How to Teach a Child with Learning Disabilities

It makes sense to use to homeschool our autistic child. In fact, since we were already homeschooling our other children, it didn’t seem fair to send our youngest to a private school (and public schools were out of the question). I was concerned that he would hate leaving if his siblings were at home. So, this is year 30 of homeschooling, and these are our homeschooling curriculum choices for autism in 2023.

First, our son is not only on the autism spectrum disorder, but he also struggles with severe learning disabilities. Even with the right curriculum, sometimes the best homeschool curriculum still doesn’t seem to work, which has caused us to try various options, and we continue to modify and reinforce what we have already taught. Some autistic children seem to thrive with traditional curriculum, but I am so thankful there are many curriculum options. 

As parents of children on the spectrum, you may worry about teaching your children at home, especially homeschooling your autistic child. How do I know that my child is learning best at home? Are they able to articulate what they learned? What if I miss something? My child isn’t at grade level. Will the state take him from me? There are just so many concerns. However, be aware, that teaching your child at their own pace is so valuable and one of the best reasons to homeschool a child on the spectrum.

Our Autism Homeschool Curriculum Choices for 2023

You may be concerned about choosing the right homeschool curriculum. I am sharing our autism homeschool curriculum choices for 2023 with you. This may be helpful information when you are trying to choose your own curriculum. Just remember, the best homeschool curricula is what works for your family.

Bible:

Sometimes, we reuse or finish a curriculum that we started in the past and put it on the side because 1) Jack-Jack became overwhelmed by the pace, 2) We switched things because we thought another program would better serve our child’s learning style, or 3) the amount of time I had to put into the curriculum was too much for me.

Before I tell you what we are using for our Bible Curriculum, I encourage you to read about incorporating the Bible into your homeschool. We want to raise children that don’t see the Bible as something you pick up and spend 20 minutes reading. We want the Holy Spirit to be living and active in their lives all day long.

We will be using Indescribable Devotional and the corresponding Activity Book by Louie Giglio.

And, of course, we will be using a Bible. While I have been using my Bible, I think I will switch to a different Bible for Jack-Jack. I will be using the Action Bible. This Illustrated Bible has colorful pictures and a small number of words per page, which is perfect for what we need.

Math:

Teaching Textbooks 6

Last year we used Teaching Textbooks 5. We loved it, and it was a great choice for us. This easy-to-use, app-based curriculum has everything a mom would want in a math curriculum. No lesson plans are needed. We did one lesson a day, five days a week. As a homeschool mom who loves math, I miss teaching math to kids, but I can honestly say that Jack-Jack learns best with this visual video program that has one lesson at a time on the screen, and corrects his problems as he goes.

Language Arts:

Last year we used Vision Training from Dyslexia Gold and finished that program. It incorporated phonics, spelling, and reading. While Jack-Jack’s reading has improved, we still have a long way to go. There are what I call “holes” in his phonics. Whether it is that he doesn’t have a strong foundation (which I doubt because we have been doing phonics for years now) or needs constant repetition, we will use yet another phonics program.

Last year, we started using WordBuild Online and Fix-It Grammar. We will continue WordBuild Online and Fix-It Grammar from last year, as we took both of those very slowly.

Phonics and Reading

We are using a free program called The Phonics Page. While we have not used this before, we will try it out for a month and see how it goes. We may or may not be changing depending on whether it is a good fit. We have used so many phonics programs while working on language skills through the years. We have all put in a lot of hard work, and it seemed as if we would never make progress. However, Jack-Jack is now reading at about a 3rd-grade level. 

For reading, we will be using various books from the library, along with other readers. Jack-Jack’s reading skills continue to evolve. While I remember the daunting task of teaching him his letters and letter sounds that literally took years to remember, I look back and wish I could tell myself that my son would not only read but also be great at spelling. In fact, he can spell words, he cannot read. 

WordBuild Online 

WordBuild Online is a vocabulary program that teaches suffixes, prefixes, and word meanings. We used WordBuild Online last school year and got about halfway done with the program. 

Fix-It Grammar

We loved Fix-It Grammar which slowly teaches parts of speech and punctuation. However, we only got about halfway through this curriculum also. We like to consider Jack-Jack’s individual needs when creating lesson plans. The best way to do this is to be flexible and look at each child’s unique needs. While Jack-Jack loves to learn, he always needs to learn life skills and social skills. Fix-It Grammar took a backseat to some other valuable lessons.

History & Geography:

Homeschooling with Movies:

This 12-week curriculum uses movies to teach, but since I am the creator, I can do social studies and history with movies since I can easily analyze movies to use for teaching.

Science: 

Generation Genius

Generation Genious is a subscription-based science experiment/video lesson with 3 hands-on activities per month and it is fun. Each month, you receive 3 science experiments and a link to videos that give you step-by-step instructions, and explanations of science concepts. I adored these lessons, and they were fun and engaging. However, we need to add more for science.

Science Workbooks and Science Books

While Jack-Jack is doing 6th-grade math, he is at different levels for every other subject. Science concepts seem to be extremely difficult for him. We will use a 2nd-grade science workbook and some science books from the library. We will focus on our child’s interests, such as dinosaurs, plants, and animals.

SchoolHouseTeachers.Com

I use this amazing online program to supplement learning. One low price a year allows us to enhance the learning experience. With hundreds of courses, SchoolhouseTeachers is an excellent choice for homeschooled children. Last year, I used it for art and to supplement with other courses. I know people who use SchoolHouseTeachers as their main curriculum. The very best part is that it is one low price, and once you subscribe, you are locked into that price for renewal!

Music:

Piano lessons and movie songs. Using our child’s strengths and his fantastic ability to memorize movie lines, we have him learn the songs from classic Disney movies. Jack-Jack will learn the lyrics of songs from movies. However, because Jack-Jack really struggles with auditory learning, we use visual aids such as YouTube videos with the lyrics on the screen so he can sing along. 

LifeSkills: Homeschool Autism Curriculum

Socially Jack-Jack loves to meet people and be out in the community. However, social interaction can be a problem for him, especially with knowing how to respond to questions. We continue to work on social skills, but we are also working on laundry, skills in the kitchen such as baking, cake decorating, cooking, and cleaning the house. 

That pretty much sums up our homeschool program for the 2023-2024 school year. While Jack-Jack should be a senior in high school this year, we will continue to homeschool him until we don’t think his academic learning is helping him. However, I know that in my 20s, 30s, 40s, and even 50s, I have continued to learn. Furthermore, plenty of public school systems have special education programs beyond age 18. 

What is your learning style? I didn’t know my own learning styles until I was in my 30s. For various reasons, I believe that autistic children and adults should continue some academic program well into their 20s or 30s. (That is probably a blog post for another day). 

As homeschooling parents, you know your child. My most significant piece of advice for you is to study your child, pray for wisdom, and know that you are the best teacher for your child. You can provide a quality education for your child at home.