As a missionary, making decisions about children and their education is no easy task.  That task is compounded if you have a child that has special educational needs.  Families that are homeschooling and facing these needs may see it as an insurmountable task, especially if they are serving in a country with very limited resources available.   I recently listened in on a webinar concerning this topic.  Let me share with you some of the things I learned, and some of the resources that are available online that may be helpful to you and your family.

Kathy Kuhl is an educator who homeschooled her child with dyslexia.   She has a website: learndifferently.com.

Kathy shares practical ideas and help through her blog and through several books she has written.  One really neat thing I noticed is she is hosting an online conference for those homeschooling their special needs children.  For only $22 you can have lifetime access to the sessions.  This starts July 21, which is very soon.  I would suggest you take a look at this and see all the topics covered.  It looks like a lot of very practical help such as After the Diagnosis: what’s next, Fostering Independence in your ADHD child, Homeschooling with learning differences, and more than 30 others.

Another helpful resource is a FB group for families.  It can be found at SPED Homeschool. There is a FB page, and also a support group, and a resource group that you can check out.

One question many families have is what curriculum they should use for their child that may have special educational needs.  It was suggested to look at Cathyduffyreviews.com.  When you go to her website, look at Homeschool Extras, then Testing and Special Needs and then click on Resource Reviews.  She has a lot of information about many homeschool materials that could help you decide what might be a good fit for your child and family.

The last resource is Learnwellcollective.org.  This is a hybrid type of online learning.  With Learnwell you are able to have a teacher supporting you in your homeschooling efforts.  They also have the ability to supply you with a regular teacher and a special-needs teacher to support your family.  This might be something to look into.  Be sure and let them know you are an overseas worker, so you can take advantage of their 30% discount. 

I hope learning about some of these resources has been helpful.  Maybe you have read this, and this information doesn’t necessarily apply to you.  If you know someone that could benefit from it, please feel free to pass it on.