Would this benefit homeschoolers? (Market research.)

[Rivka]

I have decided to quit my academic job and go into practice as a psychologist instead. I want to develop a practice that focuses on the evaluation and intervention planning needs of homeschoolers.

 

I would really appreciate WTM feedback on this idea. Here are my thoughts:

 

Right now, if homeschoolers suspect a learning disability or a learning difference, they have two options. They can work with their local school system to request an evaluation, or they can hire a private psychologist. In either case, the evaluator is likely to work primarily with students in school settings.

 

A homeschooling-focused psychologist would provide the following advantages:

 

1) Accepting of homeschooling; not inclined to blame homeschooling for learning problems.

2) Knowledgable about homeschooling philosophies, curricula, and resources.

3) Aware of the need to assess achievement based on what has been taught, rather than on "grade level standards."

4) Aware of homeschoolers' likely unfamiliarity with standardized testing and other school practices/situations, and how that will affect the evaluation.

5) Evaluation focused on the needs of the family rather than on the requirements of school programs and state education laws.

6) Recommendations customized for parents at home, rather than professional teachers in classroom settings.

 

Apart from these types of full evaluations, I could provide homeschoolers with simple testing to establish eligibility for special programs (like the Davidson Institute) or to identify academic grade level and strengths/weaknesses for planning purposes.

 

What do you all think? Do you think there's a market for this?

 

Specific questions:

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools?

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents?

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations?

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist?

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea?

[texasmama]

What do you all think? Do you think there's a market for this? Yes, but I think you will need to expand your marketing to include other target populations. I also think that there is a good market for ADHD evals and evaluations sought by parents/advocacy with the public school system for services based on a child's disability. The school system can be daunting for parents to navigate, and I know that there are people who hire themselves out as consultants/advocates for kids. This is one possibility for someone like you, though your personal homeschooling experience would be a detriment in the school system's eyes. I don't think it would be a deterrant necessarily in parents' eyes (or even be discussed).

Specific questions:

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools? I would, yes.

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents? I think there is a huge need for social skills groups for kids on the ASD. Good ones are hard to find. That would be a rewarding, useful service to offer which could be a niche for you, as well.

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations? Financial barriers are the greatest ones. Also, ignorance regarding what an evaluation is, the purpose it serves, what is entailed and what is not entailed. Also, in the Christian community, there tends to be a mistrust of mental health services not performed by Christians.

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist? Absolutely, but I am in the mental health field so I do not have a mistrust of mental health services nor any need to have evaluations and counseling performed by someone who shares my spiritual beliefs, skill level being equal. (I am protestant Christian.)

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea? I think it is a fabulous idea. The only problems would be the usual getting a business started. I also think that you should do some heavy research in your area and find out what other types of services are in demand but are not easy to find/access. I would speak with pediatricians, schools, day care centers, churches, other psychologists, therapists, etc. They will tell you what they wish they could refer their clients to. Serving homeschoolers is a wonderful thing, but that is such a narrow market that I think in order to make your business profitable, you need a larger market. I would also consider doing "on site" screenings or evaluations for day care centers, private schools or other entities, if you are so inclined.

Please let us know how this progresses. I am very interested in hearing how things go!

[regentrude]

I think there is definitely a need for the services you plan to offer.

The one problem I envision would be financial; many homeschooling families either could not afford, or would not be willing, to pay you adequately for your time and expertise - this is, IMO, the main reason that testing through the school system is often preferred.

So, I would be worried whether you could generate enough income.

[Papillon Mom]

This is awesome! I would love to have this option! Do you live in southern California? This sounds like a dream come true.

Problems- 1. hsers can be cheap,

2. getting your name out there

3. people afraid to air their dirty laundry

4. I'm not a christian so I'd prefer a secular professional but quite a few of the religious people I know don't like the thought of a secular professional judging their child's difficulties, hence the hsing

Do you live in an area with tons of hsers? It seems like a viable at least part-time option. You could make contacts through yahoo groups maybe.

You Go!

[Farrar]

Specific questions:

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools?

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents?

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations?

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist?

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea?

 

1. Absolutely. Who wouldn't?

 

2. Yes - it seems to me that many homeschoolers would like to seek therapy for themselves or their kids in various ways but are distrustful of psychologists - I know I've heard a few online horror stories about therapists and others spending the therapy time only encouraging the parents to send the child back to school. It would seem that the more services you could potentially offer, the more you could expand your potential client base.

 

3. While the Byzantine process of finding help, especially within the school system, is a huge barrier, I think some homeschoolers' biggest barrier to getting help is simply a distrust of outsiders. Having another homeschooler be the help might solve that and help you generate business from people who wouldn't otherwise seek help. On the other hand, it could just be a barrier to you getting enough clients.

 

4. n/a

 

5. I have no concept of whether you could get enough business doing this. That would be my main concern for you. But if you do it, I'll happily promote you on all the lists to your south. :) Good luck.

[Rivka]

Thanks for these comments! I should clarify that I'm looking for a very part-time practice, since, well, I have kids to homeschool.

