How to Homeschool Children with Special Needs in 2025: A Complete Roadmap to Success - Part 1

Dec 31, 2024

11 min read

Homeschooling a child with special needs can feel like navigating uncharted waters—challenging, yet incredibly rewarding! Did you know that approximately 14% of homeschooled children have a diagnosed learning difference or disability? Every child is unique, and special needs homeschooling offers an unprecedented opportunity to create a truly personalized learning experience. Whether your child has autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, or other special needs, this guide will equip you with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to become an exceptional special need homeschool parent.

Understanding Special Needs in a Homeschool Context

When you are not part of a public school system, the possibilities are endless. You can participate in special needs homeschool groups, schedule therapies with flexibility and as many as you need, provide educational material that is at their level, choose what they learn, and focus on the practical skills they need to be successful.

One of my favorite things that I have been able to do is to schedule my daughter's speech therapy three times a week. On top of that, I can work with the speech therapist to come up with an educational plan that connects with what she is working on in speech.

Another wonderful thing is the ability to change the curriculum when one is not working. This does happen. We were using a particular curriculum that worked with my daughter for about 6 months, and then every time she saw it, she would shut down. Clearly, it was time to put that curriculum on hold and find another one. And we did. And she thrived.

Defining Different Types of Special Needs and Learning Differences

Here are a few of the most well-known and common unique abilities.

ADHD: (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a brain condition that affects how people focus, control impulses, and manage their energy levels. It often causes difficulty paying attention, staying organized, and sitting still, especially in children, though it can continue into adulthood.

Auditory Processing Disorder: People with APD have a hard time processing sounds because their brain misinterprets them.

Autism Spectrum: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that affects how people communicate, interact with others, and experience the world. It can include challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, and unique ways of learning or thinking. It varies widely from person to person.

Down Syndrome: Down syndrome is a genetic condition caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. It affects a person's physical development, and learning ability, and may cause certain health issues.

Dyslexia: Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that makes it hard to read, write, and spell.

Dyscalculia: A learning difficulty that makes it hard to solve math problems. Everything from telling time, counting money, recognizing mathematical patterns, adding and subtraction.

Dysgraphia: A learning difficulty that makes it hard to put their thoughts in writing. They may have poor handwriting because of their difficulty with special awareness, placement, and motor planning.

Mental Health Conditions: This can include anxiety, depression, panic disorder and bipolar.

Sensory Disabilities: This includes both the hearing impaired and visual impaired.

Sensory Processing Disorder: This is when the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information from the senses. A person can be overly sensitive, or they need more sensory input to/from sounds, lights, textures, taste, and touch.

Not every child has the same learning difference. And even within each diagnosis there are differences There are also combinations of learning differences too. You can have someone on the spectrum who has dyslexia or another child with Down Syndrome who has SPD and visual processing difficulties. As one of my dear friends says, regarding autism, “Once you meet a kid on the autism spectrum, you meet just one kid on the spectrum. No one is identical.”

However, understanding their disability and learning differences is a start. So having a professional test them is a must. I did this with my kids. Once I was able to get a diagnosis, I was then able to research. With the research, I learned about their struggles and challenges and what tools I could use to help them. This helped tremendously! It not only empowered me, but it empowered them.

So, therefore, defining your child’s disability and learning difference is essential when you are first starting the process of planning for your child. Beware, there is a lot of information out there and it can be overwhelming. It can also take some time and a lot of trial and error so be patient with yourself.

Importance of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) in Homeschooling and Assessing Your Child's Specific Learning Profile and Needs

Is it worth it? Not all homeschoolers need an IEP, in fact many chose not to have one because it just takes too much time. However, in some states, there are great advantages to having a professionally made IEP. So let look at it in more depth.

An IEP (Individualized Education Program) is a personalized plan that outlines the specific educational services that a child needs. It gives them learning goals, accommodations, and any related services that they need for their success.

An education plan is scheduled for them.

If you just want to write an IEP for your child, think of it as a list of goals, special subjects, therapies, and activities that will accommodate their needs (for example speech, physical therapy, swim lessons, art therapy, ABA, etc..) and anything unique that you need and want to work on. The benefit to this for a homeschooling parent is that you can see improvements, find weaknesses, and reassess what you're doing to help them succeed.

