The door is shut for homeschooling ds 9 with Aspergers, at least for the foreseeable future. He is doing well in school and on an accelerated track at least for math. I will probably supplement Language Arts and read great books after school with him and my other two dc (whom I homeschool) but he really needs specific training in the area of social skills and maintaining relatiionships, organization, etc. He only receives special services for one hour a week and definitely needs more. I do not want to have a new ARD just yet, I want to see what I can do with him. Any suggestions for activities, curricula, lessons? I already have Michelle Garcia Winner's Superflex program. It has been difficult letting go of my dream to homeschool all three of my children but I need to focus on the future and doing my utmost to help my ds. I appreciate any help! Jen

We've had our son evaluated by two different school districts from two different states, FL and TX. They both seemed pretty thorough, although the eval in FL was moreso. A whole team including a psychologist evaluated him for autism, learning disabilities, speech, IQ and occupational. He was evaluated to have Aspergers by both districts, which we agree with but we think there may be something else going on so we are going to get him tested by a neurologist. If you know anyone in your son's district who has been through an eval you might want to try asking them.

Unfortunately we have not been saving for a replacement car. Now our '03 Honda Odyssey with 116K needs its timing belt replaced and transmission rebuilt. Estimated cost =$5000. Looked at Kelly's Blue Book and van is only worth around $5000. Hubby is concerned we won't be able to find a replacement vehicle that will be any kind of improvement for that little, since we need something that seats 6. To replace it we would wind up spending $8-9K. Our emergency fund is already low but we have enough to cover the purchase. Should we pay the $5000 to fix the minivan or buy another car? BTW we are debt-free and plan to stay that way so a loan is out of the question. ^^; thank you in advance for the advice... Jen

I second Austin, TX. Cedar Park, a suburb, was named one of the best cities to raise a family a few years back. Austin inner city has pretty high real estate prices, but the suburbs are EXTREMELY reasonable. Texas in general has a low cost of living. Texas is probably the most homeschooling friendly state in the U.S. Austin has a large active secular homeschool population as well as several large Christian groups. ACC has a great dual enrollment program and there are tons of enrichment classes around town. Even the YMCA has homeschooler friendly classes. (Almost everyone does) Beautiful scenery, tons of recreation, parks, etc. And some really unique funky festivals and activities. (Did I mention the city's unofficial motto is 'Keep Austin Weird'?) The only downside I can think of is the dry HOT summers. Coming from the sauna that is Houston I prefer dry heat, although not the wildfires.

It was a challenge for me to read as well. I had to write an essay on it and had to re-read it three times to figure it out. Of course, it's been decades since I've had to write an essay on anything so I think my brain had to re-stretch. @_@

:iagree: Our church's children's program is really good with the application side. And we have many good conversations as well. DH has been reading the Children's Story Bible in the mornings for about 2 years and they are going through it for the 3rd time. I think it's time to teach them how to read the Bible for themselves. Next year we will be using Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History. (You can preview it at Amazon here.) It is simply lists of inductive-type questions for 196 passages in the Old Testament that give the main parts of Israel's history. I plan for us to read the passage together and go through the questions orally at first, hopefully having the kids eventually read the passage silently and come together to discuss the questions. I also plan to include map work and a timeline as well, either homemade or purchased. BTW, you can purchase the guide as a PDF for $8 from Greenleaf Press (www.greenleafpress.com) We will probably use this for two years and move on to the New Testament after that. HTH!

^^^ This is the problem, they have a large family and although they have two cars, this was their van, the only vehicle in which they all could fit. If they wanted to go somewhere as a family they wouldn't be able to. I'd offer them the use of my minivan but I don't think all of them would fit. Wow, a week's rental of a van. It may be more expensive than the repair. :(

The collision shop guy told me how they had to sand, use some kind of filler, primer, and some number of layers of paint and each step had to dry. I thought it sounded like a lot because the written estimate only included 2.5 hours of labor. If anyone has had a major (24 inch) scratch repaired (totally repaired not just buffed) can you give me an idea of how long it took?

