What is the first step to take to home school my child?

Question

I have been considering home school most of last year, all summer and now all of this school year. My child has autism he is 9 years old non verbal. I have had nothing but problems with the school they don't understand him. And every time I mention switching schools they don't want to hear it. He screams and cries every morning and has great anxiety to go there and it's causing me anxiety. I haven't seen any changes in him in at least two years. I feel like I know my child best and what he needs to work on. I left my job of 9 years to be home with him so now I have all the time in the world. I keep saying I'll give it some time I'll give them another chance but after about 1 year total I still want to home school. I just don't know what steps to take first? How do I go about this? I live in Rhode Island and I can home school in this state no special degree or anything needed. Do I just pull him out of school? Do I go to the education building in my town?

J-Dawn · Accepted Answer

Don't just pull him out of school without a plan. You need to research curriculum and talk to others who have homeschooled. I have a friend who homeschools her 2 autistic kids very successfully in Kansas. I'll pass her the link to this question. She could help you out a lot.

She says: "She needs to get in touch with HSLDA, find out the laws for R.I. Every state is just a bit different. Tell her to call HSLDA - asap, to make sure she follows the correct procedure. Some states have you file a letter of intent. Other states, such as Kansas, have you file your private school with them. Some states you need to do both.It is important she follow the law and HSLDA will help her with that. Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, she just needs to make sure she follows the law of her state correctly from the get go...don't want any truancy or any problems!! YAY! for her..whew!! Also, if she would like more information and probably to connect with other moms with special needs kids who homeschool, have her join Special Needs Homeschoolers on Facebook - there are probably moms there from R.I. who could walk her through it."

Frankie · Answer

You need to research your state homeschool laws and follow them. http://www.ride.ri.gov/studentsfamilies/educationprograms/homeschooling.aspx

You should also have a plan for what curriculum you will use. That may change as you go along depending how he does with what you initially pick, but that's ok. One of the great things about homeschooling is that you can pick any curriculum that fits your child's needs, interests, and learning style.

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What is the first step to take to home school my child?

2 Answers