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Homeschooling Senior Year?


Joker
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I homeschooled dd through elementary school but she has been in ps since 6th grade. She's wanting to homeschool her senior year that starts this fall. She was recently diagnosed with ASD (level 1, so high functioning) and social anxiety disorder. The psychologist really wants her to do group social skills classes but dd has stated she is so exhausted at the end of school that she doesn't want to add more. I think she's exhausted just from working so hard on all the social stuff while in school and she needs time to decompress. So, it makes some sense. 

She will need a math (was supposed to be Finite), English (was going to be AP ), government/microeconomics, and another year of French to continue with the track she was on for an Honors Diploma. The rest of her schedule for senior year was electives because she has everything else she needs. 

She wants to go to college and has good grades so far. She's struggled more this year because she has quite a few lecture based classes and paying attention enough to take good notes is not something she's good at right now. But she has 3.9 GPA at her school. She did well on the PSAT and is about to take the SAT. So, I don't want to screw it up for her and make it more difficult to get in somewhere.

Would colleges accept that she had a recent diagnosis and wanted to take this year to work on things so she would be better prepared or would they think bad of that decision? Do you guys here think it's a good idea or think we should do something else? This is all new for me and I'm not at all sure what to do. 

 

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I think I'd put more emphasis on whether the plan addresses the areas you want to prioritize rather than what the college will think. She will get in somewhere, and probably the college that is a good fit for her won't care. 

I think it would make sense to put a heavy emphasis on social, since the psych is pointing out it's a hole for her. That group or those social skills classes will be something that it's hard to access after she graduates. I think also that the exhaustion from the day is probably *more* than social. She's probably going to experience that anywhere she's trying to regulate and juggle a lot.

Your danger point is coming home if things fall apart. How are you thinking to do AP english at home? Was any of the rest of that AP? Online may be a bust for her, as those classes are typically assynchronous, meaning they throw a syllabus at you and offer no support. She'd be LOSING the things that have helped her do well so far.

She's saying she's having attention issues. Has she been evaluated for that? Meds?

If she only needs half a day at school, what about doing that half day and then doing something else like getting her some private counseling, a job that would quietly nurture social skills, private interventions for areas where she's weak, etc.? There's probably quite a bit that could be done to prepare her better for college. Is she planning on living at home or in the dorms?

So the only problem you're needing to solve is the fatigue. I would solve the fatigue and not screw up the rest. 

Edited by PeterPan
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30 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

I think I'd put more emphasis on whether the plan addresses the areas you want to prioritize rather than what the college will think. She will get in somewhere, and probably the college that is a good fit for her won't care. 

I think it would make sense to put a heavy emphasis on social, since the psych is pointing out it's a hole for her. That group or those social skills classes will be something that it's hard to access after she graduates. I think also that the exhaustion from the day is probably *more* than social. She's probably going to experience that anywhere she's trying to regulate and juggle a lot.

Your danger point is coming home if things fall apart. How are you thinking to do AP english at home? Was any of the rest of that AP? Online may be a bust for her, as those classes are typically assynchronous, meaning they throw a syllabus at you and offer no support. She'd be LOSING the things that have helped her do well so far.

She's saying she's having attention issues. Has she been evaluated for that? Meds?

If she only needs half a day at school, what about doing that half day and then doing something else like getting her some private counseling, a job that would quietly nurture social skills, private interventions for areas where she's weak, etc.? There's probably quite a bit that could be done to prepare her better for college. Is she planning on living at home or in the dorms?

So the only problem you're needing to solve is the fatigue. I would solve the fatigue and not screw up the rest. 

I don't know of any students doing half days here. They offer a lot of dual credit through IU and a local community college but the classes are at the high school. They usually have a fair number graduating a year or semester early once credits were fulfilled. I'm not really sure if only going half a day is an option here as it is definitely not mentioned in the academic guide, handbook, or by anyone I know here. 

