Comments on: Why ADHD Parents Should Let Go of the Homeschooling Ideal

By: Carmen

Carmen — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 14:45:04 +0000

I try to limit the subjects that we do in a day when it comes to learning. I have found that doing different subjects in a day causes him to feel overwhelmed but if I choose one subject for the day then he grabs the bull by the horns and runs with it. Since February this year my son has completed English and spelling workbooks for grade one and two doing it this way. He is stumbling through subtraction using double digits in grade 1 math because he can’t be bothered but he knows the answer. We have started quite a few assignments but they are ongoing and not yet finished. The thing we struggle with the most is writing so any form of creative writing is out of the question when it comes to my 7yo boy.

I do know he HAS learnt quite a bit by the fact that my 2yo daughter knows her colours, alphabet, numbers and shapes. I have not taught these to her as yet (I’ve been too focused on my son) but my son has. And this is what makes me not want to give up homeschooling.

I do still need to let go of the idea that he will just do his work if I’m not standing over his shoulder or sitting next to him every minute of his learning time. If I don’t then he won’t do his work and we both tend to lose the plot quite quickly.

My husband struggles and worries that he is falling behind but I think he is in front with a lot of things.

By: Louise jones

Louise jones — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 19:53:58 +0000

Hi, I just found your website and I love it! My autistic son has just been diagnosed with ADHD a and homeschooling him has proved to be something of a challenge!

Your tips are great and I hope to be checking out more of your ideas and inspiration soon, as well as your Pinterest board.

Lou.

By: Selena Robinson

Selena Robinson — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 02:21:38 +0000

In reply to Sharon. Hi! Our kids have never been in PS, but from what I've heard, it can be hard for kids to get the personalized attention they need. I hope you and your little ones get some answers soon. :)

By: Selena Robinson

Selena Robinson — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 02:19:11 +0000

In reply to Nita. I completely agree with everything you said. As a kid, I was always busy with lots of activities and those things kept me on a pretty rigid schedule. Now that I'm older, I find that it's hard for me to stay on task without a deadline. But that's a plus in the creative field! We definitely do adapt when we see that we have to make do and that's our goal with our kids as well. :)

By: Sharon

Sharon — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 17:56:53 +0000

I really do appreciate this post and I’ll definitely be looking into the series. I have a soon with ADHD and a daughter with ADD and Dyslexia. I am very disappointed with their experience in public school; even though they both have an IEP. I’m looking forward to future posts.

By: Nita

Nita — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 12:29:33 +0000

This is a great series and encouraged me to blog loosely on the positives I see in this. Truth is as an Engineer, Author, Mom, Business owner, homeschooling parent (yeah – I do all those things) back in the day I may have had such a diagnosis. However, do realize that because I used to get ‘distracted’ with thoughts or ideas that made it appear that I had no focus, I was focused. Intensly so on that one item at a time. Now I do a lot of things that many people couldn’t conceive of doing at the same time. But as an Engineer working with other ‘scatter brains’ I realized that having this is a gift. The ability to intensly focus on many different things for a little or as long as I want to – yet over time I learned the skill of doing them all relatively well. So much so that in all the areas above, I’ve considered to have success by most peer standards. The key is, before there were diagnosis, drugs to help kids with mild (not violent symtoms), those kids figured their way out. Just like anyone who would be deemed having some type of ‘handicap’, a person learns to live with the quirks that are ‘them’. So if you don’t use the term as a ‘bandaid’, ‘label’ definition of who your kids are – then they won’t. They will just know that they are wonderfully, and beautifully made.