4MomsAtHome.com

For the child with a learning disability, back to school can mean back to frustration and anxiety. Knowing this, more and more parents are deciding to teach their child at home. If you''ve been considering doing this yourself but have doubts, take heart!

Often times these children aren't so much learning disabled, they just learn in their own way. Book learning may not be the best way so have fun, tap into your creativity and find novel ways to help them understand the concepts. The hardest part is figuring out what part of your child's brain is most receptive to new information.

Don't be afraid to use music, art, humor, plays, or anything else that holds their attention and helps them to learn. We use these methods with preschoolers and they work. There's really no reason that the same methods can't be adapted for older children.

• Use a large font.
• Break up reading passages into small, bite-sized pieces.
• Put just a few math problems on each page.
• Use bright, stimulating colors to organize and highlight.

I'm not a proponent of going against the grain and for most kids I still believe that organized education is fine. But for my youngest son who's now 12 and has learning difficulties, regular schooling just wasn't working. Seven years in the classroom did little more than erode his self esteem. It's no surprise that he hated school.

The turning point was when he began referring to himself as a "retard". I hurt so badly for him and feared he may become depressed as a teenager and maybe even harm himself.

I'd often thought about homeschooling him but didn't think I could. What if I mess up? What if he doesn't pass the standardized tests? Well for Pete's sake! He doesn't pass them now! Why should I worry about that anyway? He's my child, I love him and want him to have the best future possible and really, that's all the qualification a parent needs.