Are there any good on-line schools for kids with learning disabiliites?

[JustMe]

Just still worried about dd both academically and socially. I do feel like her teachers are making an effort, but have too much on their plates to really do what is needed. Dd is begging me to homeschool her, to do an on-line school, or have someone come to my house to teach her. None of these are really feasible, but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. I find soe that look good by googling, but of course all it takes is good marketing rather than a good program.

[egoldber]

I don't know of any that are specifically for kids with special needs. I think they can be a good fit for many special needs children, but I would be very concerned about a child with learning disabilities and an on-line curriculum.

[sste]

Justme, have you gotten your DD a comprehensive neuropsych (and speech and OT if applicable) exam privately? We are in the process of doing this. We located someone who is extremely well-regarded and also very well-connected and has specific tutors, SLPs etc she can refer us to *along with her thoughts about the best approaches for our DS.* Initially we were going to let the school do the testing and just supplement it but frankly I was very unimpressed with the school on this issue for DS and I know their testing is quite "basic."

It is an investment as it is expensive and you really need to find the right person -- the better connected and the more active the person is the better. What you want to avoid is just being handed a very expensive report with 1) little detail on what types of programs, strategies, approaches, or curricula will benefit your DD; and 2) no referrals to outside services and practitioners as needed.

I bring this up because from your posts I really sense that the problem is that no one has an even decent diagnostic handle on your DD and so therefore the school is just throwing darts so to speak. I know the money for this type of testing can be an issue but I think it can be worth it. The reality is the school is working with your daughter and investing resources already there may be ways they can work smarter.

HTH and forgive me for going off-topic here . . .

[brittone2]

I don't know of any that are specifically for kids with special needs. I think they can be a good fit for many special needs children, but I would be very concerned about a child with learning disabilities and an on-line curriculum.

I agree with this.

[JustMe]

Thanks for the replies! To clarify/put things in context...I guess I was not really thinking of a straightforward on-line program, but more of a homeschool curriculum that I could use (or someone else could use) to teach her. I know she can't just sit in front of a computer and learn. I was thinking about this for a few reasons
--1) I just really feel our district does not have the resources to meet her needs. She is socially and academically not ready for middle school, yet there she is. Aside from them having difficulty helping her learn, I am concerned about the social situations she is getting into and what will happen given her skill level. If I complain too loudly, they will think life skills which is not what she needs either.
--2) I just got an e-mail from a friend whose dd also has learning disabilities. She is doing a home school program that is in collaboration with her district for her dd this year and it is going great. (She does not live near me, so different district)
--3)As far as a neuropscyh, yes she has had one from a respected outside agency and she does have a dx. The recommendations were not very specific as I don't think there is an expert local to me on this dx/it is not a "popular" or "in" dx. I can find info on what is recommended for it, but that doesnt really put the district in a place to have to do it as there is nothing from a widely respected/researched body. I am in close contact with her developmental ped., who has done some evals on her (although not the neurospsych--but we have asked her for more specific recommendations and don't get any useful ones). The only new recommendation he has is trying adhd meds, which I resisted so far as she does not have adhd (also does not have the inattentive type either and I am very familiar with what that looks like) but I may have to give it a try in light of the lack of other ideas. The med post would be a whole other post that I may write soon.

Thanks!

[cuca_]

Do you have any schools for kids with learning disabilities or special needs anywhere near you? If you do, I would try contacting them to see if they have any resources that could help you. In our area there is a school for kids with special needs, that provides services outside of the school. They are special needs providers for the school district and for private clients. One of the services they provide is designing homeschool curricula for parents. They also provide tutors for homeschool kids, or just the curriculum to be implemented by the parents or tutor of their choice. Even if there is a school that in your area that is not within commuting distance to you, they might be able to provide a similar service.

[brittone2]

I would familiarize yourself with homeschool laws in your state just as a starting point, because they vary tremendously from state to state. My state has specific rules for those children who are "privately tutored" vs. those who are "homeschooled," so those are points that would be important to research. The reporting, etc. works differently in my state for kids filing under the "private tutor" option vs. homeschooling with the parent delivering/supervising the instruction.

Then there's the angle of cyberschool or "hybrid" programs available in some states where you can attend PS part-time and homeschool part time (very rarely permitted in my state at all. If your friend lives in your area, perhaps you do have this option available). In my state, homeschooled students have access to PS extracurric, but rarely to anything academic/curricular. Individual schools sometimes make exceptions, but this is IME extremely uncommon). In terms of cyberschool, those programs still fall under public school regulation, which may be an advantage or disadvantage depending on your needs. You lose some flexibility, etc. that is part of the beauty of homeschooling. I have known several HSers who moved to cyber for financial reasons, etc. and really lamented the loss of flexibility and sometimes the volume of output expected, so that's something to consider. My only discussions with others on this topic have revolved around straight up traditional types of cyberschools, not any geared toward unique learning needs, etc.

If you are thinking about this, I would head to the welltrainedmind forums and ask around on there. There may be some alternative(s) that they are aware of. They have a forum for learning challenges. They may be aware of something that would fit your needs.
http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/forum/6-the-learning-challenges-board/

There's also an afterschooling board if you opt to keep her in PS and then supplement with curriculum that is curtailed to her specific needs.

[sste]

I was checking out the local LD school near me and they use a program called "Visualizing and Verbalizing" it addressed reading comprehension but also I think just understanding the gestalt of what is going on in a given discussion, learning, concept etc.

Try googling it justme, it seemed like something that might fit from what you have described of your DD.

[BunnyBee]

I second brittone's recommendation for the WTM Learning Challenges board.

Would you be able to be home with your DD all of the time? Do you work from home or do you work out of the home during the hours she's in B&M school?

A friend of a friend is using our state's virtual academy to school her very young son who has high-functioning autism. Because the virtual academy is essentially public school, he gets the benefit of an IEP, etc. and services (OT and speech therapy) while not having to go to a classroom that isn't a good fit for him at the moment. He's in kindergarten, and she spends a huge amount of time customizing his education above and beyond and outside the virtual academy. From what I understand (I spoke with her at a party about homeschooling), she's basically not using the virtual program much at all, which is part of his IEP. She has to jump through bunches of hoops for the school system AND manage everything about his therapies and schooling. It's more work than if she were homeschooling on her own.

[JustMe]

Thanks for all of the replies. The "Visualizing and Verbalizing" program sounds really interesting. I did some quick research on it and will do some more.

No, I don't really have the ability to be home with her (yet), but still want to know what the alternatives are as some days things feel pretty desperate around here academic/school/developmental wise.