Homeschooling On the Spectrum—The Debate

By Kami-Leigh Agard

For the past year, I have been weighing the pros and cons of homeschooling my daughter, Soanirina, “Soa.” My stance is that at age 16, it’s now or never. It’s been proven that she thrives under one-on-one instruction. Juxtapose that with her dad’s stance that homeschooling will deprive her of socializing with her peers. Yes, working with a child with autism has its challenges and homeschooling isn’t for everyone, but like any parent, I’m just searching for what could instrumentally help her be her best, and BE HAPPY.

Soa has been in a structured school setting since she was diagnosed at 18 months with Pervasive Development Disorder (a subtype of autism) through NYS Early Intervention (EI) Program. First, she attended Crossroads School for Child Development in Nassau County, then Thursday’s Child in Brooklyn. Her dad and I were jubilant when Soa scored an admission into Hebrew Academy for Special Children in Woodmere, where she spent a blissful two years.

Then, the NYC Department of Education (DOE) placed her in a District 75 special education school in Bellerose, Queens. Note that Soa was in an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) instructional setting throughout her preschool years and thrived. However, the DOE does not incorporate ABA into their curriculum. After her hours-long commute to Bellerose with the last straw being told that her bus was stuck on the Belt Parkway for three hours, I immediately transferred her to a D75 school in Rockaway. However, after she suddenly stopped talking and other behaviors, we looked into private school. A high ticket pricewise, though some private schools are subsidized through Connors Funding (a NYS law that allows families to have tuition “directly funded” by the district), each year, we still have to pay upfront thousands of dollars in lawyer’s fees and tuition deposits. Fast forward to today, Soa has been attending the same private school in Manhattan for the last seven years. Unfortunately, she still has a very long commute, plus, academically and developmentally, has been at a stalemate for quite a long time. Pointing fingers is not the solution. All we could do is explore every avenue. Thus, my thrust for homeschooling.

Soa is a beautiful, athletic young lady, who—as all her therapists attest—is intelligent with loads of potential. Should we stay with the status quo, transfer her to a D75 local school or another private school with an hours-long commute—or try homeschooling? Her dad and I differ on the idea of homeschooling. I’m building my case on the fact that Soa thrives in a one-on-one setting, for example, her home-based ABA therapy through Rockaway-based ABA Tree at home. What’s the point of sending her to a school that oftentimes amounts to an hours-long commute, twice a day, every day, not to mention if her one-to-one bus para is not present, she can’t board the bus. Plus, I’m not seeing any advancements. For crying out loud, Soa does not even spell her name!

However, her dad’s stance is that Soa will be isolated at home with little to no peer interaction. I beg to differ. Rockaway Special Olympics has their Monday program, where individuals of all ages get to socialize, and incidentally, where my daughter has actually developed a crush. (So cute to watch!). Plus, Rockaway Beach Autism Families (RBAF) has a host of recreational activities for families. And there are homeschool socializing clubs. Not to mention, we live by the beach, where she loves to skateboard up and down the boardwalk.

Folks, please share your sentiments by emailing: kami@rockawaybeachautismfamilies.org. It does take a village, and I would love your thoughts, especially if you have personal experience with homeschooling, special needs or not. In my next column, I’ll be sharing NYS guidelines regarding homeschooling with special needs, including how your local school district can still provide speech, OT, PT and other services. Note, to be considered for the upcoming new school year, a letter of intent has to be sent to the DOE by June 1!

Join RBAF at our next monthly family support group meeting on Thursday, May 22, 7 p.m., at Knights of Columbus (333 Beach 90th Street). There’ll be two guest speakers: Sam Jackson of Sail Rockaway presenting about summer sailing adventures for special needs families. Plus, Inclusive Instruction Essentials LLC (IIE) is back fielding questions about special education and services they provide to school staff and parents. For more info, visit Rockaway Beach Autism Families on Facebook/Instagram.