Thinking about taking our son out of school

@lvmybz (125)
United States
September 17, 2007 1:29am CST
My husband and I are thinking about taking our son out of school. He is almost 5 so he missed the cut off to go into kindergarden. We are looking at the possibilty of taking turns homeschooling him. We would get him a turtor and put him in a typical preschool. We just don't think he is developing in fact he seems to be getting worse. He maybe knows 2 or 3 letters of the alphabet. And he is not counting. I have nothing against his teachers, but I get tired of getting little response when I ask how his day was. Anyway I would love some feedback.
4 responses
@sephrenia (567)
17 Sep 07
I see that in the tags you put autism so im guessing your son has this condition. I think in your case it may be best to take your son out of school especially if you are not getting reports on him every day. When my son was at nursery school, the second he had anything wrong with him or seemed behind his peers, they started contacting professionals straight away to help him out. I'm appalled that they wont tell you even how his day has gone, he's your child for crying out loud! If you get a personal tutor in for him, see if you can get one that has taught autistic children before as they will be able to help your son better than someone who hasnt. Obviously this may not be possible but its certainly worth a try. Do you belong to any autism support groups? if not you may want to check them out as they will have a ton of info on education that could help you out. I apologise if my presumption of your son having autism is wrong in advance lol, the tag seems to suggest it is all. Anyway, In the end you have to do whats best for both you and your son and this place hes been going to doesnt sound like its worth your time.
@lvmybz (125)
• United States
18 Sep 07
Hi sephrenia My child is autistic we found out when he was almost 3 and a half. We do have some really great support groups for autistic families in the state where I live and I do belong to some of them, but I pobably don't use them as much as I could. Unfortanely that is about as far as it gets. The state where I live does little to help people with autism. We have a regional center out here but there is a huge waiting list and good luck trying to get somebody to call you back. LOL! I should clear something up I do get reports on him but only on my request. Such as if I ask how he was or I will write a question in his log book. I appreciate your response you gave me some good advice
@SJTmy3 (29)
• United States
22 Sep 07
My daughter is 4 and isn't labeled autistic but she does have a chromosome disorder and is severely developmentally delayed. She goes to preschool at United Cerebral Palsy and they are great. She gets speech, OT, PT, DT, learns pictures exchange communication and signing - it's a great place and we send a notebook back and forth to write things back and forth. Do you have UCP in your area?
@ghazal2k5 (920)
• India
17 Sep 07
I think only you can make the best decision. But i think if he studies at home under your eyes then it will be better for him. Take care
@lvmybz (125)
• United States
18 Sep 07
Thanks so much for your response. My husband really believes homeschooling is the way to go. I am still unsure.
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
18 Sep 07
Homeschooling is a big commitment. Are you thinking of homeschooling him for the entirety of elementary school? I tutor, and some of the families I tutor for are homeschoolers. They have to do a lot of work, and it can be quite difficult for them to cover areas such as math and science completely. It can also be quite frustrating. Some parents have trouble just helping their kids with regular school homework - it would take a lot more time and patience to homeschool. That said, there are certainly resources available, and I'm sure you know what is best for your family. I would probably try to homeschool if I were in the same situation as you are.
@lancingboy (1385)
• United States
18 Sep 07
Be careful when choosing Home School courses for your child, if you do decide to take him out of school. Many of the Home School curreculum are owned by Christian companies, so what they teach in those courses and what they teach in regular schools and colleges are completely different. If your child gets control over his autism, and he decided that he does want to go to college, he will have a very hard time adjusting and relearning everything. Also, you should get together with parents in your area and set up play dates for him, the kind that you are there for as I'm sure he would act differently given his condition. I do not know much about autism I admit, so I hope I got a few things right about this subject.