MEET THE FOUNDER & Creator
Hi, I'm Stephanie!
I started Adapted Home Education to help parents who are teaching children with more severe learning challenges and/or are nonverbal. If this is your child, you are in the right place:
Two or more years behind grade level in core subjects like math and language arts due to complex needs
Stuck in perpetual kindergarten, always working on ABCs and 123s
Nonverbal or minimally speaking
Diagnosed with an intellectual disability
Transitioning out of school and into the community, but are most likely to be independent at home after graduation, not entering college or the workplace
Hello, Friend,
I know first hand how challenging and heart-breaking the process of raising a special needs child can be. When you choose to also homeschool your child, you are doing a noble task. It's not always easy, and I succumbed to the pressure and lived at the bottom of a pit for several years.
There was no sustained help forthcoming from family, friends or the church. I withdrew from any meaningful interactions with people, all the while trying to figure out how to help my daughter. I finally came out of that mode when we changed churches. All it took was one person showing kindness to me and my daughter and the burden began to lift.
I want to be that person for you. I care about you and your child. Even though you may feel extremely isolated, I want you to know that you are not alone. There is hope. There is a God who loves you and wants to walk beside you. He often shows that love through His people. You have found one of His people.
I have learned a lot in this special needs journey and want to share it with those who are in need. The most important thing to note is that you need a completely new set of teaching tools to succeed. When your child is working significantly behind grade level, you can't use a system of education set up for neuro typical children. You will fail. Instead, you can learn how to:
Choose appropriate curriculum
Adapt curriculum so it works for you and not against you
Adapt your teaching methods so they support your child's learning needs
Adapt your planning process so you don't give up half way through the year
Learn how your child learns so the teaching sticks
Get help in the areas you struggle so you don't get stuck
I know this looks like yet another list of things to do as a special needs parent. But if you are stuck, so is your child. The good news is that with the right tools and a little support, you will be amazed at what you can do and the difference it can make for everyone involved.
A Note from Stephanie
Although I am working through the parents, my real desire is to release these kids from the confines of their struggling bodies to experience life to their fullest potential and strive toward maximum independence--whatever that looks like for them. That means thinking through what is important during each season of education and prioritizing those things.
My daughter has graduated high school so we've been through the whole cycle. When I think about all the things we did and tried over the years, I get overwhelmed. I want to help you avoid some of that overwhelm in your own journey, and give you tools to make it much easier.
Stephanie is the creator of the ELARP™ Method for teaching students who are two or more years behind grade level and need an adapted scope and sequence, and Spell As U Go™, a reading, spelling and communication curriculum designed for nonverbal students.