[quark]

I tried something similar for a while. Not as a psych but as an online consultant providing advice, curriculum and scheduling suggestions to newbie homeschoolers with young, gifted kids. The bolded was my target audience. It didn't go very well because:

1. As pps have said, homeschoolers are cheap and we tend to gravitate towards getting advice from homeschool support forums (for free).

2. It never crossed my mind to do it for profit while getting started. I did it as a way to make use of the extra time on my hands freed up by outsourcing much of the hs-ing at the moment and just wanted to see if I could make something small to compensate the time taken researching resources for clients...I charged a very small fee like $25 per client, not per hour.

3. I'm shy and introverted

 

Like you, I was only looking to do it part-time and due to that and numbers 2 and 3 above, I didn't market myself aggressively.

 

I think there is a demand for what you are offering. It's good that you are researching options now. I think it's all a delicate balance of knowing your audience, marketing yourself but also not too much because your vision right now is to do it part time. Depending on where you live, there could be such a huge demand (my neck of the woods has a huge 2E homeschoolers population) that you might have to start turning people away or can't get to people's requests on time etc. You'll need to be a good multi-tasker.

 

Just some thoughts that popped into my head. Good luck!

 

ETA: I think someone mentioned marketing yourself through yahoo groups. FWIW, I manage a yahoo group and have strict policies about people joining to market themselves or people marketing themselves without first approaching me or my fellow mods. I don't know if it's easy to market yourself that way...just sharing my experience. I know that for me personally, I found it very hard to do so but that's not necessarily the general experience.

[elegantlion]

I have decided to quit my academic job and go into practice as a psychologist instead.

 

The first line cracked me up. Yes, homeschoolers need psychologists, some days more than others. :D

 

 

But to your questions, yes, I think there is benefit to what you are proposing. We suspected ds had some delays. The problem is minor enough we never sought tx, one reason cost, another because of the stigma of having to go through the school. I had more than one person tell me to put him in school and let them fix the issue. :( If I had felt we knew someone who wouldn't immediately jump on homeschooling as the reason, we might have pursued their counsel.

 

Another nice support might be homeschooling resources you could recommend/suggest for specific issues.

 

Are liability issues a concern? Within your state could you be held responsible for any homeschooling issues? What about from the parents?

[Meriwether]

As to #4, secular would only concern me if I thought he/she would try to undermine my child's faith.

 

Best wishes as you make plans.

[Meriwether]

ETA: I think someone mentioned marketing yourself through yahoo groups. FWIW, I manage a yahoo group and have strict policies about people joining to market themselves or people marketing themselves without first approaching me or my fellow mods. I don't know if it's easy to market yourself that way...just sharing my experience. I know that for me personally, I found it very hard to do so but that's not necessarily the general experience.

 

Perhaps someone she knows on the yahoo group could give out some information along the lines of "A friend of mine is _________________ (whatever services she decides to offer). If interested, I'll email you her contact information."

[Jilly]

I think this is a great idea! I had my youngest tested a while back, and I purposely went with a psychologist that was homeschool friendly. It made me feel better knowing that this person accepted homeschooling and that he could help me make an education plan for my son in our homeschool setting.

[Carrie12345]

YES! In fact, it's what I want to do, but I don't see moving my entire family so I can pursue a doctorate!

[weederberries]

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools?

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents?

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations?

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist?

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea?

 

 

1) I'd pursue this first, but depending on the cost and/or insurance coverage, I'd likely end up at the public school. However, I would distrust the public school's motives in testing and treating my children and I like that my local schools don't even know my kids exist.

2) How about standardized testing for the curious? I've never had my kids tested for anything. I don't know what process I would pursue if I wanted to test them against the norms of the state. Services for a potential professional partners would be speech therapy, reading remediation, etc. These are services normally offered through the school district, that I would think twice about enrolling my child in.

3) Cost.

4) I wouldn't hesitate to seek evaluation from a secular psychologist, but I would prefer to seek any necessary ongoing treatment/counseling from a Christian psychologist who would guide my child in a biblical way. I was counseled for a few years by someone who didn't understand or appreciate my Christian view point on issues like divorce and death. I navigated those instances as an adult, but I don't think that my children could accommodate those or would feel comfortable confronting advice/comments that contradicted these beliefs.

[AimeeM]

What do you all think? Do you think there's a market for this? Definitely!!!

 

Specific questions:

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools? Yes!

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents? I would be interested in social skills training for children; not really based on "because a child is homeschooled", but because some children just need extra help... and yes, because sometimes homeschooled children can have a difficult time fitting in with the "pop culture" non-homeschooled kiddos.

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations? You should do Skype evals and sessions :D

Cost. I know YOU can't afford to go much lower than anyone else in your profession, but cost is a barrier. Our insurance doesn't cover these types of evals and our school system doesn't provide them, that I'm aware of. Even with some expendable cash left every month, it's going to take us several months to save up for just a full evaluation. This is a common issue (i.e. not just us).

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist? I would prefer a secular psychologist ASSUMING she was not anti-religion in any way (we are Catholic).

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea?

 

 

I'm just going to say again - please offer skype sessions. Lol!

[Farrar]

Perhaps someone she knows on the yahoo group could give out some information along the lines of "A friend of mine is _________________ (whatever services she decides to offer). If interested, I'll email you her contact information."

