assignments, but he could work from home. if you enrolled him in the maths, english and science courses, it would be £1,350 per year, or £294 for the 1st month and £132 thereafter. you also have contact with a tutor via skype who i believe mark your son's assignments, and give you progress updates for the assignments.

[entirelyLIFE]

I wish I could afford to. Does anyone know of any financial support available to home school your child? For resources etc.. xx

[sleepismysuperpower1]

i'm not aware of any x

[itsstillgood]

A 9/10 year old doesn't need an internet school. There are lots of free or cheap resources for this age group, lots offer home education discount. But avoid the temptation to have a blow out on resources, he'll need time to heal and it will take time to find your path, read together, play, do hands on science, use free trials of online programmes to test them out. Forget your worries about GCSEs for now, so much can and will change in the next few years, don't borrow trouble from the future. If home education is right for now and sounds like you all think it is then go for it.
Find support groups on Facebook, look up home education and your town and county get some real life handholding.
Re-read Saracen's post she's said pretty much everything.

[norfolkskies]

we use online school for ds (asd). he is year 8. he is thriving now!

for ks2 you could do it yourself. look up ks2 english curriculum on google if you want as a guide.

[scoobydoo1971]

My 8 year old daughter has SEN. She has dyspraxia, sensory and auditory processing disorders. She hated primary school, and they disregarded her needs. She gets Disability Living Allowance, and this money is used to pay for extra books and day trips, as well as online school (myonlineschooling has an SEN teacher). She is thriving in home school. We supplement online classes with KS2 websites...tes, BBC bitesize, youtube, and study books. There is so much stuff available online, even for SEN. Lots of the worksheets are free.

You need to let the local authority know that you intend to home school, as well as writing a letter to the headteacher. However, I know some home.ed parents have experienced difficulties in establishing their right to home school children with significant SEN, so proceed with caution. There are local groups in most areas who meet up with their home schooled children. You can find them on facebook.