Homeschooling | ADHD Information
Kids can get social in other environments besides schools. If you are declining hs for this reason remember your child is also learning poor social skills as well. Home school kids can join a group for home school kids and do classes with them as well. You can cover this in sports, art classes,music classes, religious institution, religious schools, playing with neighbor friends. Just a idea. Home school kids most often score higher on tests getting into college also. HS groups also do field trips one time a month. BNThank you all for your help. I had thought about Private school too but we can not afford that either. And you are right Susieb...we must have time away.
Well they keep changing his meds dependant upon how he is behaving at home and chool. I have seen some improvement. I guess I need to just ride the tide and then go from there.
Good luck everyone with kids. Believe me I know the hassles. My son is ADHD and my husband is ADD. So stress has become my middle name =)
Josh, you are suspect because of your post trying to sell us on Advocare. It may work, it may not, but it helped you lose credibility. We had some trolls on this board before and we learned the hard way how to deal with them. The admin on this didn't seem to care if trolls were posting so we had to take care of them ourselves. Right now, you fall into that category and I'm not going to give you the benefit of the doubt about anything. I would suggest you go out and come back in again.
Also, while you may have valuable knowledge about what it's like to grow up with ADHD, you'll find out that what most of the members are looking for is a parent's perspective on issues. That's what I find the most valuable about coming here. I can find out what works for other parents, what kind of response I'll get from drs or teachers on an issue, what kinds of stratagies work, what doesn't etc. You may want to check out the adults with add/adhd board. I'm sure your input there would be valuable.
Candi, I have been at the same point you're at, but homeschooling was never an option for us. I'm glad, for two reasons. My ds needs the social part of school almost as much as the academic part and because I think I'd go crazy if I had to spend the day and the evening with my ds. I love him to death, but he seems to be a much better kid and student for other people, not for me. My son is very high-maintainence and it's important for my sanity to spend time apart from him. If I go screaming into the night from frustration, I won't be there to be an advocate for him in school, etc.
Josh is right about one thing. Private school. I'd love to be able to send ds to a private school here in town, but it costs k. It's for ld/add kids and would be the perfect place for him. If I could afford it, that's what I'd do.
Hope this helps.
I cannot get over the irony of selling alternatives yet striving to become a pharmacologist simultaneously.Good point, noTellin.
[QUOTE=susieb] [QUOTE=joshh58]
It really helped me to become who I am today! Now I am studying pharmacology and will one day be a pharmacist.
/QUOTE]
Or a pharmaceutical salesman. He is trying to sell advocare products on this board, which will put money directly into his pockets. He doesn't have any kids and I would take whatever he says with a grain of salt.
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Susieb what in the hell are you talking about I didnt say anything about advocare to this lady. I was talking about school! Are you smoking crack!
Candi, I have a 7yo son w/ ADHD and have him in a private (Catholic) school. We considered home school but he really needs the social interaction. Please know there are many sources of tuition help and need based scholarships in most cities. If you find a school you like, check with them to see what programs are available as there will surely be some. DS is thriving at his school and if there were ever a point we couldn't afford it I'd do everything I could to find another way. Faith-based schools are especially helpful and understanding with this. Good luck!
MountainMom38791.9360416667candi,
i homeschool my 9 yr old son and and i can say that it's going better than i ever thought it would!
my son was slipping thru the cracks academically, socially he was fine. his self- esteem was suffering as well and he frequently said things like he was "stupid". everyday was a struggle to go to school. his teacher, tho sweet, had no idea how disconnected my son felt and poo-pooed the idea he was unhappy. i think having the right teacher can make all the difference in the world.
this year, i am the right teacher! i never realized how smart my son really is. he has made some amazing leaps academically. tho he takes many little breaks in between his studies, he can finish his schoolwork in about 3 hours. he's usually done by 2pm. there's no tv, no playstation ect... until after school. he can play on the computer (academic softwware or website games) jumps rope, jogs outside or listens to music.
he has a very active social life, plays on organized sports teams and has friends in our neighborhood. i'd say he was pretty balanced.
you have to do what you have to do. i did this for my son because he needed it. i found that it was better than i thought it was going to be and i'm happy with my decision.
good luck in whatever you choose!
kppy
Hi Candi,
I would hate to see you discouraged from homeschooling on the basis on socialization. Although I do not homeschool, my son is in an alternative school that is the next best thing. His peer group is small, but I have decided that that is a non issue. His environment is overwhelmingly positive. Is he missing out on the vagaries of regular school? Probably, but when I think back to when I was a kid and how mean some kids could be. . . I believe that I was undiagnosed ADHD and I don't think that any of those negative situations did anything good for me. My research has shown that the most dangerous outcome of ADHD is associated with self esteem issues. Getting an ADHD kid to learn is hard, getting a demoralized kid to learn is really hard. ADHD kids have trouble socially, so what's wrong with choosing positive environments where your kid can win? Does your kid really lose if you opt out of what is often an arduous environment? Homeschooling groups are some of the most social kids around. The parents are by default vested and involved and hopefully that leads to a more understanding environment for all of the kids.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be able to do it. I am just not the type, but I do see where it could be an answer for some people. If you think that you could be your son's teacher and mother and do it well, hey, I would seriously consider it, if it's in his best interests. Remember, it doesn't have to be forever either. I know a mother who homeschooled her ADHD kid until high school, and with the change of rooms every hour and difference that high school entails, he is doing fine. Anyway, best luck to you.
Hello there,
I am adult with add and I was home schooled in the 4th grade then attended a private school from 5-6 grade then went to public. I will be honest the whole home school thing didn't work for me. Ya there are not other distraction like kids but there are a lot more like toy, Nintendo all the things kids love to do at home. I was more distracted at home plus it didn't teach me how to deal with the distraction of every day life. They have to learn how to deal with these other wise they won’t be successful when they get in the real world. Also be careful about putting your child in a special school kids tend to mimic the people there around and some times will advance at the same speed of the pac. It is healthy to have a little challenge. The absolute best environment for me was private school. Because I still had to learn to focus when others were around but the teacher to student ratio was so much better I got a lot more help. It really helped me to become who I am today! Now I am studying pharmacology and will one day be a pharmacist.