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High school subjects/transcript for special needs
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I’m a little bit ahead on this because my son would be starting 8th grade in the fall, but I’ve begun to wonder what I should do in order to award him a diploma for high school. He is mildly autistic and was tested a few years back with an I.Q. of 82. School has been a slow, deliberate process. For example, he has not mastered his addition facts past 3+, but he understands the concept of addition and wants to move on to multiplication. He can read at about a 3rd grade level, maybe a bit more. He loves hearing history stories, but narrations are slim on details, often stumbling over names & dates.
I’m not sure how far he will go in most subjects, so I’m not sure how his transcript will look upon graduation. Will he ever complete Algebra or beyond? Will he be able to complete a high school level biology course? Could he pass a basic test of American history when it’s all said and done? These are things I wonder about.
For those of you who have gone down a path with a child who is probably not college material (although I wouldn’t want to slam that door….I’ve seen the movie about Temple Grandin!), how do I get past just taking things one year at a time and actually plan for high school? Or is it best to just keep going slowly but surely? I’m just at a loss for how to decide what to do for him long-term.
I’m bumping this because I realized the subject line might be misleading….I’m not really looking for any how-to’s or info about h.s. transcripts for my special needs son. I’m really just trying to think through planning for high school for him (which will start the year after this coming academic year).
It’s really pretty easy to analyze & plan what my daughters will need to take in order to graduate & what they ought to complete for their college/career paths. I’m just a bit at a loss for how to plan for my son.
I’m not familiar with the accomisations made in this situation, but if I were in the same place, I’d just follow the slow and steady plan. Are there requirements for your state, and, if so, is there a sample online somewhere that suggests modifications in similar circumstances?
That said, you know you son. The state does not. What are the necessaries for him in life? What plans do you need to make for him to be successful on a daily basis no matter the subject? Are there areas in which he excels? I’d build on these with all your might to help him become an expert in that/those areas. Continue to introduce the same things others might encounter as you never know what might be an area in which he’d also excel.
What would you describe as an excellent education for him? It will look so much different than his sister’s will, but it will still be excellent.
Just some thoughts,
Becca<><
Sue,
I have a dd who is in a similar place academically to your son. She will be in 7th grade in the fall. She has some learning disabilities as well as some short term memory and auditory processing problems. We see an educational neuro-psychologist every other year. He and his educational specialist help guide me on curriculum suggestions. When I asked about the big picture…like how we would handle highschool, he basically told me not to worry about things that far out. Um….that is not really my nature. 🙂 I am a planner. I assume there has to be some sort of accomodations for our kids even though we have no official IEP since we homeschool.
All that to say that I don’t really have an answer to your question and that I am wondering the same thing. For the moment, I just plan to keep pluggin along and trying to move forward. We are not following the normal path. There is no way I am putting her in general science this year. As for math, we made it through the concepts of multiplication, but she can’t remember facts even with all the drill we have done. We are still getting tutoring for reading as well.
The up side to homeschooling for our kids is being able to tailor lessons to them. I came back to CM because dd really does well with short lessons. She also does well with some of those other subjects like art, music, picture study. It is nice to be able to focus on areas of strength, too.
Blessings,
Chris
My daughter with spina bifida did not work at what you would call grade level. She graduated with a general diploma. I think the key is to just keep moving forward from where you are. My evaluator said that what needs to be shown is progression. You don’t need to worry about certain courses being covered. If your son makes it to algebra…great! If not, that’s okay too. Just keep him moving forward.
Our 10yo has dyslexia and has tremendous struggles in math. She will be in 4th grade and we are just working in addition. I really do not look for her to do algebra. It will probably take us a long time to get through the 4 basic operations, and it is more important for her to learn the math she will need in everyday life….money, measuring, telling time, etc. She is still not reading independently. That will affect what she can do in science and history. So, my focus is going to be on basic math skills and reading skills. I know my daughter is not near high school, but, knowing where she is now and having experience in this area, I know we will just move along in each subject as she is able.
My son will be 9th grade next year and is way behind in school. He has a lower IQ and auditory processing disorder. I worried about high school too. But, I read some things from HSLD and went to a homeschooling for high school course locally and here are some of the things I learned from those.
If you give them courses that are hard enough for them, they are progressing in work level from grade to grade (no matter what level that is), you can count that as their high school courses on a transcript. For instance, you don’t have to put Algebra I, you can put Math 9. You can put Biology, even if it’s an easier version of high school biology. If it’s at their challenge level, it counts. High schools give diplomas to kids like this all the time. Unless your child is severely special needs – like Down’s Syndrome – don’t give some sort of “special” certificate instead of a regular diplome. It will seriously hamper whatever they want to do later – job, trade school, etc.
What will my child do for 9th grade? We are using a lower level (than his grade level) of Queen’s Language Lessons, a paragraph writing program I got for remedial kids, Queen’s history (with lower requirements than his grade level), Biology 101 Cd’s (hoping this isn’t too hard for him – he is very visual, so videos are good), a remedial geography workbook, and Practical Arithmetic (about 6th grade level – strangely this is the only math I can get to work at all with him). I will also use a series of Life Skills workbooks with him that I got at a rededial store. It all will could for credits along with some PE, and other things he does that can be construed as a course- small business skills for his weedeating for pay from the neighbors, etc.
All that to say, that high school doesn’t have to look college prep to be legitimate and to graduate them with a diploma.
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