 

People do this all the time on the lists I'm on. There's no policy against it. The list I mod does have a policy against people joining just to promote themselves. But not to people sharing resources, if that makes sense.

[*Michelle*]

I

 

Specific questions:

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools?

 

I do need this and I would definitely prefer someone who homeschools.

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents?

 

Our SN child is in ABA therapy, so I would not be looking for additional services, but I would want you, as the evaluator, to be kept in the loop.

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations?

 

Cost or insurance issues.

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist?

 

I am and I don't have any problem with secular providers.

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea?

 

Nothing jumps out at me, but I'm pretty new to both homeschooling and the SN community.

[Walking-Iris]

I think psychologists are needed everywhere. It's very difficult for us with children who need the help to find it. Different geographical regions have more than others but still, very difficult.

 

My son is on the spectrum and every doctor, OT, SLP etc I've ever encountered I mention we homeschool and I definitely judge my intention of going back by their response. I think homeschoolers would feel more comfortable with one of their own. I chose our General Practitioner in part because his nurse was a homeschooler.

 

The only barriers I see would be cost and the fact you wouldn't want to just specialize in helping homeschoolers because that would seriously limit your client pool.

[Alessandra]

Rivka --

 

I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, because I love your concept of hs evaluation and intervention planning. But I didn't think 'sounds great' would be very helpful.

 

Specific questions:

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools?

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents?

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations?

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist?

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea?

 

1) Depends. It would be a plus to have a psychologist who home schools, but not someone who thinks ps are evil. First, ps may be a better choice for some dc, and I would want psych to have a balanced viewpoint. Second, I could be in the position of withdrawing a child form ps or putting a child into ps -- I would want psych to understand both ps and hs. Third, I could have both hs and ps dc. Fourth, if I need to use psych report in ps, I would not want the report's value minimized because psych is 'the hs psychologist.'

 

2) Yes to social skills.

 

Family therapy would be a nice service to offer. A parent support group would be great and probably more cost effective than individual parent visits -- I cannot think of any insurance that would cover a visit by a parent who did not have a diagnosis him/herself. Also, parents in support groups are less likely to take dc out of therapy than parents who do not have that connection.

 

When my dc were in preschool, the school had some evening sessions, which I remember to this day. As a new parent, I was clueless. When the ST said that speech delayed kids often hear only the last word said, it was news to me, but I started saying, 'Don't run, walk,' instead of 'Walk, don't run.' I followed the OTs advice about building shoulder strength in order to improve writing.

 

For new parents, especially, good referrals to other specialities are appreciated.

 

3) Besides money, I would have to say ignorance. Lack of knowledge about testing, fear that testing will be unpleasant for kids.

 

4) We are Christian. I would not want a religious perspective in psychotherapy/evaluations.

 

1) Accepting of homeschooling; not inclined to blame homeschooling for learning problems.

2) Knowledgable about homeschooling philosophies, curricula, and resources.

3) Aware of the need to assess achievement based on what has been taught, rather than on "grade level standards."

4) Aware of homeschoolers' likely unfamiliarity with standardized testing and other school practices/situations, and how that will affect the evaluation.

5) Evaluation focused on the needs of the family rather than on the requirements of school programs and state education laws.

6) Recommendations customized for parents at home, rather than professional teachers in classroom settings.

 

1) Yes.

2) Curriculum recommendations would be a plus.

3) I don't understand what this means. How would you know what to evaluate? I would like someone who could administer WJIII, WISC, WPPSI, etc. I would like to be able to compare my child to a normed sample. I would not pay for testing that was not a recognized assessment. If my dc were at/near grade level, a grade based test could be helpful (whoever gives it).

4) Do tests like WJ allow for that kind of interpretation?

5) I would want both evals. It is always possible -- esp with some special need -- that a transition to school may be appropriate. I would not want a complete divorce from school/standards.

6) Yes. Take best ideas from both. But hs specific ideas would be a big selling point.

[TKDmom]

I think it's a great idea, especially if you were willing to expand your market outside your geographical area by using Skype. I just don't know how effective Skype is for your evaluating people.

 

My main concern would be cost. I've been skittish about seeing a professional psychologist because I've heard it costs hundreds to thousands of dollars for an evaluation. I went through the public school system for free eval of my kids, even though it made me horribly uncomfortable to approach them and take advantage of their services.

 

I think a secular psychologist is great, as long as you are sensitive and understanding to the religious beliefs of your clients. I have no idea what my psychologist's religious beliefs are. He may have some concerns that my church responsibilities are contributing to my issues, but it's the homeschooling that really concerns him ;)

 

I'd love to be able to interact with someone who understands homeschooling pros and cons, instead of just asking how long I will be homeschooling, as if homeschooling were the cause of everyone's problems.

[8filltheheart]

When we were seeking a psy for our ds, I asked on every homeschool loop for our region for names of therapists who were accepting of homeschooling as a legitimate option. Only 1 name kept coming back. So, you really don't need to limit your target population, but getting your name out there as being a therapist that respects homeschooling will find its niche population for you.

 

The faith or lack thereof has never been an issue for us.

 

There is a very real need for support for teenagers with mental health issues. In every area we have lived, there are numerous support groups (both parent and child) for younger kids. For the middle school crowd, very little. For high school, we couldn't find any for our teenage Aspie. Once they hit adulthood, state resources are available.