Dd would probably take some dual credit and she prefers online. She hates being lectured to as she zones out. We have therapy and they are working on the attention issues. They didn't feel that her issues are caused by ADHD but they agree there are definite issues there. She learns best by doing herself and once she knows something, it usually sticks. She's taking an AP English class this year and has straight A's but she zones out during lectures. She does well because she can do the reading on her own and she's good at interpreting the literature and writing, so she's done well. AP Bio is where she is barely passing because she needs to be able to pay attention to lectures and take notes and that is where she's struggling the most right now. Honestly, a big part of it I think is that if she isn't really interested in it, she just doesn't get it or care to. She has often talked of giving up during standardized tests. Once she gets to a certain point, she's just done and guesses completely on the rest. Surprisingly, she's still always done well on them. 

She also really wants to find a part time job and I think that would be good for her but it would be difficult right now for her to do that and go to school full time. 

I think she really wants to go to the same school as ds which is less than an hour from home. She wants a private room as she doesn't want to live on campus if she has to have a roommate. She's also seriously thinking of just living at home and going to a local university that's just about 20 minutes away. 

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I had undiagnosed ASD-1 and struggled in high school.  Homeschooling senior year sounds like a much better idea than skipping senior year and going straight to college like I did...  But I can definitely relate to being *done* with high school.

I agree that she still needs structure, but it sounds like she can work independently.  You can add needed structure to an outside course.  Create your own internal deadlines for drafts, finished papers etc. even if the course is more flexible.  Work explicitly on study skills.  Have her outline her assigned reading and turn them in to you, even if the course doesn’t require it.

I would also work on note taking.  Pick a Great Courses lecture class and have her take notes and turn them in to you.  Lectures are going to be a part of college.

In short, even if you outsource, you can still provide the scaffolding.

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I’ve given this more thought:

Difficulties with lecture note taking isn’t unusual for Autism.  Taking in auditory information can be a real weakness.  She may be entitled to accommodations in this area.  (Getting a copy of teacher’s/classmates notes etc.)

It may help to tie visual aids into note taking.  I could attend much better in my Econ lectures where there was always a PowerPoint handout to follow along with the lecture.  (I’m 100% a visual learner.)  Is write my notes directly on slides.

Brenda Smith Myles has a book, Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Practical Solutions for School Success, that sets out potential accommodations and supports.  It’s almost 20 years old, but I don’t know of anything newer. 

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Bodyscans, interoception, some form of mindfulness, these could all bump her EF 30%. If your team is doing some form of CBT, they're probably already hitting that. Also look into preferential seating, what difference background noise or time of day is making. Will she have a 504? For the single dorm room, you'd need a doctor's note saying she requires that, and typically it's for something like anxiety, a physical angle.

Edited by PeterPan
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I can't speak about how colleges might view a senior year of homeschooling. It might be fine! But also think through whether she/you will really want to reveal her diagnosis as the explanation when applying. Some would say that you shouldn't reveal issues until after acceptance. On the other hand, some people do disclose, because the diagnosis has made an important difference and highlights who they are and how they have learned from their experiences. I don't know what we will do for our kids with learning differences when they get to college application time. I think you can go either way with this and have it work out, but it's worth considering the pros and cons.

http://www.diycollegerankings.com/resources-for-applying-to-college-with-a-learning-disability/3970/

I don't know anything about that website, but it popped up when I did a search. You could look for other similar discussions online.

Before you make your decision, I think you should talk to the school. If you submit your documentation RIGHT NOW (don't wait a few weeks), you can request the school to write a 504 plan for her that would allow for her to receive accommodations such as copies of the teacher's notes or having a classmate take notes for her. Plus anything else that you, your daughter, her teachers, and the school decides that she needs.

Having a half day at school could be included as an accommodation, even if no other students do it.

In fact, there may be students who do this, that you don't know about. Especially if people are leaving campus to do dual enrollment, no one would even need to know that she was not on her way to a class elsewhere, other than those who approved her for early release.

You say that she prefers taking an online class. Has she actually done this yet?

I would consider whether taking her out of school is best socially. Sometimes removing oneself from social interactions seems like it may beneficial. And it may be. But also, it might not be the right choice.

If she has a need for social groups and social skills therapy, schools do offer that, and it can be part of an IEP. You can ask your school what they have to offer.

Also, now that she has a diagnosis, check with your county and state disability offices, because they may have resources and funding and services that she could qualify for.

I have a junior daughter as well, so I know how the questions and decisions about college can loom over you. Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be fine.

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I've heard stories of students with ASD struggling with the transition to college. It may not be bad for her to stay close to home for the first year, until she sees what it is like and you see how she handles it. And maybe part time instead of full time for the first year.

