Category: Executive Functioning

Why Parents Should Attend the Second Annual Homeschooling Special Needs Expo

2/11/2025

Homeschooling a child with special needs can be an incredible journey--one filled with unique challenges, triumphs, and moments of deep connection. However, it can also feel isolating, overwhelming, and confusing at times. Parents who homeschool children with learning differences, medical challenges, or developmental delays often find themselves searching for resources, community, and expert guidance to better support their child's education.

That's why events like the Homeschooling Special Needs Expo are so important. This annual event is designed to equip, encourage, and empower parents who are educating children with special needs at home. As we approach the second annual Homeschooling Special Needs Expo, let's explore some of the key reasons why attending this event is a game-changer for special needs homeschooling families.

Access to Specialized Resources
Traditional homeschooling conferences often provide general resources for home education, but they may not always address the specific challenges of homeschooling a child with disabilities or learning differences. The Homeschooling Special Needs Expo is different in that it is tailored specifically for families like yours.

Attendees will have access to:
- Curriculum and tools designed for children with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, processing disorders, and other special needs.
- Therapists, speakers, and experts in many fields surrounding special needs homeschooling
- Hands-on materials and teaching strategies that support different learning styles.

This focused approach ensures that every family walks away with practical solutions they can implement immediately.

Learn from Experts in Special Needs Education
One of the highlights of this expo is the lineup of expert speakers--including therapists, educators, and experienced homeschooling parents who have walked this road before. These sessions offer valuable insights into topics like:
- ADHD, autism, adoption, dyslexia, neurodivergent, behaviors and more
- Strategies for teaching children with dyslexia, ADHD, or autism
- Helping neurodiverse children develop social and life skills
- Managing sensory sensitivities in a home learning environment
- Balancing self-care for parents while homeschooling

By attending these workshops, parents can gain new strategies and a fresh perspective on how to navigate their child's unique learning needs.

Find Encouragement and Community
Homeschooling special needs children can sometimes feel like a lonely road. Many parents feel like they don't fit into traditional homeschooling circles or special education groups. The Homeschooling Special Needs Expo provides a welcoming community of families who understand your struggles, celebrate your victories, and offer support when times get tough.

Leslie, a homeschooling mom who attended last year's Expo, had this to say: "The sessions were very informative and the opportunity to talk with vendors/presenters was incredibly helpful...The opportunity to be with others on similar journeys was encouraging and special to me as well. I looked over the crowd at one point and told a friend these folks are survivors....it was a kind of support group feeling for the PTSD of special needs homeschooling/parenting. It was wonderful and I’m so glad I attended. I made my decision at the last minute and again, I am so thankful I attended. I needed so much of the information that was shared - and didn’t know what I needed."

At the event, you'll have the opportunity to:
- Meet other parents who share similar experiences.
- Connect with vendors and organizations that specialize in serving homeschoolers with special needs.

Having a community of people who truly "get it" can make a world of difference in your homeschooling journey.

Discover Legal and Advocacy Support
Homeschooling special needs children comes with additional legal and advocacy considerations. Parents often have questions like:
"Do I need an official diagnosis to homeschool my child?"
"How can I prepare financially for when my special needs child is an adult?"
"How can I access programs that will help my special needs child financially, today?"

At the expo, financial experts and special needs advocates will provide guidance on these questions, navigating state laws, accessing resources, and advocating for your child's educational rights. This knowledge can empower parents to homeschool with confidence, knowing they are providing the best possible education within the law.

Get Hands-On Training and Interactive Workshops
Unlike traditional conferences that rely solely on lectures, the Homeschooling Special Needs Expo offers interactive workshops that allow parents to practice new strategies in real time. Some sessions may include:
- How to create an optimal home environment for children with sensory processing differences.
- Behavioral strategies
- Techniques for handling meltdowns, transitions

There will also be over 30 exhibitors to use as resources, encouragement, and to talk with to gain valuable information.

The second annual Homeschooling Special Needs Expo is designed by a special needs homeschooling mom to encourage, empower, and help parents on similar journeys. To gain a look at all the sessions and the companies that will be exhibiting at the conference, visit here. The Expo will be held June 26-28, 2025 at The LeGrand Center in Shelby, NC. Tickets are available now at this link.

