What do you do?
Updated 5/9/2020:
I originally wrote this post for The Homschool Post (HSBAPost), but that site went offline years ago. This is an important topic for my family, so I've pasted the original post and comments here.

What if my kid’s specialist says, “No, Don’t Homeschool!”?!
May 28, 2014 By 8 Comments
- Now grown, I knew all along I was dealing in ‘differences’ with my kids, but a few years ago~in the throws of all things, homeschooling, the specialist said, EVERY VISIT, “TELL ME AGAIN WHYyyy you homeschooooool these children?” in his almost broken English/earnest tone. HA! Well, after about 6 times of telling/explaining/sharing, we found someone more accepting of our choice to nurture our children AT HOME. Was HOMESCOOLING worth it? Jury IS still out…they’re teenagers NOW and little I did ‘back then’ is right in their eyes, but I’d say I did as good and in some ways a BETTER job of preparing them here at home with me. Have there been issues? Oh yes! Have there been failures? Oh yes! But in the final analysis, I’m still incredibly PROUD of the time I spent with them…however feebly poor or stellar in brilliance it was. **My major premise IS that parents LOVE their own children so much more than any professional EVER could~meaning all the wonderfully gifted and caring teachers out there, and that a true basis of LOVE will problem solve and work ever so much harder than those even with the best of intentions to do as best a job as possible~Parents ROCK**~and we should NEVER forget this! It’s easy to do so, while in the trenches of the everyday…I know, I have. Most of us will, but to press on and make each day a NEW one~seeking the very best for our little one(s) will bring about the best of outcomes and potentials! (Now, where did I put that PRO-homeschooling STATS?? LOL)I always love reading your thoughts, Susan~and your young man is amazing! YOU GO GIRL! (((HUGS)))
- Thank you, Sister Tipster! Yes, he is amazing.I agree—parents have so much more invested in their own child than a doctor ever can have. When Peter was born I was teaching his specialists about him simply because I was able to invest the time into researching his particular case and living with him 24 hours a day. I’ve learned so much from this child and he is capable of so much. We’ve also had other professionals tell us how good it is that we are able to meet his particular needs by homeschooling him.
- Thanks for this post. I have found it quite encouraging!I do now homeschool a child with special needs and her therapists and school “experts” very loudly spoke against it. I will say…my daughter is amazing and creative and enjoys learning but showed little of that in a school setting as it was too sensory overwhelming for her. She has blossomed immensely in the less than 3 months we have been on this awesome journey! She is free! and happily learns new things daily! We can hardly carry enough books home from the library to satisfy her need to read! On the social scene? She asks for it now…she makes plans now…she enjoys kids who are younger than her and even toddlers who put stuff in their mouths! I say all this because when she was attending public school these things were not her at all. I knew these skills, these characteristics were in her (I had seen them prior to 1st grade). I knew they were a part of her heart but they were seldom displayed due to the -overwhelming nature of the public school environment. When she would arrive home she would simply shut-down, close-up. We seldom got to spend time with our real daughter …. just the exhausted, pushed beyond her social and sensory limits girl who simply needed someone to press the off button on her robot self to close out the day! It was saddening, heartbreaking, debilitating to watch.Now? She is free, she is amazing, she is sponging up knowledge, she is quite social (certainly, measurably more social than before), she is helpful, she is self motivated, she is … did I say amazing!? Best thing I ever did for her or our family was to pull her out of public education. It was a difficult choice, as I grew up in the system and had a parent who worked in the system as well as many friends. But for my girl…she needed something different! and for me? for my hubby-her daddy? for her sister? for her family and friends? we received the gift of that wonderful young lady who was all locked up inside back into our lives daily. And for her? She says, I am free, mom! And she is!!! FREE.If you are reading this and wondering….I will say this. It is no accident that you are the parent of your child! You know what is best for him/her/them. If you think homeschooling would do them good…do it! You can do it! They can do it!!!! Everything that looks helpful for your child/for your family is worth a try, isn’t it?! Enjoy.Thanks again for this wonderful post! SO Encouraging!!!!
- Thank you for this post. I had fallen out of the habit of reading your blog/posts but clicked through today on an instinct and so glad I did. We have a young child with ichthyosis and home schooling is constantly on my mind as an option, weighing the pros and cons. So i found it really interesting to read some more of your thoughts about why you chose to do it; thank you.
- Why Oh Why do people think that the public school experience is the best way to learn how to cope with life’s challenges? Have they never seen The Breakfast Club? Or Sixteen Candles? (yeah, dating myself there)The traditional school is not geared for nurturing the individual child. Would a doctor recommend that a parent teach their child to swim by throwing them into the deep end of the pool?Fortunately, I have yet to meet a doctor or nurse who expressed anything but interest and encouragement about homeschooling. Perhaps they sensed that if they were critical I might hit them over the head with a bedpan. :p
- The Breakfast Club—absolute proof of what is wrong with kids learning how to behave from their peers. If it dates you, it certainly date me as well. 😉One of the places I ran into this attitude that to “fit in” kids who were different needed public school was in a pamphlet that was put together to help caregivers of kids with Ichthyosis. It made me angry because I knew that just that one line would discourage many parents from even considering homeschooling their kid with special needs.As far as where the idea comes from…I think…I may be wrong…but I think what it boils down to is a lack of imagination. If your kids don’t do things the way that we did them growing up, won’t your kids be weird? And isn’t weird bad?I’m weird in spite of my public school experience. It took me most of my life to appreciate my “weirdness” and to learn that it’s a gift, not a curse. Why the heck would I want to be like everybody else? Why should I expect my kids to be like everyone else? Why, indeed.
For those of you who don’t know, our son Peter (age 8) was born with a rare, genetic skin disorder called Lamellar Ichthyosis. Learn about Peter’s life with this often misunderst00d (and even never heard of) condition here.
If you have a child with special needs, you know it affects the whole family and your perception of your other children. Last May I hosted a special event in honor of Ichthyosis Awareness that was aimed at celebrating all of our children: Release the Butterflies.

What are you doing with your butterflies this summer?