When you have a child with special challenges, therapy becomes a household word. Whether you’re doing an in-home therapy or taking your child somewhere for therapy, it takes something homeschool moms are already stretched for…time.
What if there was a way to schedule your therapy so it was not an interruption to your school day, but rather part of your school day? What if you looked at it as just another subject, like math or reading?
When my twin boys were diagnosed with autism, we were trying to make things work in the school system. We were doing group speech as well as 1-on-1 speech therapy. They were in an ABA classroom environment. We were packing up and driving to occupational therapy a half hour away. We were “getting services” but there was one problem…it wasn’t working for our family. More often than not, going to therapy added stress to our already hectic schedule and we were seeing very few positive results. For this and various other reasons, we decided it was better to educate them at home and sought out a home-based therapy program.
Later, my third child was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Again, we felt that homeschool was the right choice for our entire family so we sought to find a way to help him from home, as well.
Before I knew it, “therapy time” had become another school subject for us.
So how do you fit therapy into your homeschool schedule?
- Find a program that you can work from home
The Son-Rise Program® is a home-based therapy program for children with autism and significant social/relational challenges. This program has even replaced speech therapy for us. We also do biomedical therapy which addresses food and nutritional adjustments. Aside from occasional doctor’s visits, this is something that is completely home-based. As for our child with ADHD and dyslexia, we have also had success with biomedical therapy. To address his attention difficulties, we have done various brain training exercises at home, including suggestions from the Brain Balance Achievement Centers, and made appropriate adaptations to our schoolroom (like wobble chairs) as well as his curriculum (like short lessons). To address his dyslexia, we chose curriculum written specifically for children with dyslexia, All About Reading and All About Spelling and require very little writing from assignments, substituting oral narration or answers. - Make it a priority in your schedule
Therapy needs to be high on your curriculum list. Don’t just hope to fit it in where you can – put it in your schedule first. - Focus on “right now” needs
If therapy is a top priority in your homeschool, it will become the lens that you see your child’s education through. That might mean you need to lighten the load of some other subjects. If you are feeling pressured to get everything done or getting a lot of resistance from your child, there may just be too much. Look at this as a season. Therapy, God willing, will not always be at the top of your priority list for your child. As your son or daughter makes progress and develops further, there will be room for more academics. You’ll need to ask yourself – what does my child need right now? You can always re-evaluate in a few months. Let’s be honest, if your child is seriously struggling with social and relational issues, more math is not going to help him with that. - Plan wisely and commit
When you consider where to put your therapy time, put it somewhere in your schedule that you know you can commit to it. Choose a time of day when you are typically home and working with your children. Don’t add therapy to a time of day that can be variable or hectic. Once you decide on a time of day, do everything you can to stick with that routine. Again, you can always re-evaluate in a few months. I find it a great benefit to plan our homeschool in three-month terms for this reason. - Fill your child in on the plan as they grow
When my children were younger, therapy felt like something I was doing to them or for them. The reality is, therapy is something I do with You will have the most success with your child – no matter what program you choose – if they are on board. Explain to them simply why you are doing certain activities or exercises. Ask them what they would like to work on or get better at. If they are unsure or you feel like they can’t answer accurately, study your child to learn more. Be sure that your therapy program grows and develops with your child. Look to him for your cues on what goals you should be working on next. - Enlist help
Homeschooling takes an extraordinary amount of time, energy and patience from mama and adding therapy to that will certainly require more of you. Be sure to communicate with your husband about how you can work as a team at home. See if you can enlist the help of family or friends to spend time with your other children while you work with your child in his therapy program. Family and friends can also lighten your load by helping with small chores like picking up groceries (many stores now have a drive up pick up option when you order online) or returning library books. Think of tasks that are difficult for you to get out and do but would be no problem for someone without a vanload of children, including those with special challenges.
Making therapy a part of your curriculum can take a little adjustment in the beginning but will prove to be a great blessing. Remember, the benefit of homeschooling is that we can commit to educating our whole child and customizing his curriculum to fit him – and that includes his therapy program.
