This blog is not associated with any organization or company. Recommendations are based solely on our own family's beliefs and standards. It is your responsibility to do your own research in order to make wise decisions based on your own family's needs, beliefs and standards.

Topics L - Z

✼  Learning Styles/Personalities  ✼

Books

The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles, Carol Barnier. Carol Barnier knows that while people are certainly interested in the "why,” they are in urgent need of the "how," or the big "what now?" They need perfectly clear and practical information that can be applied tomorrow. In this book, parents and teachers will find an emphasis on "what to do about it." This book supplies hundreds of activities keyed to learning styles for easy access and application covers practical strategies for success in spelling, writing, math, history, geography, science, and more. Available through Carol's website.

Every Child Can Succeed, Cynthia Tobias.  “Cynthia Tobias, author of the best seller The Way They Learn, shows how to use a learning styles approach to help your kids live up to their potential and find success in life.  By identifying your child's unique learning style, you'll understand what makes your son or daughter respond or resist.  This book will encourage you to realize that, no matter how different the style or personality, success is possible for every child.”  Available from Christianbook.com. 

Homeschooling Methods: Seasoned Advice on Learning Styles, edited by Paul & Gena Suarez.  “It's a homeschool convention in a book! For novice and veteran teachers, this extensive guide offers details about today's most viable education models and helps you choose methodologies. Over 20 contributors---including Christine Field, Diana Waring, and Dr. Ruth Beechick---provide seasoned advice on classical, Charlotte Mason, unit study, and other methods; special needs; carschooling; whole heart learning; and more.”  Available from Christianbook.com.

The Treasure Tree:  Helping Kids Understand Their Personality, by Gary/Norma Smalley, and John/Cindy Trent.  Description:  Lion, Otter, Golden Retriever, and Beaver take a map and a golden key and embark on a treasure hunt together. To succeed in their quest, each of them must use a special gift. This delightful, fully illustrated story will help your kids learn the value of their unique personalities. A personality checklist is included so you can help your children identify their own special qualities. 112 pages, hardcover from Nelson. Available through Christianbook.com.

The Way They Learn, Cynthia Tobias.  “Unlock the mysteries of individual learning styles, and you can help any child succeed at learning. This fascinating guide describes four unique learning styles, shows how to identify your child's preferences, and gives step-by-step directions for maximizing your child's strengths. These powerful concepts make parents and teachers more effective, too.”  Available from Christianbook.com.



✼  Legal  ✼

Web Resources

Home School Legal Defense Association.  Taking care of the legal side of homeschooling, HSLDA has lots of resources on how to pull your children out of public school, what to do if you're contacted by a public school official, and lots more.  Membership gives you the assurance that you will have legal backing in case of any difficulties with public officials related to homeschooling, truancy, etc.  Founded in 1983, HSLDA is operated by Christian attorneys who teach their children at home.



✼  Life Skills  ✼

General

Steps to Independence:  Teaching Everyday Skills to Children with Special Needs, by Bruce L. Baker and Alan Brightman.  Covers everyday skills from play skills to self-care and self-help skills, to skills needed for independent living.  This book not only contains skill inventories, it teaches how to teach.  Included is an extensive appendix with proven teaching strategies.  Skills for toddlers to young adults Available from amazon.com.

Potty Training

Toilet Training in Less than a Day.  This resource was recommended to me recently as a great method to use when training children--typical through special needs--to use the toilet.


✼  Perfectionism  ✼

Web Resources

Podcast -- The Scourge of Perfectionism.  A short podcast concerning this topic by Julie Bogart, homeschooling mom (5 kids, 17 years), creator of The Brave Writer, and The Homeschool Alliance.



✼  Professionals  ✼

Doctors, Therapists, Specialists...

