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Homeschooling the Child with Autism by Patricia Schetter and Kandis Lighthall


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I haven't read it, but a real life friend here recommended it to me.

I'm trying to figure out what autism specific books i should read. With planning , been brainstorming with a friend, but I'm feeling a little scattered on what autism books I should read and in what order .

 

I need to start making a list. I'm going to follow this , ID like to know too. :)

 

So many books, so little time lol :)

Edited by Kat w
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If someone here has read it I'd love to know what level of Autism it targets. Is it high functioning Autism or severe, non-verbal with low IQ Autism. I would love to find books written by or about those homeschooling children on the moderate/severe end of the spectrum.

Edited by PuddleJumper1
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Amazon has samples, so you can see what you think.  I just requested it through the library.  From the reviews, it looks like an overview book that is favorable to homeschooling written from by educational consultants.  I'm guessing it will be an interesting read, affirming, and necessarily brief for topics that are very complex.  I'm assuming there are going to be viewpoints and approaches left out, which of course will bug people who've found success with those viewpoints and approaches.

 

The mom interviews may be the best part of it, though I'd like to see veterans, people who've already gone through and graduated their kids, represented.  

 

The curious thing to me is how much the authors allow homeschooling to = homeschooling alone. I don't see a chapter, for instance, on building your therapy team or balancing interventions or preventing burnout.

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If someone here has read it I'd love to know what level of Autism it targets. Is it high functioning Autism or severe, non-verbal with low IQ Autism.

 

Given that it has no chapters on therapy or burnout, reduces compliance problems to "be firm," and per one review is going to help you "create a curriculum," I'm thinking you're guessing correctly that it's going to reflect certain parts of the rainbow of spectrum and not others.  ;)

 

It almost seems like part of the market for this book is other people in the medical/psych/education system, as if to say pick this up, read it, feel better about what your clients are doing.   

 

When you think about it, this book is in the vein of the thread I had last week where I was asking flat out WHY I'm homeschooling a dc with autism, is this even sane.  So to read a book on that topic could be really affirming. One of the amazon reviews lists some other books that are more nitty gritty from the perspective of actual homeschoolers. I'll probably request those books through the library next.

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Thank you for your feedback, ladies! I have had some of the same questions, also. I'll be back a bit later to elaborate.

 

OhE, I believe I did come across it at the same time as your thread ☺.

 

I saw the first book you linked a long time ago and have had it in my "considering" list, but reading about it makes me think it will most likely just repeat things I am already doing. This is why I have held off on that one. I'll give it another look, though.

 

I haven't seen the second one. I'll be checking that one out too.

 

The third one I have seen before but can't remember much about it now, so I'll refresh my memory on that one as well.

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I think it's a pretty generic book, with generic advice.  I doubt you'll be happy if you only want it for a few chapters.  Also, it seems geared toward people with a pretty typical approach.  The people complaining in the amazon reviews were taking divergent paths.  

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Thanks for pointing that out, OhE. I had not read all of the reviews. I just noticed one that touched on one of my concerns, whether I will agree with the approaches recommended. That's a big one! I had hoped there would be some sort of list of options. It appears that this is not the case.

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Also, Sonya Shafer from Simply Charlotte Mason has been homeschooling her own ASD child. She has also written a book about her journey, but she doesn't have a curriculum for SN kids like Cheryl Swope. You have to see what fits your wants/ needs and your child.

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Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for any Child by Cheryl Swope

 

Now there's a book from a homeschool mom I do want to read :-)

 

If you search the boards, she has posted here on occasion.  :)  She uses her own name as her username.  She also hosts the SN section of the forum at MP and replies actively in threads.  Not an endorsement, just saying if you like her you can find her.  :)

 

 

Also, Sonya Shafer from Simply Charlotte Mason has been homeschooling her own ASD child. She has also written a book about her journey, but she doesn't have a curriculum for SN kids like Cheryl Swope. You have to see what fits your wants/ needs and your child.

 

We are following a CM approach this year and I am pooling together resources from Simply Charlotte Mason, AO, ToG, and some of my own selections. I am following the SSM history rotation for the most part though.

 

Somehow I missed this!  I attended one of Shafer's talks at a convention one year and found it peaceful and sane, elements often lacking in idealistic classical convention talks, lol.  By the 2nd one, I was done and left. But yeah, like like.  How old is Shafer's dc with ASD?  The trouble to me in swapping stories like that is people saying oh yeah, I did this with my dc with autism, it works, and it turns out the dc is young or not at all of the same flavor as our ASD.  I mean, I have serious things I think about and wonder about, but I'm increasingly disgusted to find that following anyone's advice for THEIR dc ends up making a muddle with MY child.  So as much as I'd LIKE to have confidence in some kind of guru leadership, I steer away from that.  We do what the behaviorist says, use our heads, and pray for the best.  Because if I hear one more time "Oh but so and so did this and it turned out REALLY WELL with their kid with autism and THEY didn't have that problem you're having because THEY..." I won't be too happy.  It gets really old, really fast.  Maybe they didn't have my kid or my mix of my kid.  Maybe kids are just different.  I'm always glad when things work out really well for someone else's dc the way they did things, but it doesn't mean those same things would work with MY dc.

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OhE, I read, and read, and read, and get ideas that suit my family and my kids. I don't take what anyone does with their kid as my guide. Shafer talks very little about her daughter. She seems to be a private person, only sharing her journey in her book, which again most likely is respectful of her child's privacy. I have not read it yet. I was just giving PuddleJumper1 some suggestions on sources to look into, since she mentioned she was looking.

 

Also, since it was my thread, I was just posting what we are using as an fyi. Never at any point did I recommend anything I am doing as a solution for anyone's child. Never have!

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Also, ABA is a form of therapy I don't personally follow, so for me ABA advice would be falling on deaf ears LOL. We choose what suits our own kids and families. There are kids out there that did not do well with ABA, so it is what it is. We follow what WE as parents feel is best for our OWN child.

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Thanks for clarifying that :-) Thank you also for the link. I hadn't come across it. Definitely looking into it, more as a parent than a homeschooler. It is my understanding her daughter may be moderate to severe, but her calm nature is what has inpired me to want to look at her parenting skills, and how she handled the journey.

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OhE, I can see now why you shared the link. It's fine! We all find what works for our own families and children, and I respect that. Since I started this thread though, I will clarify that I do not endorse anything written by the author that goes by the name Catherine Maurice, nor her beliefs about autism. I also do not support therapies that do not use the cognitive abilities of the autistic person.

 

Not looking to turn this into a debate. Just clarifying my position since I started this thread and I do not wish there to be any misunderstandings as to where I stand. I also did clarify in my previous post that my goal for wanting to read Sonya Shafer's book was to see how she handled the journey. I was not interested in the homeschooling or therapy aspect of it, as I already know what I want/ need to target with my two.

 

All the best!

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  • 5 months later...

Came across this today and thought it was relevant here, since Sonya Shafer and her daughter had come up in the discussion:

 

Uniquely Human: A Book Review

https://simplycharlottemason.com/blog/uniquely-human-book-review/

 

And I totally agree with this comment she made in her post:

"I think he and Charlotte Mason would have gotten along famously!"

 

All the best,

 

Marie

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Just wanted to clarify, there is no personal gain behind any of my posts here. I'm just a mom of two boys on the spectrum, that has sought and is continuously seeking to find strategies and therapies that are respectful to my children. I also seek strategies/ therapies with strong parental involvement, as my relationship with my boys, and my husband's relationship with them, has top priority in our home.

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