On average an IEP is written once a year, but I personally reevaluate my child's goals 4 times a year. On my website I have a free printable that can help you assess your child’s present level of performance. This is similar to the ones you use in the schools and will help you create some great goals for your child. You can download the PLOP here.

Legal Considerations and Educational Rights for Special Needs Students

Of course, it’s always wise to check in with your state’s legal laws regarding homeschooling and also to see if there is anything specific for special needs students. My Facebook page, Living with Eve, has some wonderful resources to help you get a snapshot of your state’s local laws. If you are in Florida, I have a ton of videos on my YouTube Channel. Another outside resource is HSLDA. They are our legal defense attorneys, and they have a lot of resources that you can skim through.

Creating an Adaptive Learning Environment

Everything from a sensory-friendly home to technology, we can adapt our homes to meet the needs of our children. The school system does not always do that. There is too much noise, too many bright colors or not enough bright colors, students have to stay seated and can't have fidget toys, and many more limitations. Here are some ideas that you gleam from to get you started on created the best atmosphere for your child.

Designing a Sensory-friendly Home Classroom

Like I said before, when you homeschool, the possibilities are limitless. One of the benefits is the opportunity to create a sensory-friendly environment. This can include color-friendly walls, low or bright lights, swings, textured toys, chairs that move and bounce, or desk space that is isolated and quiet. Once you know what your child needs for their success you can create that atmosphere for them.

My daughter has a small space just for her. The walls are green, which is very soothing. She has shelves full of games and activities that she can access whenever she wants. The best part of her space is her swing. She can hide and isolate herself when she feels overwhelmed and needs a safe and soothing space to regroup. By far that is the most used item in our home.

Choosing flexible and specialized curriculum options

There are so many different types of curriculums out there. The best place to start is with people you know. Ask around friends' groups, special needs groups, therapists, and even friends on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. YouTube is also a great resource since many parents will share what worked and didn’t work for them. More than likely you will find a parent that you can connect with and as a result, help guide you when picking a curriculum. The best place, in my opinion, is at a homeschool convention. You will find people to speak with, a curriculum that you can flip through, and talks that will guide and encourage you.

Another important step to take is finding the correct level for your child. Most curriculums will have a placement test somewhere on their page so you can administer it to your child in order to decide which level suits them best. Every curriculum works differently so I feel like this step is imperative. Of course, you could find free diagnostic tools online and standardized test results to help. Those are very helpful if you have them. But if you don't, it's okay to just use the online placement test for your favorite curriculum.

Implementing assistive technologies and learning tools

We are so fortunate to live in a world where we have such amazing access to technology. Whether your child has a hearing aid or speech device you can’t deny that we are very fortunate. As a parent, when we know that our child has these tools, we will want to use them to help them overcome their challenges. Learning how to use them ourselves and learning how to assist them when they are using it is imperative, especially learning how to use them correctly and to their full potential.

My daughter has a speech device. At first, I didn’t think this was actually going to help us but when my daughter’s speech therapist taught me how to use it to its full potential, that is when I learned how important this item was. I do have a video on this, and you can find it here if you want more details. To sum up, this device has helped my daughter with reading, recognizing pictures, increasing her vocabulary, helping others understand what she is thinking, communicating, and helping her with her fine motor skills.

Managing potential overstimulation and sensory challenges

I’m not going to lie; our kids get overstimulated. And in a classroom setting, in a public or private school, this sometimes cannot be avoided. When we homeschool, we have control over that. Now I’m not saying we should isolate ourselves inside our homes and isolate our children from overstimulation. I do believe that allowing your child to experience uncomfortable situations is good for them. However, when they need to focus and get things done, having a safe place that will not overstimulate them is so helpful.

Essential Curriculum Modifications and Strategies

Here are some ways that you can modify the curriculum you already own and to give them strategies to help them learn.

Customizing learning approaches for different special needs.

This basically means that as you go through the curriculum, you can change it up to meet their needs however you want. You don’t need to have anybody’s approval. You are the parent, you know what’s best for your child, so change as needed.

