I have a 5yr old autistic child. I will be homeschooling her and I need advice on curriculum and what works?

I've done some investigating online and now I'm even more confused? Does the state help pay for materials/books etc? And where do you find learning material for autistic students? If anyone can help this frustrated Mom would be appreciated!I have a 5yr old autistic child. I will be homeschooling her and I need advice on curriculum and what works?
I homeschool 3 kids. Two of them are autistic.





I use all the ';usual'; materials everyone else uses - School of Tomorrow, Switched on Schoolhouse, Lifepacs...





We got most of our help from HSLDA. Please go and look at their special needs section. It is helpful. Because of HSLDA we contacted one of their specialists Dianne Craft. Her website is diannecraft.com. We use her brain integration therapy manual, most of her right brain materials and her nutrition suggestions.





Also check out nathhan.com. That site has all kinds of special needs homeschooling info.





We even did our own speech using Straight Talk.





HTHI have a 5yr old autistic child. I will be homeschooling her and I need advice on curriculum and what works?
We can't tell you if your state will pay for anything if we don't know what state you are in. In general states do not pay for homeschooling(Alaska is the only exception I believe). There are virtual charter school program in many states that often gets lumped together with homeschooling, but they are in fact public schools.





I don't know of any homeschool curriculum designed for autistic students. It would probably be best if you try to find a homeschool group for parents with autistic children. Yahoo groups is usually a good place to start.
I have both home schooled and sent my son who has autism to a publicly funded program. The special education law states that all students with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate education. The law doesn't say where the education must take place or place any caps on the cost.





The school district will not pay for homeschooling supplies. They have to continue to provide some therapy services if you home school your child, however, you may have to take your child to the speech and/or occupational therapist. You would wait while your child received the services.





As far as what works, or finding supplies for autistic students specifically, I don't think you will. Autism is such a broad spectrum of function, that there isn't one thing that works with all students. If they are high functioning, they can use the same curriculum materials as other children. A non-verbal child or a child with significant learning delays would not be able to. Functioning is so varied and so are the materials different children with autism would learn with. Many children with autism are visual learners, so you will want things that encourage learning using this modality if your child is a visual learner. The same would be true if the child is a kinesthetic learner. You don't say how your child functions, so I would research ABA Training, also google the word discreet trial training, learning and autism key words like that. People here may tell you that the district will fight you to keep your child in school so that they don't loose funding. That hasn't been my experience at all. The cost of a free and appropriate education for a low or medium functioning autistic student is greater than the funding the district receives, yet they must by law pay for the services. Often the costs encroach on the general education funds. If this is the case, you may find that the special education department will work with you.





Best Wishes to You!!!
I would also check out these sources:





www.autismspeaks.org (Cure Autism Organization) - this site should provide you with some solid information and also give you contacts to people who may assist you in setting up a solid home schooling education





Also look at: www.halo-soma.org


This site endorses the rapid-prompting method. If you haven't heard about this method, it is certainly something worth checking out. This lady created it and implemented it on her son... who is now known for his poetry and a recent book release. This lady has opened up a very remarkable source of study. Her methods may offer some good options for you. This website provides information on teaching the RPM. Also, the lady who created this method teaches RPM throughout the year to children 5+ and she also offers camps for children living outside of Texas to attend three times a year. Check out the website, and do a search on her and her son. I think dateline or 60 minutes did a spot on her that was very interesting and enlightening.





Lastly, talk to your pediatrician. You need to know how severe your child's autism is. It may not be to a point of severity that home schooling 5 days a week is necessary. Your child may flourish by having interaction with other children in a controlled environment once or twice a week. If your child's autism is more severe, things like the rapid prompting method have been shown to really help children find ways to communicate (if not verbally, then by writing).





Make sure to reach out to autistism foundations. They will provide you with support, advice, encouragement, and simply other parents who are in your shoes and can be a great source of comfort. Good luck.
Try Yahoo Groups, too. I belong to one that deal specifically with homeschooling ';Extraordinary Kids,'; which means everything from Gifted to Autistic to Dyslexic ones...those moms have BTDT and have great info.
HSLDA might be able to help





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