Email ICHE's Coordinator of Special & Struggling Learners at specialneeds@iche.org if you are looking for a homeschool-friendly professional in your area of Illinois.  This coordinator keeps a database of professionals--from doctors and chiropractors to multiple therapists--who are willing to work with (and friendly toward) homeschool families.  Also, if you currently work with a homeschool-friendly professional, or you know of one, please forward his/her information to specialneeds@iche.org so the database can be kept current, and so that other homeschool families in Illinois may be blessed with that information.  Thank you!


✼  Strong-Willed Children  ✼

Books

, by Cinthia Tobias.  text  Available through Amazon.


✼  Therapies  ✼

Approaches, Methods, Products...

Aimee Solutions.  Named after the founder's own special child, this team boasts over fifty years of combined experience in the fields of speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, assistive technology, and special education.

Brain Balance Centers.  Includes a center located in Vernon Hills, whose executive director, Dr. Jeremy Fritz, presented many fascinating and helpful workshops at ICHE's 2010 state convention.  The Brain Balance Centers offer an individualized, comprehensive approach for helping children with neurobehavioral and learning difficulties surmount their unique challenges.  They work with children who suffer with ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Tourette’s, Asperger’s and Autism Spectrum Disorders.  [Not a Christian organization, but is excellent--they deal with every aspect, from brain function, to academics, to motor skills, to diet.  Recommended resource--but always do your research!]

Child Diagnostics.  Founded by Dianne Craft,  who has developed a unique diagnostic program that will reveal where the learning process is breaking down for your child and will train the parent in using the corrective steps that will help overcome the child's processing "glitch."  She also offers educational and nutritional counseling with the goal of improving your child's learning and behavior. Her website also has free Daily Lesson Plans for Struggling Learners.

Hope and a Future.   Offers a neurodevelopmental approach to help special needs children.  Their goal is to equip families with specific knowledge, expertise, and methodologies which will assist children as they prepare for their fullest, God given potential and destiny. They offer hope, encouragement, and support to families while giving God all the Glory.  Its director, Linda Kane, has also been a featured special needs speaker at ICHE's state convention.  Local offices around the country, with one in Madison, WI.  They will train parents to do therapies with their children at home.  [Recommended resource]

ICAN International Christian Association of Neurodevelopmentalists.  ICAN’s mission is to unlock the God-given potential of all individuals facing physical, educational, or behavioral challenges by offering neurodevelopmental methods, information, and tools to empower families.

Little Giant Steps.   This company offers free online articles providing lots of information and free seminars providing training.  They also offer evaluations and support, as well as products and materials to equip families for success through neurodevelopmental activities which increase brain function.

McNatt Learning Center, LLC.  Matthew McNatt is a homeschool advocate.  His center exists to glorify God by providing unified, targeted, and sequenced learning experiences for students considered gifted, special needs, learning disabilities, unmotivated, hyperactive, lazy, "at risk," and ready to give up.

Music Therapy.  New Hampshire music therapist shares infographic on using music to help kids with special needs.

Ready Bodies, Learning Minds. Is your child a "bouncer," "noodle," or "shirt chewer?"  Does this behavior affect their ability to learn?  Limited attention span, poor posture, difficulty sustaining equilibrium, poor coordination of sequential movements, restlessness, problems with spatial relationships, and slow academic progress are common signs of an immature neurological system.  Ready Bodies, Learning Minds is a powerful approach to sensory integration, motor learning, and academic success.

RDI blog.  A wonderful blog by a homeschool mom who chronicles her experiences homeschooling her autistic daughter. Lots of detailed how-to’s and links to great resources.  Wonderful videos demonstrating the RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) approach.

The Simple Dollar.  This link will bring you to a page on this website called Navigating Learning Disabilities and the Cost for Treatment.  This page contains a meaty overview of disabilities, treatments, and costs of various options.

Super Star Speech. From their website:  "Our materials have been designed by a speech-language-pathologist to assist parents in helping their children achieve developmentally appropriate speech and to provide some of the necessary resources to do speech therapy at home. The focus of these books is the correction of articulation (speech sound) errors."

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