A great example that I can share with you is how I teach my daughter words. She learns best with repetition and hands-on activities. I have bought almost every phonic and word game that I can imagine. I use those as her base. I also have activities from Lakeshore Learning, books from Happy Cheetah and the Reason for Reading Series, phonic books from Logic Of English, Handwriting pages from Handwriting Without Tears and I also write some supplementary packets to help with fine motor skills and vocabulary. Since we have to do many of these over and over again, sometimes I laminate them or put them in plastic sheets. Sometimes I don't because I realize the friction between the pen and the paper is very important for muscle development.

What I am trying to say is that we can do whatever it is we need to do to help with the success of our kids.

Breaking down complex concepts into manageable steps

Many of our children are going to take longer to learn. A skill that we need as parents is not only patience but the ability to take something that is easy and make it easier. The best way to do that is to break down concepts into smaller steps.

Here’s a simple example. When your child is ready for bed at night many of us may have made visual charts with each step.

Pick out your pjs.
Go to the bathroom.
Take a bath.
Dry off and get dressed for bed.
Put dirty cloths away.
Brush your teeth.
Put toothbrush away.
Turn off the bathroom light.
Go to room.
Pray.
Lay down in bed.

You could do this for any academic concept. It could be math it could be reading. It could be spelling. It could be anything. Just break it down however you need in order for them to understand the concept.

Incorporating multi-sensory learning techniques

There are many different types of learning styles.

Some people learn best visually.

Some people learn best through hearing.

Some people are kinesthetic learners and learn by using their hands.

When we teach our kids, we ideally want to use all three. But hands-on is a huge learning tool for our kids. The more variety you can add to the learning the better.

And it could be very simple as using scissors, glue, music, art, reading, different styles of books, poetry, playdough, and anything you can think of or find online.

One of my favorite resources is Lakeshore Learning. I am constantly buying their hands-on materials. My daughter loves the colors. She loves the textures, and she has fun doing it.

Balancing academic progress with emotional support

All of us want our children to succeed academically. But we also know they may not succeed as fast as other students. This is very difficult for a child when they realize that this is happening. As parents, we need to be there for them. We need to help them understand that we all learn at different speeds. We can also remind them that they have strengths that many other kids don’t have.

My daughter has Down Syndrome. She will always be more flexible than anyone else I know. My daughter also has the gift of hugs. She sees people and loves them unconditionally no matter who they are. That is a gift many people have not been blessed with.

I’m also very familiar with ADHD. One of the most amazing strengths that they have is their ability to focus on a project. When they focus, nothing can stop them, not even their hunger. Because of this, they can get it done better than many other people and can make a great contribution to our society.

Tracking and documenting educational achievements

Many states require a student to maintain a portfolio. When you maintain a portfolio, that means you can include all educational achievements, work, and grades, and in some states, it is required that you take attendance. Remember that when you’re educating your child at home, you are allowing them to go at the speed that they need to go. That means their portfolio will show their improvements at the rate that they are learning.

One of the biggest questions I receive as a portfolio evaluator in the state of Florida is, "What if my child cannot write?" I always remind them that there are field trips (vacations), and therapies, you read books to them, and there are lots of practical skills that they need. That is all educational. All of that can be documented in the form of a list.

For our college-bound students, you will need to maintain transcripts. These you can put together just like you would put together a transcript for a child that doesn’t have Special Needs. The beauty of homeschooling is that you, the parent, decide what grade they receive for each class. You also decide what class they are going to be taking and at what level.

But the most important thing is that you must be honest. Don't just give them a specific grade because you think they should have it. Do your best to create a system and document it.

Of course, you also want to include a list of educational achievements that they have accomplished through the years. This can be a running list of awards, recognitions, certificates, theatre productions, volunteer hours, or anything from the Scouts or similar groups. Keep this with your portfolio or transcripts to share with colleges or evaluators.

We have learned so much already about homeschooling our unique learners. In my next article, I will touch on Social and Emotional Support for Special Needs Homeschoolers including managing social anxiety and emotional intelligence. We will also learn about professional support and resources, working with therapist, doctors, educational specialists, community resources, financial assistance, grants, professional development, and much more. Then we will end with transitional and long-term planning for unique learners.