 

 

[Rivka]

Wow, thank you all so much for your valuable commentary, and for sharing your experiences. People with critical comments can stop apologizing! It's extremely helpful to have potential weak points identified, as well as points where I'm not communicating what's in my head very well.

 

It's a bit sobering to see the almost universal opinion that homeschoolers are unlikely to be able or willing to pay for these services. I have hopes that I will be able to work with our local Homeschool Community Center - if I can rent space from them just when I need it, I will be able to keep my overhead low enough to offer lower prices than other psychologists in the area. But I understand that that may still not be low enough for many.

 

I think there is a demand for what you are offering. It's good that you are researching options now. I think it's all a delicate balance of knowing your audience, marketing yourself but also not too much because your vision right now is to do it part time. Depending on where you live, there could be such a huge demand (my neck of the woods has a huge 2E homeschoolers population) that you might have to start turning people away or can't get to people's requests on time etc. You'll need to be a good multi-tasker.

 

ETA: I think someone mentioned marketing yourself through yahoo groups. FWIW, I manage a yahoo group and have strict policies about people joining to market themselves or people marketing themselves without first approaching me or my fellow mods. I don't know if it's easy to market yourself that way...just sharing my experience. I know that for me personally, I found it very hard to do so but that's not necessarily the general experience.

 

Our primary local yahoo group doesn't allow that kind of advertising, but that wasn't really how I was thinking about marketing myself. I was planning on these strategies, at least at first:

 

1) Network with the Homeschool Community Center.

2) Offer free seminars about giftedness, learning disabilities, 2E, testing issues, etc. to local homeschooling groups.

3) Have a good, informational website and get it listed on various local resource lists.

4) Network with people who run umbrella groups. Make sure they know about my services and when/why people might want to use them.

 

I think you're right that it will involve a delicate time balance. I have a lot of details to work out.

 

But to your questions, yes, I think there is benefit to what you are proposing. We suspected ds had some delays. The problem is minor enough we never sought tx, one reason cost, another because of the stigma of having to go through the school. I had more than one person tell me to put him in school and let them fix the issue. :( If I had felt we knew someone who wouldn't immediately jump on homeschooling as the reason, we might have pursued their counsel.

 

Another nice support might be homeschooling resources you could recommend/suggest for specific issues.

 

Are liability issues a concern? Within your state could you be held responsible for any homeschooling issues? What about from the parents?

 

I would need to have malpractice insurance. Since I wouldn't be taking charge of anyone's schooling, I don't think there would be any trouble with the state.

 

Yes, I was thinking that it would be really helpful to be able to offer curriculum suggestions linked to a child's specific strengths and weaknesses. I love reading about curricula, so I might as well turn that to good use! It's one thing to say "this child has limited phonological awareness," but much more helpful to the parent to be able to follow that up with, "...here is a list of reading programs that should help remediate that problem."

 

 

1) I'd pursue this first, but depending on the cost and/or insurance coverage, I'd likely end up at the public school. However, I would distrust the public school's motives in testing and treating my children and I like that my local schools don't even know my kids exist.

2) How about standardized testing for the curious? I've never had my kids tested for anything. I don't know what process I would pursue if I wanted to test them against the norms of the state. Services for a potential professional partners would be speech therapy, reading remediation, etc. These are services normally offered through the school district, that I would think twice about enrolling my child in.

3) Cost.

4) I wouldn't hesitate to seek evaluation from a secular psychologist, but I would prefer to seek any necessary ongoing treatment/counseling from a Christian psychologist who would guide my child in a biblical way. I was counseled for a few years by someone who didn't understand or appreciate my Christian view point on issues like divorce and death. I navigated those instances as an adult, but I don't think that my children could accommodate those or would feel comfortable confronting advice/comments that contradicted these beliefs.

 

1) Yes, I think a selling point would be "only you will receive a copy of my report, and none of your child's test results will be shared with the state or the local school district unless my records are subpoenaed for some very unusual reason."

 

2) Yes, definitely "standardized testing for the curious." In Maryland, homeschooled kids are permitted to take the state tests if their parents want them to, but (a) your test results are "credited" to the school where you take them, (B) the test scoring is kind of particular in form, so I think it would be hard to get much out of them without specific prep, and © it doesn't let you know how far above or below grade level your kid might be. I think a lot of people seeking my quick/short evaluation might just want to know what grade level their child is performing at in various subjects, on a nationally normed test like the Woodcock-Johnson.

 

1) Accepting of homeschooling; not inclined to blame homeschooling for learning problems.

2) Knowledgable about homeschooling philosophies, curricula, and resources.

3) Aware of the need to assess achievement based on what has been taught, rather than on "grade level standards."

4) Aware of homeschoolers' likely unfamiliarity with standardized testing and other school practices/situations, and how that will affect the evaluation.

5) Evaluation focused on the needs of the family rather than on the requirements of school programs and state education laws.

6) Recommendations customized for parents at home, rather than professional teachers in classroom settings.

 

1) Yes.

2) Curriculum recommendations would be a plus.

