What About Handicapped or Gifted Children?

Many parents are pulling their children in both of these groups out of traditional schools for the same reasons; the child needs very individualized instruction. This makes homeschooling ideal for them. You simply can’t get better than one on one with a teacher that has known the child since birth and is aware of all his abilities and limitations.

I have heard of many cases of children with “Minimal Brain Dysfunction” that actually ceased to show any symptoms of their learning disabilities after they were removed from public school. In one case, the school principle told the mom, “Your child will never learn to read! Get over it!” The mother withdrew her child from public school and taught him to read (It took six months or a year. I don’t remember which.) He is now performing at grade level.

I know of another case where the child had Cerebral Palsy. In a public school she would have been warehoused. No one expected her to learn much of anything, especially reading. Today, this young lady is in Nursing School!

I have also known of children with health problems such as allergies and asthma that no longer had problems, or not as severe of problems, after they left the stress of traditional school. Of all children these need homeschooling the most, in my opinion.

Gifted children thrive on the freedom available in the home. They proceed at their own pace in every subject, sometimes astounding those around them (Imagine the comic strip character Calvin in a homeschool! The kid would have cured cancer and traveled to the moon!). Traditional schools tend to hold them back to “average,” which is really lower than average in order to include as many children as possible.

It is also not unusual for gifted children to soar in one area and flounder in others; do algebra at six, but can‘t read until ten, for example. Sometimes they are placed in handicapped classes because they are “behind” in some area. This just makes matters worse since they are then held back in every area. They get bored and cause trouble. Can you see things getting worse and worse?
At home, they get tutoring in their problem areas and are turned loose in their areas of gifting. Everything is better. (Want to know the truth? I have been around many children, “gifted” and “not gifted.” I believe they are all gifted in some area. They may be gifted in an area that is not recognized as important in our society, such as nurturing others or outside-the-box thinking or making people laugh, but they are all gifted.)