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Homeschooling Children With Special Needs – an honest look

A resource to help those of us homeschooling children with special needs. 


I write a lot about homeschooling my two boys.

Their learning differences.

The accommodations we have in place.

How I individualize all our curriculum in order to make it work for them.

The craziness of our day to day lives.

I enjoy writing about our schooling. I went to school to be a teacher. I have always wanted to be in a classroom of some sort.

More and more, I find that I really enjoy working at home to educate my boys every day. It’s kinda my sweet spot.

Homeschooling children with special needs

Having said that, the truth is, it’s also really, really hard.

Really hard.

Trying to find ways to help these boys learn, in spite of way too many odds stacked against them, is exhausting.

Most of the time, it’s thankless.

And, I find homeschooling my children with special needs to be increasingly lonely.

Homeschooling children with special needs

Even in the homeschool world, we are the anomalies.

Sitting with other homeschooling moms inevitably drives this point home. While they are discussing different options for geometry and algebra 2, I am worried about how to teach my son to read the map at the mall.

Or the homeschool conventions. Oh my goodness. Ten minutes into one a few years back, I was completely discouraged.

Seven thousand different curriculum options (I may be exaggerating to make a point, but it really did seem like seven thousand) and I think only two of them seemed even remotely doable for my boys. And in order to be doable, I would need to spend a few hours modifying the resources to accommodate my boys’ learning.

An entire convention center, full of thousands of homeschoolers, and I felt terribly alone.

Homeschooling children with special needs

Homeschooling Your Child: What It’s Really Like

I sat down at a tiny table in the corner of that convention center a few years ago, and outlined the book I wanted to read.

Homeschooling Your Child With Special Needs was published last year, based on that outline. 

Yes, it’s about the differences, the loneliness, and the work.

But mostly, it’s about a mom being a mom and a kid being a kid – no matter what the circumstances.

It’s about the day to day and the big picture. The sleepless nights and the reading delays. The fun and mess.

It’s an honest look.

Homeschooling children with special needs

This book is a mix of the good and the bad.

It includes resources and support. It also includes a good look at the realities we all face when making the decision to homeschool our children with special needs.

Homeschooling Children With Special Needs: An Honest Look

It’s lonely. Even in the world of homeschooling.

It’s hard. Even in the world of homeschooling.

It’s frustrating. Even in the world of homeschooling.

But ask any homeschooling mom about it, and we all the say the same thing.

It’s worth it.


Get your copy of Homeschooling Your Child With Special Needs in hard copy or on Kindle at Amazon.com. 

Homeschooling children with special needs


For More Resources And Support:

Homeschooling A Child With Special Needs: Getting Started

How To Help An Older Struggling Reader

My First Year Homeschooling Children With Learning Differences

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2 Comments

  1. I can definitely relate. Just got my bundles too including the special needs one. Look forward to reading your books!

  2. Yea, I hear you. I’m homeschooling my daughter w/severe special needs (a non verbal teen… developmentally an infant) and my neurotypical elementary age son. You can’t help but feel like a minority of minorities. It just adds to the difficulties. Worth it (and I don’t feel there’s any other option) but hard!

    Kudos to you for also doing what you feel is best for your kids regardless of the level of hard it requires.

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