Jacinta Sousa’s 9-year-old-daughter Audra is an artist, a budding diarist, and loves to play with Lego toys. She has been interviewed for Florida Matters, a talk show on Florida Public Radio. She enjoys playing at the park with her many friends, spending time with her younger sister, and helping to care for her family’s pets. Audra is also a child with multiple special needs.
Ms. Sousa explains, “My daughter is not 'average.' She is hyperactive, or high-spirited, as the pediatrician and I refer to it. She also is very sensitive, hyper-sensitive. For a very long time things like bright lights, such as fireworks or holiday lights, would send her into total meltdowns. She also has some physical issues with her stomach that require her to maintain a special diet.”
When asked about autism, Ms. Sousa elaborates, “In many ways we have suspected that Audra might have a similar spectrum disorder. However I do not see the point in her going through psychiatric evaluations to take medications that will alter her personality and possibly cause her to have side effects. It is just in her best interest that the pediatrician and I do what we can to help her be the best that she can be.”
In the public school system, Audra would be placed in special education and would need an Individual Education Program (IEP). According to the U.S. Department of Education, “The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability.” The IEP is a written document created for each special needs student, and “Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document.”
Depending upon the school district and the learner’s individual needs, special education students may attend separate classes or be integrated with the general student body, and may receive related services ranging from extra time on standardized tests to the assignment of a school staff member who spends his or her entire day assisting the special education student. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that learning disabilities affect approximately 5 percent of children in public schools.
Rather than enroll Audra in an IEP, Ms. Sousa chose home schooling. Of the special education services available in public schools, Ms. Sousa says, “It is not an ideal system in many ways. There are different levels of children and not enough time or attention to handle them one-on-one. I have a family member who was in the IEP who at her (Audra’s) age still could not read, could barely write, and did not know basic mathematics.”
In a home school environment, Ms. Sousa reports that Audra is working between a first and fifth grade level, depending upon the subject. Children at 9 years of age are typically in third grade. Says Sousa, “While with me, Audra can get the individual attention in a loving environment. She is not surrounded by 'peers' that would judge her or make fun of the way she thinks or speaks. I can spend the time she needs on each subject—no more or no less.”
Even Ms. Sousa, an outspoken home schooling advocate and founder of a home school board based in Pinellas County, Florida, is quick to make clear that home schooling is not the ideal choice for every parent, or for every special needs child. “If you do not have patience or the willingness to devote to your child full time, it is not a consideration,” she notes, and advised that parents struggling with the decision between home schooling and enrolling a special needs child in public school seek out local home school support groups and support groups for children with special needs. She invites potential homeschoolers to join her Florida-based home school website, found at www.flhomeschoolers.com, which offers a variety of services and resources to current and prospective home school students and parents.
When choosing between home schooling and public school for a special needs child, it is important to look at the situation from many angles. Ms. Sousa suggests meeting with the principal, teachers, and school psychologist at the public school in which a special needs child would potentially be enrolled, but cautions that it can takes months to get an appointment with a school psychologist. Audra’s family also works closely with a pediatrician. Sousa emphasizes that, above all, “Parents have to follow their gut instinct on what is right for their child and their family.”
Jelena Woehr is a writer working for Disaboom.com, an innovative online community focusing on people affected by disabilities. Jacinta Sousa is a home schooling expert living in Seminole, Florida, and will host an Expert Forum on Disaboom.com this May.
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