I'm copying this sentence from your post, because I forgot to quote it:  "Honestly, a big part of it I think is that if she isn't really interested in it, she just doesn't get it or care to. She has often talked of giving up during standardized tests. Once she gets to a certain point, she's just done and guesses completely on the rest. Surprisingly, she's still always done well on them."

I think there is reason to be concerned about this happening in college classes and causing issues. I have heard more than once from parents of college students with ASD that this can be a struggle, both on these forums and in real life. It's not uncommon, and if you see it in high school, there isn't a reason for it not to happen in college as well. My friends whose son is in art school still give him a lot of support at home with this kind of thinking.

 

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The issue with the attention sounds odd, and at the very least she has a learning curve here to learn strategies to help herself. Personally, I would run genetics on the ADHD with GeneSight rather than letting it devolve to this arbitrary ADHD vs. ASD thing. 

The other thing my dd runs into with college is that she can't just say what her preferred schedule is and do that. Your dd doesn't know what's making her fatigued, and personally I doubt it's just the social. Maybe it is, but maybe it's the attending, the transitions, the background noise, a bunch of things together. So right now, without an IEP or 504, she doesn't have paper trail on that. And more importantly, she doesn't know what's causing it for herself to learn her strategies and self-advocate.

Colleges right now WANT to help but she has to know what she NEEDS. She has to be prepared to self-advocate. My dd did basically full DE 2nd semester of her senior year, and that gave her a lot of data to know what she needed. Doing online AP classes won't give your dd that. Or maybe she's thinking of doing all her college coursework online?

I wanted my dd to take an extra year of high school, begged and pleaded, and she would not. It was only after she had her first year at the university that she came back and was like OH THAT'S WHY... So it could be something to put on the table. My dd, like yours, had really stellar scores. She should do what she wants and it's not the answer for everyone. However once she graduates, the resources she has access to now, like social skills groups, POOF. It gets really tragic, really fast. You're going to be relegated to whatever you can find and afford privately. It's just something to talk through. She'll probably say no, but you could still talk it through. She's going to grow a lot with the good services she's getting now, and she's at the age to take that in and self-advocate with the stuff she's being taught and blossom. But it's still a discussion you could have. There is no rush.

The other thing, and you may have already heard this, is stats on employment with ASD are very poor, even with high IQ, even with a college degree. The social skills stuff she'd be getting through the school, the chance to work with these counselors, maybe get OT (PUSH FOR THIS!!!! Get Interoception work!!!!), etc. are HUGE right now, pivotal. It will be social skills that decides her employability, NOT her college degree. Working on conversation, interoception, self-advocacy, self-regulation skills so she can go into those classes and realize what's making it hard for her to attend, this stuff is huge, huge. We've gotten my dd 2-3 hours of counseling a week over breaks when she comes back because she has quite a bit to process. This is an age where that learning curve is kicking in, where they have to self-advocate and figure it out for themselves. I would not rush to remove her from a system that allows her access to those services unless you have private replacements. 

That fatigue thing is HUGE for my dd and it's not something you bust through or power through by wanting, and it's not necessarily just the social. For my dd it's the background noise, the attention (having multiple lectures in a row), the transitions, that she's not getting time to do stuff that lowers her stress (cooking, being in her fast mode and making a flurry of things happen), etc. I personally think that's oversimplifying to say not ADHD, yes ADHD. I was told I'm a candidate for meds, but in reality with my genetics you wouldn't want me on them. But just in general, as a general statement, if my kid was checking out that much I'd be wondering why meds weren't on the table. It's so common to run genetics now and so easy then to figure out what's likely going on. GeneSight has ADHD med panels they'll do looking at a bunch of genes. They're saying they'll cap at $330 out of pocket.

Just as an aside, my dd and I were trying to figure out how I did well in college with my body. I was working 20 hours a week on top of 20 hours of classes, and I was *walking* to work maybe a mile up the road. I should map it and see, hehe. It took me quite a bit to walk there! And I walked to one location first thing in the mornings, worked 2-3 hours, then went to classes, then in the afternoons walked AGAIN to a FARTHER location (haha, yes this is really a through 4 feet of snow kind of story) and then finished out my day. Oh and I did a 3rd stint in the evenings my freshman year sweeping rugs in the dining hall, but I don't recommend that. At that point my blood sugar was dropping, bad idea.

