Are these 'good enough' reasons to home ed?

[ArtAttackSucks]

K- so Ds is stressed because of school and all the extended social interaction that goes with it. (ADHD a d asd) This manifests in argumentative behaviour etc. and he takes it out on me (increasing my stress levels) and ds2 and Dd (making them upset). In turn this trickles down to Ds2 taking it out on dd. Ds2 gets stressed about being late to school etc.

We know he is better in the holidays and even on weekends when he doesnt have those school pressures on him.

So if we took those pressures away, hopefully these behaviours will decrease (which they have been shown to do) and stress levels all around will decrease.

So rather then MOVE schools, why dont we try an ALTERNATE educational provision for him. Ds2 a nd dd would stay in school (cos I think it is good for them) but Ds1 who is different, needs something different because at the moment it isnt working for anyone.

There are all local home ed groups with a range of SEN (mostly high functioning) and NT children. This would provide social interaction without it being the full on six hours he currently has. He would also be more likely to find someone he clicks with and has the same interests as his, making him happier with friendships. I would also anticipate that he has a level of interaction he can handle...at the moment school uses that up and more. With smaller more focussed groups hopefully the interaction meter (iyswim) will not get filled up only to unleash upon us, and he will be able to handle Da2 and dd better in the afternoons.

Also, I think for me, opting out of the crap provision and fighting with the school would reduce my stress levels, but that is secondary to the kids needs.

So, it is a massive step and scares me...but are we thinking this through right?

What is his current school doing about accommodating his Sen?

Um, nothing pretty much! He goes to a social skills group and that is it. They won't even prompt him to use his cloakroom prompt to get all his stuff home each day.

Sounds like a pretty comprehensive set of reasons to me.

I would just have to say that, in our local HE community, I reckon it's about 50% of children with ASD, mostly high functioning. This means that (a) there are lots of children with similar interests and ways of interacting, that are decidedly not mainstream but also (b) as parents we have to be a bit more "on it" than one might expect by just looking at the ages of the children involved. Sometimes someone goes into meltdown or has an autistic lash-out at people, but the other children and adults get increasingly adept at predicting, avoiding, mopping up afterwards.

Personally, I think that certain Home Ed communities are the absolutely best solution for children with autism; it also means that the NT home ed children in our area are completely accepting of, comfortable around, and tolerant of difference in a way that I don't encounter among so many schooled children once they get to about 9 or 10 years old.

That sounds like quite a persuasive list of reasons in favour of HE. What's your list of reasons in favour of continuing at school?

That sounds like quite a persuasive list of reasons in favour of HE. What's your list of reasons in favour of continuing at school?