I couldn't do school because I was to disruptive so I was home schooled and in middle school and high school with a live link to the school and my last year I did some classes at the school. It worked for us but my aunt was a retired school teacher and she was strict with me, I did six hours a day just school but some in the morning and some at night because it was hard for me to sit still for more than hour..

My son is 12 now and I have been homeschooling for 6 years now. I am not saying its for everyone but it has worked out great for us. There are alot of resources out there for homeschoolers and social activities to get them involved in, you just have to look for them in your area and online. The main thing to ask yourself is if your child is happier and less stressed out of the institutionalized school setting then homeschooling is best for you and her.

@A MyAutismTeam Member, for the first time in all the years our oldest has attended school - starting at pre-pre-school at age 2 1/2, she started last Spring to ask if she could be homeschooled. The teasing (or at least what she perceived as teasing because of her language issues), the struggles with the academics, the fact that she was in a class where 12 of 13 kids were boys - it was all becoming too much. She transferred to a different school with a bit higher proportion of girls to boys, which originally was better but, after some changes to the student mix, found her in another group of eight where she's the only girl. She's expressed her desire to stop going to school which has only abated a bit since she has started to create a bond with the art teacher.

It's a challenging road. I don't have the skill to consider homeschooling, and my husband and I have struggled significantly with trying to support our kids. Balance escapes us - we make an inch of progress, only to be set back a foot.

Some people have always said things will get better. Others have said the challenges change as they age. I've seen countless lists of what is suggested to ask or say to parents of kids on the spectrum.

What's for sure is that time continues to move forward. We can't freeze a moment but can choose how we greet each one. I keep reaching deep for the positive which I think sometimes is misinterpreted as not caring about the negative. If I stop to think, I'll be swallowed up by it, and that won't do anyone any good.

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A MyAutis...

We removed our now 11 year (almost 12) old from school going on 3 years ago, she was not learning, non verbal, spending more time doing "chores" and in a sensory room than in the class room, she was segregated because of her autism and inability to participate in many things, and other things.
It has be hard and emotionally exhausting, but so very worth it. She is now communicating much better, so her frustration level is down, she is reading and sounding out words (though getting her to sit and read a book is not something she will do often) but she will read every word she sees around her, subtitles on videos, food packaging, signs. She is writing words and using written words to communicate what she wants when she can't form the words with her voice.
In my opinion we have seen far more growth and independence in the nearly 3 years we have had her in homeschooling than we saw in all of the years she has been schools out side the home starting when she was 4.
For us it has worked out for the best.

Well, I woke crying this morning because moved to LA last year from Monsey NY,which is a very orthodox Jewish community. I think my daughter is feeling the challenges of transition to the culture here in city life. After all we are FRUM Orthodox Jews and moved to the Valley village community here in LA for a new life. We had our daughter in a private Yeshivah, but she did not like the click of girls there and does not want to return to that school now. I am searching for a private religious tutor to keep up her studies in order to be part of our community. I feel so upset that my dream of having a child go to a Jewish Yeshivah and be proud of being part of our community is extremely important in knowing her own values etc. I think the changes we are all going through right now is the lack of having a good Rabbi on our side. We never believed in medicine and will never believe in that stuff. Our daughter is a beautiful teenager that is slowly learning more about different environments as well as different cultural backgrounds. Ultimately she will be fine. She is a wonderful girl DNS never had z behavior problem in school. When kids grow older and realize the work is harder, then they get angry because it is hard for them to keep up. Especially when children with autism that are really very bright, but test terribly. Each year more changes occur. I just have to hang in there!