Anyways, all that walking, several miles a day, was one really good for tamping down that sensory, and two really good for mindfulness (an evidence-based practice, something that is really powerful). I was singing, praying, reflecting on the brisk cold and the pounding of the pavement, being in the moment. It made me more focused and ready to work. I think I mentioned mindfulness, and it's a big deal. Like when I go to lift (I lift weights for my sensory), I have a very hard time focusing and pulling all the steps together. If I'm not careful, my mind wanders, and I have to think through every step every time. However if I do MINDFULNESS and stop, do a body scan, calm down, attend to my body for 20-30 seconds, then when I go to lift my brain collects, things are calm, and I can get through the steps more easily. And there's a lot of data on that now, the EF bump you get with mindfulness. It's not a replacement for meds, but it's a tool. And like when I get in a lecture hall now, just as a mom, it's pretty astonishing. I have to sit in the VERY FRONT, and I'm gonna be up and down, in and out. I go to these workshops, and I'm like how do these people focus if they're in the back?? LOL I went to a church recently where the pastor went 10 minutes over, and I was SO squirming. I'm like hello, respect the clock. 

Doing online classes doesn't help her meet any of that head-on and figure out her strategies. It could be part of a plan, sure. Like if she partially enrolls and she focuses on services and interoception and developing self-awareness and self-advocacy 1st semester and DE partially on-campus 2nd semester to apply the skills, that could work. I think I'd at least do partial enrollment. Like if you pull her out, still partially enroll. If the school is offering her services, you want those. 

As far as work, hmm, talk with your team. Some people work in the therapy office where they're getting services. That way you're in a location that is committed to developing her social skills. I would place her in something like that, like through a transition program. If she's sharp like this, get them to give her a job in the therapy office, kwim? What is she suited to or what would she like? If she can get out of school two hours early and go hang at the office and work and then get her therapy at 4pm and debrief, that could be really cool. Surely they have photocopying, answering phones, something. Some offices working with ASD teens set up work programs like this. Absolutely it would be valuable to pull her out of school part of the day for that, and I'd be shocked if the school fought it. Part-days your senior year are normal. Fight for what is a good mix for her and pave the way for them to do new things, lol.

Well it's exciting that she's diagnosed and that you're getting her services. It's SO much better than being diagnosed later. Like on your end, this is awful and emotional, but I'm saying it's such a GIFT to her to be diagnosed now and have these opportunities to learn and hit these issues in safety, at home, with a team you're developing. 

Edited by PeterPan
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I would consider what message she will take away from not having to go to traditional high school for the last year. Will she learn that when something is hard, she can quit or give up?

I'm not saying that is the message you would send, but it may still be a message she would pick up. I think one of the reasons that so many with ASD are un- or under-employed (80% according to statistics I've seen), is that they quit when the job is hard or when they don't get along with co-workers, or when they feel bored. etc., and they don't have the flexibility in their thinking to work through those things instead. Or to make sure they have another job lined up first.

If you see those tendencies with academics, it's reasonable to think that she may have them with a job, as well, and so it's a real concern.

My son qualifies for state job rehabilitation assistance as a teen .They offer job training, assistance in getting a first job and subsequent jobs, and on-the-job coaching. Check to see if your daughter can qualify. If she is 18 or about to turn 18, that will change what serves are available, and it may be helpful to get a foot in the door for those services while/if she still qualifies as a minor.

We are really excited about the training that DS is going to receive.

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Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. The school is already pushing back on a 504 because she's done well thus far. Also, they let her know yesterday that she has a schedule conflict for next year with her AP Art and her math, so they want her to drop art. The only reason she even likes school right now is because of her two art classes. The only other option is switching her math to one we all feel would be too difficult. It's very frustrating. I was also told the only hybrid schedule they allow is if there is a dual credit class a student wants that they don't offer on their campus. So, no leaving early and no option to take electives on campus if she comes home for next year.

The only hesitation she is having is she doesn't want others to view her as a quitter. I don't view it that way at all since she's not quitting so much as adjusting her schedule to allow for other things that are just as important. She wouldn't be taking all classes online. She would definitely be taking one or two at the local CC.

