Does Your Child Really Need to Attend an Afterschool Program?

Does Your Child Really Need to Attend an Afterschool Program?

As parents, we want to do what’s best for our children. This stretches across all aspects and areas of life but perhaps none quite as important as school. Whether our children attend a public or private school, or if they’re homeschooled; education matters. With the decision of where to send them, or to keep them at home, may also come the decision of whether or not to enroll them in an afterschool program. For Sweet B, at least for the time being, we’re developing an afterschool at home program to make connections between home and school. It’s loosely based on her IEP goals but also has plenty of flexibility for working on life skills. But is an afterschool program really necessary for all children? Let’s…

How to Develop an Afterschool at Home Program

How to Develop an Afterschool at Home Program

Autistic individuals thrive with routines, as parents we know this to be true. For Sweet B, that means having as predictable of a schedule as possible both at home and at school. So when I first had the genius, or maybe not so genius, idea to start an afterschool program at home for her; I really wasn’t sure how she would take to it. Added to that, I had no set plan which was almost setting me up for failure. Though we’ve taken a break from it this year (2015/2016), I am planning ahead for next school year. One of the most important things that I’m going to do is set a budget so I know how much I have to save. Here’s our plan…

Autism and Afterschooling

Because of her disability, and learning level, Sweet B doesn’t have homework. That’s not to say that she isn’t learning at home, but it wasn’t really structured. That was something I wanted to change, but I was kind of at a loss with where to start. That was until I treated it like an IEP meeting and developed some goals and how those goals would be reached. I understand, also, that I need to be flexible with this- especially in the beginning. It’s a change in routine for her, though once we’ve found something that works, I’m sure Sweet B will flourish. Autism and Afterschooling: The ‘IEP’ First, I had to create a set of goals, similar to what would happen if this were Sweet…