3) I don't understand what this means. How would you know what to evaluate? I would like someone who could administer WJIII, WISC, WPPSI, etc. I would like to be able to compare my child to a normed sample. I would not pay for testing that was not a recognized assessment. If my dc were at/near grade level, a grade based test could be helpful (whoever gives it).

4) Do tests like WJ allow for that kind of interpretation?

5) I would want both evals. It is always possible -- esp with some special need -- that a transition to school may be appropriate. I would not want a complete divorce from school/standards.

6) Yes. Take best ideas from both. But hs specific ideas would be a big selling point.

 

Okay, this is super helpful because it shows where I'm using too much shorthand.

 

3) Yes, definitely, I would be using standardized and normed tests like the WISC and the Woodcock-Johnson. But there are two kinds of questions (at least) that people might be trying to answer with those tests. "Is my child at grade level in math?" Yes, for that question you would want to compare the child's math ability to the grade-level norms. "Does my child have an impaired ability to learn math?" That's a more complicated question; you can't just say "this child is very bright but performing well below grade level in math, so there appears to be a specific learning disability there," unless you know that the child has consistently had the opportunity to learn grade-level math. Does that make sense?

 

4) Yes. These tests are administered one-on-one by an expert evaluator precisely so that the evaluator can notice specific factors about the child's approach to the test and incorporate those factors into the interpretation. It wouldn't change the scores, but it might change the meaning of the scores. It would probably also affect the instructions/preparation given to the child before the test, and perhaps the test scheduling (for example, taking into account that a child is not used to sitting quietly at a desk all day and scheduling several short bursts of testing rather than one long session).

 

5) I was mostly thinking in terms of what questions the evaluation is supposed to answer. At school, the question may be primarily "Is this child eligible for special education services," and "which programs that our school offers would be helpful here?" At home, your choices for intervention don't need to be limited by those factors.

[Embassy]

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools?

 

Yes. I did ask the psychologist what he thought about homeschooling before I agreed to have him test my kids.

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents?

 

?

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations?

 

Finances

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist?

 

Yes, educational testing is pretty standard.

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea?

 

You need to live in an area with lots of homeschoolers.

[Alessandra]

3) Yes, definitely, I would be using standardized and normed tests like the WISC and the Woodcock-Johnson. But there are two kinds of questions (at least) that people might be trying to answer with those tests. "Is my child at grade level in math?" Yes, for that question you would want to compare the child's math ability to the grade-level norms. "Does my child have an impaired ability to learn math?" That's a more complicated question; you can't just say "this child is very bright but performing well below grade level in math, so there appears to be a specific learning disability there," unless you know that the child has consistently had the opportunity to learn grade-level math. Does that make sense?

 

4) Yes. These tests are administered one-on-one by an expert evaluator precisely so that the evaluator can notice specific factors about the child's approach to the test and incorporate those factors into the interpretation. It wouldn't change the scores, but it might change the meaning of the scores. It would probably also affect the instructions/preparation given to the child before the test, and perhaps the test scheduling (for example, taking into account that a child is not used to sitting quietly at a desk all day and scheduling several short bursts of testing rather than one long session).

 

5) I was mostly thinking in terms of what questions the evaluation is supposed to answer. At school, the question may be primarily "Is this child eligible for special education services," and "which programs that our school offers would be helpful here?" At home, your choices for intervention don't need to be limited by those factors.

 

 

3) I don't believe that 'is my child at grade level?' question would draw me in to private testing, simply because there are so many fairly simple ways of getting a reasonably accurate answer to that question.

 

I am beginning to see what you mean. But a really good school psychologist takes a lot of factors into consideration. Family illness, divorce, whether child has or has not had an appropriate placement, teacher, etc. I have had experience with good psychologists who totally get what a child is about. And I remember a ST who knew one of my dc needed ST, but dc kept testing in average/above average in all the standard tests; ST then found a newly published test that had a subtest that showed dc was in a very, very low percentile in several areas that had a big effect. That is the kind of tester I would seek out.

 

We have also had lukewarm, go through the motions testers -- WJ seems prone to this, as so many more people qualify to give this test than qualify for WISC/WPPSI. We also had one awful OT tester -- I had to take the initiative and get the results dismissed. Someone should have caught this -- I can see that as another good role for you -- commenting on tests of ST, PT, OT therapists (if that is ethical?).

 

4) Ok, you are talking about interpretation, as opposed to scores. Interpretation is another ares where I see your kind of practice as being a plus. It's reasonably easy for a parent to tell a canned interpretation form one that is truly well thought out -- thoughtful interpretayion is a selling point, imo. Ideas for remediation are often glossed over in reports by school testers, at least in my experience, because they do not want to be recommending things that the district does not offer. So, for me, an interpretation that contains extensive ideas for remediation would be a plus.

 

Doing the tests in several shorter sessions, rather than one long one, is done in our district. If a kid seems unusually tired, they will reschedule. So I would expect that, but it wouldn't be a special, unusual perk.

 

Having one evaluator over a long time span can happen for WISC in schools, as district psych does these, but WJ tests/subtests are administered by one and all. Not to say that the scoring is inaccurate, but the knowledge of child's educational history is not as full as it could be and recs for remediation are often lacking.

 

Speaking of recommendations for remediation, would you want to reach out to parents who afterschool special needs children? Also, many parents want to have independent evals to bring to IEP conferences.