We wouldn't be getting any services through the school. All that we are doing is private so we're not losing anything there. 

 

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4 minutes ago, Joker said:

no leaving early and no option to take electives on campus if she comes home for next year.

Whoa, that I would not be quick to accept. Homeschoolers pay taxes and I'm not sure it's legal to say they won't allow partial enrollment. Check with your dept of ed, the law, HSLDA, something and confirm that. 

5 minutes ago, Joker said:

she has a schedule conflict for next year with her AP Art and her math, so they want her to drop art. The only reason she even likes school right now is because of her two art classes.

Oh dear. Is she good at art? Like it's really a thing for her? Can she take the AP art and find another way to do the math?

5 minutes ago, Joker said:

I was also told the only hybrid schedule they allow is if there is a dual credit class a student wants that they don't offer on their campus.

Is that bad? Like I said, my dd did DE on-campus her senior year, and it was a good thing. It might give her some of that break she's needing for attention, variety, shaking it up. Might be good data. Given that she's a pretty strong student, it could be on the table. 

On DE math, she'd only need one semester, not a whole year technically. Like if she were to DE that, I'd think very carefully about what she's likely to need for prospective degree programs and not do more than she needs. 

11 minutes ago, Joker said:

The only hesitation she is having is she doesn't want others to view her as a quitter. I don't view it that way at all since she's not quitting so much as adjusting her schedule to allow for other things that are just as important. She wouldn't be taking all classes online. She would definitely be taking one or two at the local CC.

We wouldn't be getting any services through the school. All that we are doing is private so we're not losing anything there. 

So if the ps wouldn't even 504 her, then how would she get group social skills through them? Again, I'd confirm with another source what your school is legally required to do. I'm not sure they can say you can't partially enroll, and laws vary with access to services.

I think if she could be on-campus at the CC, she's getting out and about, which is another way to apply her social skills and things she's learning. If the ps was not going to offer her services anyway, then being there doesn't make a difference. It sounds like the art class would be a significant loss, so what would be the plan for that? That time doing art is the break that helps them unwind and be ready to go back to the rest. It's very wise to keep that in her life somehow.

I think transitioning from one equivalent set-up to another is fine. I guess keep gathering data. If there could be another way for her to get that math and keep the AP Art, maybe the ps could stay on the table. You could see what that would look like and then map what it could look like it home and just compare and let her decide. She's the one who has to deal with it.

No matter what the school thinks, take her documentation to the CC and get those accommodations set up, definitely. Whatever that paper trail says, she should have access to. In fact, they might do more than you expect. They might set her up with an academic coach to meet with once a week, etc. etc. Anything that fully enrolled students are eligible for the DE students and online students legally have to have access to. It's the law, so long as they are taking federal money. So that's something to look for in your paper trail, what they're saying she needs. Now maybe she needs nothing, who knows. You want a safe way to work that out, before it's really high stakes.

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18 minutes ago, Joker said:

She wouldn't be taking all classes online. She would definitely be taking one or two at the local CC.

I assume you already know this, but think through load too. Does her psych report make any recommendations on that? If it says reduced load, you're going to need to be careful. 3 DE classes will be 9 credits and 4 would be 12 credits. So if her paper trail says reduced load, it won't take much to max her out. She won't be taking 7 classes like in regular high school. Or maybe she's there? It's something to think through. I mean I was nuts and doing that in high school, taking 7 classes where many were college level or AP or DE, haha. But not every kid should do that. It's just something to check.

Ok, total, total aside, but there's a social consequence to pulling out, doing a lot of DE. It makes graduation really fuzzy and kind of anti-climatic. It's something to think through if graduation parties are a big deal in your area. 

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Has she applied for DE? In our state the application deadlines have passed.

You said:

She will need a math (was supposed to be Finite), English (was going to be AP ), government/microeconomics, and another year of French

What if she duel enrolls for one semester of math at the CC. Can she take finite math there? If not, is there another good class she could take to fill that requirement? Statistics? Since it would be a semester instead of a year long course, doing something that is not at the top level of her ability may be a better choice than taking a challenging class.

Could she also take French at the CC at a level that would correspond with fourth year high school French? Again, that would only be one semester.

