I home educated both my youngest sons. My eldest is severely autistic and went first to a special school and then when things became too dreadful - he was hurting me and his youngest brother and literally tearing the house apart - he went to boarding school. My youngest has now been diagnosed with Aspergers (he is 20) but I always knew he had it, right from when he was two. But compared to his brother he was never a problem. While eldest was still at home home educating allowed the other two a more normal home life during the day and the opportunity to visit other peoples houses and go to meetings. When their brother was home nothing remotely normal was possible.
Youngest would have struggled in school. He was extremely gifted and had nothing in common with the other children when he went to reception - sort of like kindergarten I suppose. He would stand there giving them lectures and would correct the teacher when she made a mistake. He could already read (started a month past two years) and count and build elaborate structures, but would 'burst with tears' (his words), when he was asked to swap activities. They tried to give him extra work to do at home to stimulate him but he wasn't having that - he had other things he was more interested in than their boring pieces of paper. Anyway I took him out of school and middle son refused to go any more either. So there we were.
Looking back at it I still think it was for the best. YS would never have fitted in, and ms would have struggled too. MS is just finished his degree this year and ys plans to go next year, although his plans to go last year got scuppered by lack of a piece of official paper.
It would have gone better if my social difficulties were not so bad. And if I hadn't been so stressed over the heart break of eldest son going off to boarding school. Being a parent is an impossible job to get right, and that applies to home educating as well as to every other bit of the job. But I don't regret doing it. Overall I think it benefitted the boys. It both added to and relieved some of my stress. A two parent family would find it easier I would imagine. My Aspergers didn't help except with understanding ys, and with maintaining focus on the project. It was my special interest for years. Until the rabbits took ever, but even that came out of the home educating. But thats another story...
06 Nov 2013, 5:10 pm