:iagree:I tell you what, I sure could use a drink right about now!

Thank you Valerie and the rest of you for your kind words. We took ds to neighbors to apologize and he couldn't do it. (too embarassed, he was really red and couldn't look anyone in the eye, so at least I know he does have some shame) DH and I are still deciding upon the consequences. The scooter he was riding was actually a friend's, so we will probably put away his bike instead, and find him some work to do over the summer. I like the idea of having him be responsible for paying 10% of the bill; I think that would be a realistic goal to shoot for by the end of summer. It has been frustrating dealing with the neighbors as they have not been communicating clearly with us. If they gave us a receipt today we would gladly (ok not so gladly but willingly) write them a check. For some reason the mom is doing the communicating and she does not seem to know what's going on. I had to call their collision repair guy myself and talk to him about the estimate and how long he expected their vehicle to be in the shop. He told me at least 5 days and yes they seem to be expecting us to pay rental car fees although she didn't come out and ask me that when she called. Now I'm not sure if they expect me to contact the car rental places myself or what. I know this is going to sound stereotypical but I really feel like the husbands (hers and mine) need to step up and resolve this. However that does not seem like it's going to happen so I get to sort all this out myself. :glare: About the insurance- this is what our agent told me. Our homeowners policy MAY cover it but 1) our claim would be under the deductible of 1% of the home's value and 2) it would be a liability claim and be on our record for 5 years, during which it would be almost impossible for us to change insurances, because no insurance company would underwrite us. So we are definitely paying out of pocket. Our relationship with our neighbors is important to us since this is a relatively tight-knit cul-de-sac and although we are the newcomers everyone seems to watch out for each other here. I am so thankful our neighbors are Christians and seem to also want to do the right thing and don't feel the need to involve police and insurance, which would've escalated this situation way beyond what it is now. It's uncomfortable, awkward and a bit of a financial blow to our family, but 'this too shall pass!'

Oh yeah. Definitely there's going to be an adult outside when he's out front for the foreseeable future. I'm not going to beat him over the head for this incident, but I think he can learn something about responsibility even at his age. :001_smile:

Thanks for the responses. I just wanted to make sure we are doing our due diligence regarding the situation, but I agree that it would probably be better for our relations with the neighbor to just accept the estimate they got. After reading several responses it looks like it's pretty reasonable. DS is grounded from playing out front for a week and must earn back our trust to regain the privilege of riding on any wheeled toys after that. We still need to take him to the neighbor to apologize. In fact, I don't think he's actually closely looked at the scratch (since he's been staying inside since the incident.) I think doing some work for the neighbors sounds appropriate, and I can have him offer as part of his apology. If the neighbor declines he can do some work for his dp's.

He was riding his scooter too close to the vehicle and left a long scratch. (He was specifically warned NOT to go near the car.):glare: DH and I offered to pay for it. It looks like our homeowner's insurance is not going to cover it, so we will have to pay for it out of pocket. Today the neighbor gave me the written estimate from the collision shop: $547. My question is: does this sound reasonable? Should we make sure they have gotten multiple estimates or bring someone out to do our own? We've never been in this situation, so any advice is appreciated. Also, should we get DS to help pay for it? Obviously, earning the money to pay for all of it would take a prohibitively long time, but I want him to learn a valuable lesson about taking responsibility. Right now he has no remorse whatsoever. :( Thanks in advance for your help, Jen

Does he draw comic art? Take a look at the Center for Cartoon Studies. Does he create logos and other abstract art on the computer? Many colleges offer graphic design degrees. Does he create characters and backgrounds on the computer? He might enjoy being a game artist- google Full Sail University. (Both of these are expensive.) If he's good enough, he can freelance for companies, comic writers, etc. Actually, that would be a good way to develop his portfolio. Good luck!

Just got an iPad (1st gen). What apps do I need to really make the most of it for homeschooling? I'm not talking about subject specific learning games. I heard there was a PDF reader that I could draw on top of. that would be very helpful. Any other apps you find indispensable ? TIA!