Over 50% of Parents Say Their Child's Special Learning Need was 'Extremely Important' to Their Choice to Homeschool

SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 20, 2022 / When the COVID-19 pandemic surged, many schools throughout the country closed forcing many parents to turn to homeschooling as an option to educate their children. Researchers predicted that the high number of parents who were homeschooling their children would decrease after the schools reopened. However, this prediction is proving to be just the opposite. In the 18 states that shared data through the current school year, there was a 63% increase in homeschooling during the 2020-2021 school year, with only a decrease of 17% for the 2021-2022 school year.

For students, homeschooling also increased their sense of safety and reduced negative behavior. A recent survey from EdChoice, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides families with educational choices, found that 68% of homeschooled students felt an increased sense of happiness, while as many as 60% of families reported improved behavior since homeschooling.

Families of children with special needs are also drawn to at-home learning with 52% of respondents saying that their child's special learning need was very or extremely important in their choice to homeschool. Under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), special needs includes those with disabilities, including the gifted and learning disabled.

Mary Resenbeck, a former teacher, Homeschool Parent Coach and author of Take Charge of Your Child's Education! says home-based learning is critical to the educational development and success of special needs students.

"When I discovered my children had dyslexia, I was terrified because there was nothing designed to help them master core subjects in the school system," Resenbeck says. "My children's self-esteem soared once we, as a family, decided to homeschool. It allowed them to focus on what they were great at and didn't spotlight all their academic struggles, allowing them the confidence to enjoy their successes and master their gifts to succeed."

According to the latest data from Education Week, 14% of all students in the U.S. are special education students. The data varies from state to state, from 9.8 percent in Texas to 19.5 percent in New York. Additionally, 38% of the 2.5 million homeschooling students have special needs. Almost three times higher than the 14% of students being served in public school special education programs nationally.

Another benefit of homeschooling is that children get to spend more time with their parents and family, providing them with emotional and psychological support which is of particular importance for special needs learners. According to Gordon Neufeld, Ph.D., a foremost authority on child development, "homeschooling parents retain the ability to guide their children gradually to a connected type of independence by way of the natural dependency of childhood."

For parents who are considering homeschooling as an option for their children, Resenbeck, a former teacher, adds that it is an exciting time for "educational freedom" and that special needs families have more options than ever before with educational consultants, special needs therapists, and homeschooling teachers available to create programs centered around their child's passions, gifts, and talents.

"The bottom line is, homeschooling a special needs child allows the parent to create a flexible and tailored schedule for their child's specific needs," Resenbeck says. "It enables them the freedom to embrace who they are and the ability and power to shine." (More at link)

If there are 3x as many special needs children being homeschooled vs in public school, maybe the homeschoolers should get a "thank you" tax rebate. And maybe pigs will fly.

Also, the homeschooled special needs child doesn't have to deal with bullying etc., state-sanctioned or otherwise.

Also, the homeschooled special needs child doesn't have to deal with bullying etc., state-sanctioned or otherwise.

Exactly why we homeschooled. By the time my autistic son was in 2nd grade, when I picked the kids up in the afternoon, I could tell that the other boys were messing with his head. I was the smallest boy in my class, shy & a bit naive and I wasn't going to let him go through worse than I did.

If “special needs” includes to keep the little tykes away from CRT, critical theory, trannies, queers, puberty blocking drugs, “secret room” to change clothes, and pedophile teachers, then 100% of parents should be home schooling.

In my opinion, “special learning need” also includes a child who is advanced in a subject. During the 2020/2021 school year, if a parent did not pull their child out of public school for homeschooling or a private school, that child no doubt lost learning opportunities while their school was distance learning. The testing scores nationwide show this. 2020/2021 was mostly a throwaway year educationally for most children in the public school if the school did the distance learning. Especially if there was not a highly involved parent on the scene. However, if the child was homeschooled or in a private school they were generally able to carry on. Placing them back in public school would mean that the students who remained in public school would need to cover material (especially in math) that they never attained proficiency in during the lost year. Children who had received that instruction already would be required to go over it again, being held back from progressing to remain with their fellow classmates in their grade. So, keeping a child in homeschooling or private school would be beneficial to the “special need” for students who did not lose out on learning during the pandemic.

Parents start home schooling...
Kids start to actually learn...
Gee, I wonder what conclusions parents are coming to.

Maybe schools should go back to teaching the basics like English, math, actual science and history, etc. and not dick chopping and faggotry.

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