homeschooling two cp kids

[Guest ejmanzanojr]

Hello

we are new to this, we are adopting a child with CP, and will have two at home to school with CP. any ideas on how to make this work?

[jenncslp]

Well kiddos with CP can really vary in their strengths and weaknesses.  So, can you tell us a bit more about them?  Do they know English?  Verbalize?  

[Ottakee]

Yes, please tell us more. All 3 of ours have the CP diagnosis but one of ours rides horses so well that she jumps them at horse shows and runs speed on them. Obviously ours are more mild.

[Paige]

My child w/CP is my easiest one to homeschool. CP does not always involve learning problems and depending on what kind of CP it is, the physical problems may not require any special accommodations. The hardest part is finding time to fit in physical therapy stretching and to be consistent about it, but I expect that is the same for anyone who needs therapy.

[GoVanGogh]

My child w/CP is my easiest one to homeschool. CP does not always involve learning problems and depending on what kind of CP it is, the physical problems may not require any special accommodations. The hardest part is finding time to fit in physical therapy stretching and to be consistent about it, but I expect that is the same for anyone who needs therapy.

 

I would love to hear more from you! (Especially the bolded part.)

 

DS has ataxic cp, which affects motor planning, muscle memory, sensory processing, balance and coordination.

Officially, he doesn't have any cognitive impact - but he cannot spell. At all - but only when he has in hand in a grasp position. (The part of the brain that controls the outside half of his hands is affected, so he glitches out when he tries to use his whole hand. This also affects his swimming.)

 

 

Agreeing with others regarding the range of diagnosis being so wide. Our neuro calls it a 'trash can' dx, since it covers any brain injury with a resulting movement disorder - too broad of a term.

 

 

Memoria Press has a new book on classical education and the special needs child. The author (C. Swope) adopted twins with mild CP. I found the book to be very encouraging.

 

 

I am also going to agree with the comment above about therapy and time... It takes a lot of time and energy. I am trying to work it into our lives, but it has been hard.

 

DS can run, mountain bike, play tennis, golf, etc. He is a bit wonky in his movement - rapid, jerky motions. Odd things - like when one hand crosses midline, his other hand becomes rigid and flies up in the air.

 

[Paige]

I would love to hear more from you! (Especially the bolded part.)

My daughter is very mild and does not require any help getting around or taking care of herself. She had some surgeries last year, that would probably not help ataxic cp, that made a huge difference and right now her CP is barely noticeable. I know this could change in the future.

 

I think she is the easiest to homeschool because she is used to working hard and to finding things difficult. My other kids get so easily frustrated and give up quickly when they don't get something right away. I think her years of PT and years of having to struggle frequently with what is easy for most people have given her a better work ethic and more perseverance in everything. She is overall more easy going, more hard working, and cares more about her work. She still whines and complains sometimes, but I think all kids do that to some extent.

 

I also think it helps me that she has an identical twin without CP. If I didn't have her twin, I'd assume more of her issues are cp related than is probably true. Her sister actually struggles more than her. Both girls are a little behind and both struggle tremendously with spelling. I can't blame that on the cp since it affects both of them. I blame it on prematurity and possibly low iron when they were younger.

 

One thing that is interesting to me is that after her surgery last year, she pretty much quit struggling in math. It is amazing. Her sister and her used to have the same problems in math and would usually get the same problems wrong and get them wrong in exactly the same ways. It was an eerie twin thing. Now, the other one is still doing the same thing, but the one w/CP has actually become excellent in math. The surgery involved some electrical stimulation of her nerves and spine and I wonder if it didn't jumpstart her brain somehow. I wish there was a way to do it to my other daughter!