 

5) I probably didn't answer clearly. Yes, a program for teaching the child at home, while taking into account siblings and other family situations, would be a life saver for many parents. That would probably pay for itself by cutting down on used curriculum, lol. Seriously, when I read posts here from people asking about reading or math programs for a particular child -- there may be a bit of trial and error in finding the right program, and that impacts negatively on the child. Anything that could streamline the process would be such a benefit to the child.

 

The money question. BTDT in that I have paid out of pocket for therapy, although not testing. My reaction to hearing $250 a session is a resounding no, even if (richer) people tell me it is 'worth it.' Now I am one of the people who say it is indeed worth it when you find the right person. I can see a free or very low cost membership in a parent support group as being a win-win situation. Hearing from other parents how much testing or other advice benefitted thier children might be the first step for a family to prioritize evaluation/intervention costs.

[Rivka]

I met with the staff of our local Homeschool Community Center today and it was AWESOME. They want me to work out of their space, which is a win-win arrangement in so many ways. I will be able to have flexible hours and not pay rental costs for time I don't work. When I'm evaluating a child, the rest of the child's family will have the Homeschool Center to hang out in, toys and books available, the ability to talk to the staff for support, etc. - so much better than trying to keep your other kids quiet and happy in a waiting room! My kids will also have the Homeschool Center to hang out in while I work. They will benefit from being able to say that they have my services available, from the free workshops I'll give, and from contact with people I bring in who aren't members of the Center already. I will benefit from their referrals and their connections in the homeschooling community.

 

I am seriously excited, y'all.

 

This conversation here, and the conversation I had with them, was extremely helpful. I am grateful to everyone who weighed in with their thoughts. The three most useful things I have taken away:

 

1) It would be a very good idea to find, and make connections with, professionals in related areas who are homeschooling-friendly - especially Speech - Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists. One idea we discussed today was that I could offer workshops for professionals about strategies for working with homeschoolers.

 

2) The most valuable thing I have to offer that would make me stand out is customized intervention recommendations that are (a) written to the layperson and (B) not school-centric in their content.

 

3) I will need to put in careful effort to explain and justify the value of my services to dollar-conscious homeschoolers.

[quark]

:hurray: Hurray! That sounds like such a win-win arrangement for all concerned. Really happy for you!

 

Wishing you all the very best!

[Alessandra]

Rivka -- what a fantastic place to work!!! It does sound awesome.

Wishing you all the best!

[ocelotmom]

I'm just going to say again - please offer skype sessions. Lol!

 

I agree with the skype suggestions. I imagine that the number of homeschoolers who 1. need and 2. are willing/able to pay for these services in your immediate area (though I realize that, for you, "immediate area" could potentially encompass several large urban areas) is limited, especially since it sounds like you're talking about one-off/time-limited or periodic services, rather than ongoing services.

 

Another potential market would be parents whose children are in public school, but who are interested in non-mainstream solutions.

[Rivka]

I agree with the skype suggestions. I imagine that the number of homeschoolers who 1. need and 2. are willing/able to pay for these services in your immediate area (though I realize that, for you, "immediate area" could potentially encompass several large urban areas) is limited, especially since it sounds like you're talking about one-off/time-limited or periodic services, rather than ongoing services.

 

Another potential market would be parents whose children are in public school, but who are interested in non-mainstream solutions.

 

I don't see any way that I could evaluate kids over Skype, sadly. Psychotherapy for homeschooling parents with anxiety/depression/etc. issues, maybe - I would have to check into whether Maryland has laws about the practice of telemedicine.

 

I think that I would like to work about 15 hours a week - maybe a little more if I wind up including evening or weekend hours, but not a lot more. The amount I'm working now is way too much - it's very stressful, on top of homeschooling, and that's with my 4yo in nursery school. When he's home and homeschooling too... yeah.

 

Anyway, one full-scale evaluation would take up the majority of that per-week time, when you add in the time I'd spend scoring and interpreting tests and writing a report. If 0.25% of Maryland homeschoolers want and can afford a full evaluation, I'd be about as busy as I want to be - not including brief testing sessions or psychotherapy clients, both of which I would hope to have as well. (Well... still thinking about the psychotherapy clients. There are some pretty big potential minefields involved in seeking therapy clients from the same population where you seek your friends, your kids' friends, and your kids' activity teachers.)

 

I don't know, though. I'm not sure what the market for these services will be like, or how hard it will be to draw clients from outside the Baltimore area. I don't know if it's realistic to imagine that I might draw people from the DC suburbs. Southern Pennsylvania seems like a possibility - not Philly, but York, and the towns and subdivisions which have grown up near the Maryland border.

 

About your other suggestion - yes, I don't think there's any reason why I would want to limit myself to homeschoolers, although I think that the vast majority of public schoolers would probably want to get their evaluation where they hope to get their interventions. I really liked texasmama's idea about approaching some of the local private schools - not the big fancy ones with high tuition and a ton of support services, but the small ones who have the capacity for individualized teaching, like the Montessori schools and the project-based learning school. Another possible market would be public- or private-school parents of gifted kids who need specific test results to qualify for outside programs or services.

[Rbsmrter]

 

Another potential market would be parents whose children are in public school, but who are interested in non-mainstream solutions.