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7 Tips on Homeschooling a Kid with Executive Function Issues

1/16/2024

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This is the first installment in a six-month long series on homeschooling various special needs, in anticipation of the Homeschooling Special Needs Expo, an in-person conference coming June 28-29, 2024 to Shelby, NC. Open to all in the United States, this conference is the first of its kind in the nation, featuring Temple Grandin delivering the in-person Capstone Keynote and a church track to help churches minister to special needs families, in addition to helping teach parents how best to homeschool their special needs children and teens. For more information on the conference, click here.

What is executive functioning? Executive functioning are those skills that help a person plan ahead, meet goals, follow multi-step directions, have self-control, and manage distractions. For many kids (and adults!) with autism, ADHD, and other neurodivergent issues, executive functioning skills are not innate. However, one can exhibit executive function delays without having autism, ADHD, or other issues. The keys to help a child with executive functioning issues are to identify the issues and then to train the brain to develop those skills.

There are eight key executive functions: Impulse control, Emotional Control, Flexible Thinking, Working Memory, Self-Monitoring, Planning and Prioritizing, Task Initiation, and Organization. Here are seven ways to homeschool kids with executive functioning issues.

Use a planner for each child
Use a calendar-planner for each child, where the child can write down assignments, tasks, chores, therapy sessions (if applicable), and keep track of important dates, such as birthdays, youth events for church, and due dates for homeschool projects. Use this planner to write down daily goals and priorities. Check the planner daily but allow the child to use the planner to take ownership, to help him or her track progress.

Top 5 priorities
Each Sunday evening, sit down with your child and work together to develop the top five priorities for the coming week. This may look like studying for an upcoming test, researching a paper, finishing a project, practicing an instrument five hours, or even taking care of pets. The important thing is to let your child think about the upcoming week and its tasks and develop five priorities based on the academic activities (or household chores) that are coming up in the week. Once your child thinks about those priorities then writes them down in the planner, help the child stay on track by referring back to the planner. Bonus: a child cannot argue with the planner! After several weeks of this, with success, this will become a habit that will stick with the child for a very long time.

Do what you dread first
Encourage your child to not put off unpleasant tasks but go ahead and knock out things he dreads first. For example, if your child hates to do math because she doesn't like it, encourage her to do math first, so that she's not dreading it all day long. Sometimes the anxiety of knowing that we have to do something we don't like to do paralyzes us in doing anything at all.

Set up morning and evening routines
Routines are critical in helping kids with executive functioning disorder thrive. Help your child by setting up and maintaining morning and evening routines, with self-care items such as bathing/showering, skin care, teeth brushing, any medications, meals, etc, part of those routines. Some homeschool families enjoy utilizing a morning basket in which books are read, puzzles solved, and the Bible read as a family before the academics of homeschool even start. Then, in the evening, have showers or baths, snacks, a movie, Bible devotional, or reading books in bed...the key is to maintain the routines for the good of all.

Use a timer
With some children, they take so long in doing one subject that they can't get to anything else. This frustrates them, frustrates parents, and doesn't make for a happy homeschool. First off, don't assign twenty math problems when six problems can represent the lesson and tell if a child has mastered the concepts. Use a timer, especially for things like math problems, spelling assignments, writing papers, or other things like teeth brushing. The little added pressure of beating the clock will help the child move on to something else and take away the dread of dealing with a subject he doesn't like.

Start small
In dealing with executive functioning issues, start with one thing. Set up routines, get them to a point where they're habits, then incorporate a planner. Like fad diets, moving too quickly from one thing to another is a set-up for failure. Do one thing for a couple of weeks, than add something else.

Understanding goes a long way
Children are rarely oppositional for no good reason. Usually there's an underlying reason behind difficult behaviors--diet, lack of sleep, a developmental delay or neurodivergent issue that hasn't been diagnosed, or lack of structure are all things to consider. Understanding why your child is acting out, not focusing on his or her work, or forgetting things you just went over is critical to getting your child the help he needs. Many times, in the process of discovering that your child has an executive function disorder, you may find that you also have the same issue.

Executive functioning disorders can impede a person's entire life, but there are things that can be done to help train the brain to function to prevent anxiety, make deadlines and life goals, and not be late for events. Like with anything, it takes time and discipline to hone those skills, but just acknowledging there's a problem is the first step.

Blessings,
Terrie

(c) 2024 Terrie Bentley McKee ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Why Parents Should Attend the Second Annual Homeschooling Special Needs Expo

7 Tips on Homeschooling a Kid with Executive Function Issues

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