special needs

Homeschooling a Special Needs Child

May 21, 2019 by Guest Writer

How did you feel when you first heard about your child’s learning disability? Maybe you felt shocked, angry, or sad. Perhaps you felt validated because your suspicions were confirmed, or reassured that your child’s struggles weren’t the result of a failure in parenting or teaching. But after those initial moments, your mind may have flooded with questions, worries, or even panic about the future. The good news, besides God’s all-conquering love for your child, is that plenty of resources are available for homeschool families with special needs children.

The Burning Question

You may be wondering, “Can I still homeschool my special needs child?” Of course you can! Every child learns differently, and often even children without learning disabilities require a tailored approach for particular subjects.

To homeschool a child with a learning disability, you may have to alter your style and adjust your expectations; and you’ll certainly need additional tools and training. But if homeschooling is something you strongly believe in, you can continue to guide your child’s education in meaningful ways.

Support for Parents of Students with Dyslexia

Marianne Sunderland runs Homeschooling with Dyslexia, a blog dedicated to students who face challenges with dyslexia and dysgraphia. This blog makes a wonderful starting point for families homeschooling a dyslexic child. Explore the resources Marianne offers to ensure that you have a handle on your child’s unique gifts and challenges. Marianne also discusses some of the more difficult choices you will face in your homeschool journey with children with dyslexia. Courses, books, blog posts, a newsletter, and a supportive Facebook group are all available through her website.

Help for Parents of Students with ADHD

Marcy Goodwin offers her knowledge and experience of handling issues with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in her blog, Ben & Me. Her posts offer tips for teaching math, managing with or without medication, and overcoming distractions throughout the school day. You’ll also find tips for refocusing attention and coping with emotions that accompany learning struggles.

Additional Support for Special Needs

For severe disabilities, such as autism or Tourette’s Syndrome, you should consider supplementing your skills and techniques with those of a professional. Therapists and some tutors are specifically trained to work with especially gifted children. If you need to pursue this type of help, don’t think of it as a failure—it’s just one more way you can give your child the best possible education.

The Importance of Assessment for Special Needs

If your child is struggling despite your best efforts, you might want to find an organization that can support you, whether offering assessments or directing you towards place that can do an assessment. It may be a question you don’t want to face, but it’s better to know upfront whether there is a deeper issue that your child doesn’t know how to handle yet. Having your child assessed can be emotionally distressing for you, but it’s vital to future success! The earlier you know about the issues, the faster you can educate yourself and address those needs for your child’s sake. Don’t wait too long!

Remember, God loves your child with an everlasting, all-powerful love, and He has something special in mind for that young soul. With His help and the wisdom of other parents and professionals, you can do this!

• • • • •

Rebecca is a work-at-home freelance writer, novelist, wife, and the mom of two bright-eyed little ones. She credits her success in writing and her love of books to her own mom, who homeschooled three kids from pre-K through high school.

Special Needs Testing

March 3, 2015 by BJU Press Writer

Testers often ask the BJU Press Testing & Evaluation team how they can accommodate a student’s special needs. Here are some suggestions for educators who are working with children who have special needs.

Dyslexia

There are several types of dyslexia, so it is wise to ask the child’s parents detailed questions. How severe is the child’s dyslexia? Has a physician or psychologist given any instructions? A diagnosis from a physician or psychologist should include instructions for testing and help you know how to accommodate that child’s dyslexia.

ADD/ADHD

A good rule of thumb for children with ADD/ADHD would be “less is more.” The shorter the amount of time they are sitting, the longer their concentration will be. If a subtest is generally thirty minutes, split it into two fifteen-minute segments instead. This allows them a break to refocus before finishing the test. But be sure to let them know in advance that they will not be able return to questions they attempt before the break.

Other Accommodations & Tips

Read Aloud

The more a student reads on his own, the better it reflects on his ability. Consider extending the time limits or allowing the student to read aloud.

Reading comprehension and vocabulary tests may not be administered orally since doing so changes them from a measure of reading ability to a measure of listening ability. When you return the test for scoring, please be sure to note any sections where reading assistance was given and specify the type/degree of assistance.

Extend Test Times

Test times may sometimes be extended by up to 50 percent. For example, a thirty-minute test may be given with a forty-five-minute testing time. Extending the testing time allows children to become accustomed to being timed while still having their needs accommodated. If you extend the testing time by more than 50 percent though, it is considered untimed and should be noted as such.

Keep in mind that the Stanford (10th edition) is already untimed. The math computation portion of the Iowa Tests^® is designed as a speed drill. If time is an issue, it’s best to skip this optional section. Skipping it will not affect math totals or overall scores.