 

I also think you could target public school families. As a former teacher I was very unimpressed with how our district handled particular learning challenges. Our school's psychologist was shared among five schools, so when she did visit our school her schedule was packed. She was overwhelmed and overworked and her approach often seemed to lack personalization. Many parents were frustrated by the few solutions that were offered to them, but they have no other options available. I know that financial constraints would have been a problem, but maybe if there were levels of service offered, they could find something that fit their budget and worked alongside the information they received from the school.

 

This doesnt sound like it would be applicable in your state, but in my state homeschooled children can't take advantage of public school services so this type of service would be hugely successful for that type of population. As others mentioned, maybe you can expand your business to include Skype clients?

 

We recently found an educational psychologist that we used for giftedness testing. One of my biggest concerns about calling her was feeling the need to explain my choice of homeschooling. Within minutes she said something along the lines of "If my children didnt go to ____________ School you better believe I'd be homeschooling." It really put me at ease. Even though I can use the silly "well, I am a certified teacher" excuse, it's always exhausting to think about having to explain my choices (yet again). She didnt know a lot about homeschooling or curriculum, but she was completely open and understanding. I would love the option of a pshychologist who could not only provide testing, but also discuss curriculum choices with me.

[Catherine]

Rivka,

 

I'm very excited for you! And I think your idea is wonderful. I would just like to elaborate on a point mentioned earlier: remediation. When I thought my son was dyslexic, I paid a bundle for an evaluation by an educational psych who not only criticized the concept of home schooling, he also provided an extensive report that offered almost zilch in the way of any kind of remediation. It was almost exclusively oriented to accommodations.

 

For a control freak like me, that is very unsatisfying and felt like a huge waste. But to add to my dismay, he utterly failed to detect a big part of my son's problem: he needed vision therapy. He started VT a few weeks after his eval, and his reading problems were greatly improved when he was done. When I questioned him about remediation, he was dismissive of many ideas I've heard here as unproven. But I would have appreciated a bit of input about what has worked sometimes, for some people. Even that would be better than, "teach him to type."

 

So the ideal homeschool educational counselor would not only do testing, she would provide curriculum recs, and also look for causes of problems outside what is traditionally sought by educational psychologists. I'm not at all sure how a non-optometrist would do this, and certainly there are many other problems that are in the same category, but I answered a screening questionnaire that the developmental optometrist had on his website. But back to what my ideal counselor would provide: referrals to other professionals like OTs, STs, etc. A "2E" expert is a commodity I've wished for many a time.

[Mandylubug]

Sounds exciting! I can see it as a valuable service and need in a homeschool community!

[texasmama]

That is absolutely perfect! No overhead with built-in networking opportunities. Good for you!

[merry gardens]

..

 

What do you all think? Do you think there's a market for this?

 

Specific questions:

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools?

Yes!!!!

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents? I wouldn't personally use social skills, but I expect that some with special needs would. I'd want you to be able to either address other non-psychtherapy issues within the practice or refer to others nearby who also respect homeschoolers. (OT, PT, speech, etc.)

Also, executive skills training would be helpful, and I'd think a psychologist might be able to do something like a group class on that.

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations?

It's difficult to find someone who does them. Advertise!!! Reach out in multiple ways to the some of the medical professionals that would see part of the problem but without training to evaluate the overall picture, (such as speach therapists, vision therapists, etc.)

 

Another reason being that we're pretty busy trying to do it all ourselves, often thinking the problem is us and our teaching. The problems needing your care might need to be pretty obvious to us before homeschoolers think there's a problem worth evaluting.

 

Another problem is if the parents have been "burned" in the past when attempting to get such evaluations. Once burned, twice shy.

 

Plus, these kind of evaluations aren't usually exactly cheap. With many homeschool families living on one income, money may be tight.

 

Those are what come to me right now.

 

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist? Maybe. I'd want to know that the evaluator would be respectful of my worldview and family choices beyond homeschooling. Many Christian homeschool families are larger than average. Some people with secular views are not very respectful of large families, and if/when there's any type of problem within the family they are quick to suggest mom has "too many children" or "shouldn't have more". That kind of "help" is not helpful. If the secular psychologist doesn't respect large families, no I would not be comfortable paying for his/her opinion.

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea? Possibly state laws may get in the way of your practice. And getting the word out that you're available for homeschoolers, as many homeschoolers with these types of issues may shy away from formal evaluations for a variety of reasons that I mentioned in #3.

 

[Rebel Yell]

You've gotten great feedback already, but I Love your idea so much I want to chime in, too!

 

I have decided to quit my academic job and go into practice as a psychologist instead. I want to develop a practice that focuses on the evaluation and intervention planning needs of homeschoolers.

 

I would really appreciate WTM feedback on this idea. Here are my thoughts:

 

Right now, if homeschoolers suspect a learning disability or a learning difference, they have two options. They can work with their local school system to request an evaluation, or they can hire a private psychologist. In either case, the evaluator is likely to work primarily with students in school settings.

 

A homeschooling-focused psychologist would provide the following advantages:

 

1) Accepting of homeschooling; not inclined to blame homeschooling for learning problems. :hurray: Yes! This reminds me of the "baby days" when EVERY.SINGLE.PROBLEM was blamed on breastfeeding...

