Learning differences at home

Start here

• Notice and write down what you see and when.
• Talk to your child's doctor, and ask the school district's special education office for an evaluation (see the page on asking).
• Keep teaching in small, steady steps while you wait; waiting is not wasted.

The pages

• How to ask for a special education evaluation when you homeschoolWho can ask, how to put the request in writing, the federal 60-day timeline unless your state sets another, and what to do with the result. Not legal advice.
• Dyslexia and homeschooling: signs to notice and what helps at homeWhat dyslexia is in federal law, signs that a child may need an evaluation, and daily teaching steps that the What Works Clearinghouse supports. Not a diagnosis.
• ADHD and homeschooling: what the CDC says and how to adapt your dayWhat the CDC says ADHD is, its three presentations, who can diagnose it and what the American Academy of Pediatrics' treatment advice says; plus ways to shape a school day.
• Dyscalculia and math trouble at home: signs and what helpsWhere federal law names math calculation as an area of learning disability, signs that math trouble may be more than a gap, and the supports the What Works Clearinghouse backs.
• Homeschooling a gifted child: what it means and how to planHow federal law defines gifted and talented students, why a child can be ahead in one subject and behind in another, and practical ways to go deeper or faster at home.
• Visual schedules at home: how to make one and when it helpsWhat visual schedules are, the three kinds the AFIRM packet describes, when they help a child who struggles with transitions or forgets what is next, and how to make one.