Choose the Right Level

Choose the test level that best matches the child’s actual curriculum level. Do not choose the test level for the grade level that the child should be working at. And if a child is working at multiple levels, you can match the test and grade levels by looking at his levels in the core subjects (reading, language, and math).

Select the Right Type

Achievement tests measure a student’s knowledge. Abilities tests measure a student’s reasoning skills for subjects. A combination test (combining achievement and abilities testing) can help you determine if a student is working to his potential. So select the type of test based on what you want to know about the child—his knowledge, his reasoning skills, or whether he’s reaching his potential.

You can also special order tests for visually or hearing-impaired children. If you’re interested in learning more about special needs testing, contact our Testing & Evaluation team at 800.845.5731.

What have you found to be helpful for testing children with special needs?

Today is Special Education Day

December 2, 2014 by David

All of us at BJU Press would like to say “thank you” to the teachers, parents, and administrators who work hard to help students with learning disabilities to reach their full potential. We interviewed Anna Hamrick, a teacher who assists struggling readers, to get her perspective on teaching. It’s my hope that her thoughts will be an encouragement as you continue helping your students.

1. How long have you been a teacher? How much of that time have you been working with students who have learning disabilities?

This is my ninth year teaching full-time. I also was a part-time substitute teacher in Greenville County for six years while I was home with young children. Thinking back, I believe I have worked with students with learning disabilities every year.

2. Where do you currently work?

I currently teach in the Learning Resource Center at Bob Jones Academy Elementary School.

3. How do you help the students at the Learning Resource Center?

I teach the third- through sixth-grade students who struggle with reading. We work on phonics, decoding, expression, comprehension, and many other reading skills. My desire is that the students will take what they learn in my class and apply it to their other reading assignments and to their recreational reading. Ultimately, I want my students to love to read!

4. How do you adapt BJU Press textbooks when teaching your special needs students?

The adaptations I make to the reading curriculum are minor. I definitely move at a slower pace. I also place a much heavier emphasis on oral reading. This gives me an opportunity to pinpoint areas of weakness in rate, decoding, punctuation, and expression. For my younger students, I often read the entire worktext page to them while allowing them to answer the questions independently.

5. Do you have any advice for teachers who teach students with learning disabilities?

Be patient and be flexible! Be prepared to adjust your plans if necessary. Sometimes learning disabled students need extra time with certain skills.

Be aware. Keep an eye on how your students are doing in all their classes. Communicate regularly with the parents and the general education teachers.

Be approachable. Make sure the teachers and parents know they can come to you for advice, help, and encouragement. Be prepared to give the general education teachers suggestions for accommodations in the regular classroom and to give parents advice for how to help at home.

Ready, Set, Read! (Part 2)

May 12, 2014 by Megan

We hope you’ve signed up your child(ren) to be a part of the BJU Press Summer Reading Program. If you haven’t, there’s still time! Registration is open until June 17.
A few weeks ago we shared part one of our interview with JourneyForth acquisitions editor Nancy Lohr. Nancy shared with us some great information about the BJU Press Summer Reading Program and gave us some tips for encouraging reluctant readers to read this summer. Below are some more great nuggets from our conversation.

What would you say to parents of special needs children who want to participate?

I would shout, “Hurrah for you!” The fact that your child cannot lift words from the page without some help doesn’t mean his or her literary taste buds won’t enjoy the story just as much as other children. Customize this reading program to maximize its effectiveness for your child. You may need to break the reading sessions into smaller segments, or “read” audio books while following along in the print book. You can do the same kind of seeing/hearing with eBooks by using the text-to-speech function of eReaders along with the on-screen text. Some books are available in DVD format so you can watch with the closed captions turned on. The Mice of the Herring Bone DVD from ShowForth is an example of this type of book. If you have other ways that you make reading accessible to your special needs child, we’d love for you share your approach with us on the JourneyForth Facebook page.

What’s the most important thing for parents to remember when choosing reading materials for their children?

Summer reading qualifies as leisure reading, so engage your children in the selection process to find topics of interest. Let your children read the materials that they didn’t have time for during the school year. Children learn how to read in school; they learn to love reading when they are immersed in topics or stories that they enjoy.

Don’t be overly concerned about whether the material is “hard enough.” Certainly you don’t want to let a capable reader slide by and gain little, but experts agree that regular reading in materials of the child’s choice is one of the best ways to strengthen reading skills as well as to develop a love for the written word. And the children who learn to love reading are the ones who will be reading long after the last school assignment is complete.

As a librarian, I often saw children who used their summer reading time to read all of the Hardy Boys^®series—in numerical order—or some challenge of that nature. Those children did a heap of reading during the summer and had fun in the process. That’s huge motivation regardless of their skills. Reading is an accrued skill that develops as children read regularly.

What are some reading challenges that your child faces? Let us know in a comment.

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