2) Knowledgable about homeschooling philosophies, curricula, and resources.

3) Aware of the need to assess achievement based on what has been taught, rather than on "grade level standards." :hurray:

4) Aware of homeschoolers' likely unfamiliarity with standardized testing and other school practices/situations, and how that will affect the evaluation.

5) Evaluation focused on the needs of the family rather than on the requirements of school programs and state education laws. :hurray:

6) Recommendations customized for parents at home, rather than professional teachers in classroom settings. :hurray:

 

Apart from these types of full evaluations, I could provide homeschoolers with simple testing to establish eligibility for special programs (like the Davidson Institute) or to identify academic grade level and strengths/weaknesses for planning purposes.

 

What do you all think? Do you think there's a market for this?

 

Specific questions:

 

1) If you needed this type of evaluation for your child, would you prefer to work with a psychologist who homeschools? I'd prefer a current/former homeschooler OR someone who is truly familiar with homeschooling- and doesn't just believe all homeschoolers duplicate the local public school program in their houses, KWIM?

 

2) Are there other services you'd want to see offered, such as social skills training for kids or psychotherapy for parents? Not sure- but a group for parents sounds amazing...

 

3) Do you know of other barriers that might make it difficult for homeschoolers to seek or benefit from these types of evaluations? cost. There are so many great things we are unable to do because of cost. Would there be a way to offer a "full" evaluation/session and the option of a shorter session- say done via questionnaire or something first- so you could focus on the most important issue rather than try to fix everything all at once?

 

4) If you are a Christian, would you be comfortable seeking an evaluation from a secular psychologist? Absolutely, under these conditions: the psychologist does NOT try to undermine or belittle the family's/child's faith, and the psychologist is reasonably familiar with the major points of the faith and can work with that in the sessions, if applicable- meaning- if young earth creation is inportant to the family, don't push secular evolutionary curriculum as the answer to "below grade-level" test scores.

 

5) Do you forsee any problems with my idea? keeping good boundaries with personal friends seeking (even unintentionally) advice/help.

 

All the best to you! Wish you were in my part of the world! :grouphug:

[Rebel Yell]

Adding to my post above;

As a parent of a graduating Senior, I wish I had an opportunity maybe a dozen years ago for someone to evaluate *ME* and teach me *how* to plan my day. Just this year, and really- after Christmas, i figured out a way to plan both our years/subjects AND individual days that makes sense to *ME* and works well enough for the girls. I spent too much time and too much money on systems that just didn't work, and ended up feeling like a massive failure- and many subjects and much learning slipped through the cracks.

 

Planning each day to the minute was worse than useless...we were behind before we even went to bed the night before! not planning at all- just "do the next thing" often resulted in "do NO thing..."

 

Finally just looking at my main family calendar and evaluating our time, I realized I needed a separate planner page for each subject / for each girl- . It's big, clunky, and a handwritten mess, but it has worked MIRACLES! We don't use "180-days of lessons plans" materials (except for babyBaby's Saxon 7/6) and with various outside classes/activities, jobs, and other commitments the school day looks very different for each girl. I spent almost 13 *YEARS* struggling with every planner known to homeschoolers, plus making up my own- I just wish I had someone to walk me through the process based on what would work for *us* many years ago.

 

Just a thought.... :coolgleamA:

[prairiewindmomma]

I thought I'd throw an idea out there....our homeschool conference has a SPED track... it's a great way to get the word out to parents who think something may be going on, but really have no clue about how to go about getting help.

 

I think pairing with OTs and PTs is brilliant!

[Farrar]

I don't know if it's realistic to imagine that I might draw people from the DC suburbs.

 

As I know people who use the Baltimore Homeschool Center's umbrella, I'm sure you could draw from PG and Montgomery County. It's such a specialized thing that you're offering that I think people will travel for it.

 

About your other suggestion - yes, I don't think there's any reason why I would want to limit myself to homeschoolers, although I think that the vast majority of public schoolers would probably want to get their evaluation where they hope to get their interventions. I really liked texasmama's idea about approaching some of the local private schools - not the big fancy ones with high tuition and a ton of support services, but the small ones who have the capacity for individualized teaching, like the Montessori schools and the project-based learning school. Another possible market would be public- or private-school parents of gifted kids who need specific test results to qualify for outside programs or services.

 

 

Yes. Having taught at a small private school where kids often came in with piles of psych-ed testing, I can attest that when you have a small staff like that, having a more narrative explanation that leaves out the jargon would have been greatly appreciated. I learned to read the testing data over time, but it was not written for your average teacher.

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

I have been reading up on Jill Dixon and she has some great looking resources. If you haven't read any of her work, I strongly suggest you at least read about her. I know she is a Christian, but there is a lot of useful information that does not require theology to use. I wish I could get all of these diagnostic tests done by someone else.. kwim? But, since there is too much distance, I would love some Youtube videos to address some issues like diagnostics and learning disability: Specifically ADD and ADHD and home education. I am going to purchase some of her materials to see if it helps. Good luck!

[Catherine]

One more idea Rivka-if you offered CBT I think you'd get a great response from many communities, not just homeschoolers. I have found that this is a modality that, while proven in the literature, is difficult to find in practice.