Very wobbly baby steps into a HUGE change

As you may or may not know children with Autism/Aspergers struggle with changes to routine, and we are about embark on a MASSIVE change! The worry is beginning to show in 12 year old Chipman. The last 24 hours have been filled with constant questions, the why, how and when's of homeschooling. It has made me look at these questions in greater detail but also made me realise that we are going into certain situations blind and I can't answer all his questions solidly until we start.

WHY? Well that question was easily answered for Chipman by reading my first blog entry to him. I was hoping it would be useful to me and others to blog but didn't realise that it would help Chipman too! 

HOW? Well I have an idea of how it will work, I have a plan all typed out and ready to go. I have the worksheets, books, websites and documentaries ready. I don't know how long he will be doing each subject or how long we will spend on a topic. The beauty of home schooling is that it is child led, they set the pace and until we start we quite simply won't know. It might be one of the positives for me but for Chipman with his mindset of certainty equalling security this is a daunting time. A lot of reassurance is being required and my hope is that on Monday he will understand more just by doing.

WHEN? When we will start is now earlier than we first intended. When he finished school before the Easter holiday's our plan was de-school Chipman for about 8 weeks, (www.home-ed.info explains more on what de-schooling is). However with Chipman's anxieties we decided to just give him the 2 weeks holidays and see if he needs more time later and then we take another break if necessary. It is really hard for Chipman to understand that he doesn't have to spend an hour 4 times a week doing English, that with just the two of us working together it will be quicker. Another advantage for us with a child with ADHD but again a daunting change for Chipman.

So whilst some things are set in stone the other questions are not quite so clear cut. Flexibility is the key to making homeschooling work, or so I have been told. This is going to be hard for both of us but we will take our wobbly baby steps into this HUGE change together knowing that it's what right for us.