Could she than take AP English, the gov/ec class, and the art class at school. Three classes. Then sign out and do DE for the remainder of the day? Math at CC during the fall and French in the spring, for example.

I'm just thinking of a way that she can work the system, so that she can be in high school for just half a day, avoid the math conflict with the art class, and still complete the courses she needs so that she can attend graduation with her class and not feel like she has quit or is perceived to have quit.

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Who did you talk to about the 504? If it was not the special ed department, they may not know the law.

Seriously.

And if her grades have dropped, and you can show that they are in classes that require note taking, and her report with her diagnosis indicates that she should have accommodations for note taking, I think legally they are on shaky ground with refusing a 504.

I'm not saying you want to hire a lawyer (though you could), but that you should make sure the person you talked to knows the disability rights laws.

You could check with your state department of ed about this. Our state department is really helpful and responsive to parent inquiries, whether by phone or by email.

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2 hours ago, Joker said:

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. The school is already pushing back on a 504 because she's done well thus far. Also, they let her know yesterday that she has a schedule conflict for next year with her AP Art and her math, so they want her to drop art. The only reason she even likes school right now is because of her two art classes. The only other option is switching her math to one we all feel would be too difficult. It's very frustrating. I was also told the only hybrid schedule they allow is if there is a dual credit class a student wants that they don't offer on their campus. So, no leaving early and no option to take electives on campus if she comes home for next year.

Can she take math online, using a provider that is approved by your state?  One of my kids has taken several academic classes online (some due to schedule conflicts).  I had to pay for the classes, but the school accepts the credits.

Fine arts is what keeps my kid in school right now.  There is no way I would agree to drop a class that keeps my kid attending.

Push on the 504.  Their reasoning is wrong.

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1 hour ago, Storygirl said:

Could she also take French at the CC at a level that would correspond with fourth year high school French? Again, that would only be one semester.

Total, total aside, but if she does that then she's going to be taking 300 level and lit classes to complete language requirements for her major. If she's strong and having a good time, that's cool. If she's like no, I wanna backpedal, then forgetting a bit, taking the placement test, starting lower for her college language requirements could help. Just the mess people think through, lol.

 

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Also about the French ... I know some high school students take an online language course but do it independently during a study hall period at school. If your school would allow that, it's another way to keep her body in the building but give her a break from the demands of a regular class.

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Here is what we did (just know we homeschooled my ASD all the way through high school, so it was a little different.).......we let him take his electives at the community college.  He did most of his core classes at home.  

He did very well with those and it allowed him to get a decent sized scholarship at a 4 year Univ.  In fact, the elective classes he really liked turned out to point him towards the major he is pursuing, so it was well worth all of it to get to where we are.

And he was diagnosed with ASD (Asperger's) at age 14, we asked for a couple of accommodations from the college and he was able to get them without an issue, I am sure it depends on the college.  He has a single room accommodation, and he can turn things in late IF the professor didn't tell them one week in advance of the assignment.  

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So, we've decided to go ahead and pull out of the high school for senior year. Dd seems happy and relieved that she won't be going back. She's actually making plans on what she will be able to work on for her art portfolio with some of her extra time. 

DE deadlines here look to be the same as regular registration so no issue there. It's full pay here unless you take the classes at your high school and our high school doesn't allow homeschoolers that option.

The French class is actually only French 2. That's a whole other issue that, now knowing her diagnosis, ticks me off. For the Honors Diploma you need three years of one foreign language or two years of two different ones. She was in Spanish 3 her sophomore year but her therapist said we needed to pull her when the school wouldn't help. She was acing her tests/quizzes and homework but the teacher was giving her a 0 every class for participation. I thought she had developed some selective mutism and panic attacks but the teacher just had her completely shutting down. When she would answer a question, he would ask her to expand and she had no idea what to do. Now I know she needed clearer instructions of what he wanted from her. He also liked to blow a loud whistle when some students would start talking in class. It completely freaked her out and she started struggling physically with having to go to his class. He was unwilling to offer any accommodation so we had to pull her at the end of first semester and she gets no credit for that class and had to start over with another language. So, she has said she's fine with doing a program for French 2 at home to the honors designation for her diploma. Of course, I have no idea if that even matters if the diploma isn't from a public school so maybe I can't designate as an Honors diploma anyway? She would have all the credits listed for it by the state so maybe?

