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supporting special needs (Asperger's) at home


blue daisy
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I'm considering homeschooling my 8 year old son next year. He has Asperger's syndrome and mostly struggles with social interactions, conversation skills, some transitions. He is interested in social relationships but lacks a lot of skills in that area (initiated, maintaining conversation, etc.). For the past year and a half, he has received special services at school - special ed classes and speech classes, both of which have focused on the social skills/conversation skills, and we've seen quite a bit of improvement. If he came home, how could I support those needs? Are there any books/programs that focus on this area? I can look into outside resources (although I don't think our insurance covers it), or even services within the school district, but I'd like to do what I can at home first. (I will have a kindergartener, a three year old attending private preschool and a new baby come winter, and do not want to spend my whole day driving around!) I think homeschooling will be a great fit for us for many reasons, but this is an area I worry about meeting his needs. For those with children on the spectrum, what are some ways you've met these needs on your own?

 

Thanks!!

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I'll give you a little bump here. Have you sat in on any of his therapy sessions to know what they're doing? You might do that (or have them videotape if your presence would be disruptive). My ds is not on the spectrum, but his speech therapist always integrates social skills since most kids with apraxia have more things going on. In our case, she uses games. I think though there are books to give you ideas, materials from Linguisystems, etc. Try searching with the terms "social skills book" on the LC board and see what you get. Here's one thread that popped up. Conversation books?

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Just seconding the social thinking resources. You can do it yourself, or find someone in the area familiar with it and outsource. Maybe you could even find another hs'ing mom with a child on the spectrum and tag team it.

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I'm finishing up my second year of homeschooling my 7 year old who has Asperger's. I, too, worried about the social skills issues related to his Asperger's. We've tried a bunch of different things, but what seems to work best have been small daytime homeschool classes, small playdates with other homeschooled kids, and working on social things at home. I've actually seen his social skills improve tremendously. I've also found other homeschooling moms that have been really supportive. One friend of ours has books that my son likes laying out when we come over so that he can take a break from being in a social situation when he needs to. He seems to be a lot more comfortable in social situations now. We still have plenty of times where he struggles, but he has much more success than ever before now.

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