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Speech Disorder, LD, and Homeschooling
Q: Our three-year-old has just been diagnosed with severe speech and learning disabilities. We are starting the process of getting him into speech and language classes in the fall. We were planning on homeschooling him when he starts kindergarten. Can we still do that or will he have to attend a regular school?
A: If your three-year-old has been diagnosed with significant speech and learning disabilities, I would be reluctant to recommend home schooling. It's going to be very important that he has an opportunity to interact with other children while he is working on his speech and language skills and that a well-trained professional monitor his progress. Once he begins his speech and language classes in the fall, keep the lines of communication open with his teachers and ask them how you can reinforce their work at home. You can play a critical role in your child's success. Remember that you can ask for a reevaluation to assess the progress your child's made when he is ready for kindergarten and make your decision then about what kinds of supports he will need. Good luck!
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For more than 20 years, Eileen Marzola has worked with children and adults with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, and with their parents and teachers. She has been a regular education classroom teacher, a consultant teacher/resource teacher, an educational evaluator/diagnostician, and has also taught graduate students at the university level. Marzola is an adjunct assistant professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. She also maintains a private practice in the evaluation and teaching of children with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders.
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