Now I just have to figure out what I need to do for her transcript for this final year and how to do all the college application stuff for that. I also need to figure out classes. I don't know if I should have her take all of them through the local CC and just do a mix of online and in class or do a mix of that but also do some at home on our own. I'm thinking all through the local CC would be too much while trying to work on the other social stuff so I have to search curricula again - it's been a while.

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On 4/18/2019 at 2:32 PM, Joker said:

She was recently diagnosed with ASD (level 1, so high functioning) and social anxiety disorder.

Kids have IEPs or 504 plans due to anxiety. 

9 hours ago, Joker said:

The school is already pushing back on a 504 because she's done well thus far.

But at what cost? At some point, you can show the cost and also show what's not going well. The tuning out in class? Whatever the cause, that's something that should be addressed. You can tie it to barely passing. 

A lack of note-taking skills is a language issue. Have you had language testing? You might get a long way with good language testing, but it will take the right testing to show weaknesses.

Social skills are covered under speech therapy. I am not sure how they evaluate those in high school, but my son's first means of qualifying for an IEP was for social skills under speech with the reason/diagnosis being ASD.

8 hours ago, Storygirl said:

Who did you talk to about the 504? If it was not the special ed department, they may not know the law.

Seriously.

And if her grades have dropped, and you can show that they are in classes that require note taking, and her report with her diagnosis indicates that she should have accommodations for note taking, I think legally they are on shaky ground with refusing a 504.

I'm not saying you want to hire a lawyer (though you could), but that you should make sure the person you talked to knows the disability rights laws.

You could check with your state department of ed about this. Our state department is really helpful and responsive to parent inquiries, whether by phone or by email.

Have you made a written request for evaluation for special education services. They can tell you ANYTHING if you haven't. 

If you have or haven't, please be sure you understand the process, the steps, and your rights. 

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So, IEP might be moot if you are homeschooling one last year. But, an evaluation is what gets you a 504, and a 504 is what gets college services...you might want to pursue it anyway.

Also, if she has any major life skills deficits, those can be screened for during that process also, unless you've had that done.

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5 hours ago, Joker said:

So, we've decided to go ahead and pull out of the high school for senior year. Dd seems happy and relieved that she won't be going back. She's actually making plans on what she will be able to work on for her art portfolio with some of her extra time. 

DE deadlines here look to be the same as regular registration so no issue there. It's full pay here unless you take the classes at your high school and our high school doesn't allow homeschoolers that option.

The French class is actually only French 2. That's a whole other issue that, now knowing her diagnosis, ticks me off. For the Honors Diploma you need three years of one foreign language or two years of two different ones. She was in Spanish 3 her sophomore year but her therapist said we needed to pull her when the school wouldn't help. She was acing her tests/quizzes and homework but the teacher was giving her a 0 every class for participation. I thought she had developed some selective mutism and panic attacks but the teacher just had her completely shutting down. When she would answer a question, he would ask her to expand and she had no idea what to do. Now I know she needed clearer instructions of what he wanted from her. He also liked to blow a loud whistle when some students would start talking in class. It completely freaked her out and she started struggling physically with having to go to his class. He was unwilling to offer any accommodation so we had to pull her at the end of first semester and she gets no credit for that class and had to start over with another language. So, she has said she's fine with doing a program for French 2 at home to the honors designation for her diploma. Of course, I have no idea if that even matters if the diploma isn't from a public school so maybe I can't designate as an Honors diploma anyway? She would have all the credits listed for it by the state so maybe?

Now I just have to figure out what I need to do for her transcript for this final year and how to do all the college application stuff for that. I also need to figure out classes. I don't know if I should have her take all of them through the local CC and just do a mix of online and in class or do a mix of that but also do some at home on our own. I'm thinking all through the local CC would be too much while trying to work on the other social stuff so I have to search curricula again - it's been a while.

It sounds like your kid and my kid had pretty much the same Spanish 3 experience.  Awful.  And that Spanish 3 experience shows why a 504 is needed.

Just wanted to add - you can get accommodations from the CC without having a 504 in high school.  The evaluation should say what accommodations are needed.  My older kid had no problem getting accommodations from the CC based on what the evaluation recommended - didn't have a 504 in high school.  The disability services office was super helpful.

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