Reply to Would like your opinion on 2 high school options for autism-spectrum boy

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[quote=Anonymous]I homeschool my late elem child and there are many benefits as far as being able to go right to the child's level.  However, you have to know your child.  I have found the social front to be difficult to navigate.  Many of the homeschooling activities are unstructured park dates, which don't work for my son.  My son is reluctant to be thrown in to meet new kids, so he has been more isolated than I would like.  And even if he was meeting a lot of new kids, it takes a child with weaker social skills longer to connect and make friends.  And many homeschooled kids I find are kind of in their own groove and it's not as easy to break in as I had expected.  This may be very much our own unique experience, so take what I say with a grain of salt.  A lot depends on your child, his eagerness and ability to connect, etc.  On our end we may return try school again purely to have him around kids.  And I think my son misses being part of a school before we moved here so he is willing to try again (after a harsh and unsupportive school year after we moved to MoCo).

High school is definitely doable with homeschooling but it's probably somewhat challenging to teach at that level. Being self-directed and having strong interests helps.

Community college classes in late HS is def an option (and sometimes I think possibly better preparation for college than HS might be), and there are many classes for homeschoolers all over the area.  It can involve a LOT of driving as classes are spread out (I'm talking all over Montgomery County, MD; Virginia; I see less posted about classes in DC, though there are some).  We took too many last semester and the number of transitions, new faces, and vast location changes proved taxing for my son (mild AS) in a way I did not foresee.  Plus classes are often 1 1/2 hrs long which is a long time to sit, but they need to be long because they are often once a week.

If your child already has friends to hang out with after school hours perhaps he will get enough social interaction (but kids are often busy doing their homework after school in high school, or activities).

Getting fitness in is also a challenge with homeschooling (do kids take PE in high school, I don't even know.)

I recommend you join some yahoo homeschooling chat groups to ask more questions:  MHLN; BWHE are both good places to start and ask for groups specific to DC.

If your son can handle school I would suggest you stick with that, and if you can't afford it down the line or your son is unhappy, maybe try homeschooling.  I do love many many things about homeschooling--for us it's mainly the social side that is tricky.  Oh, and I do think there is something about forming relationships with different teachers and tapping into their excitement and expertise on specific subjects can be such a great experience.  Of course, you can get some of that taking classes as well. And enjoying time together as a family will also be a special memory.

Have you looked at Commonwealth in VA?  I've heard it's a school that focuses on supporting executive functions with a standard school curriculum.  I don't know of other schools to recommend.

Whatever you do will be a worthwhile adventure--both options have strong merits.  Sounds like you have a child who learns well and he has your support.  [/quote]

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