Our Homeschooling ADHD Gifted Education Journey

My name is Sandy. I’m the owner of Learning Abled Kids and the Learning Abled Kids’ Support Group.  This is my second Mom-to-Mom story in the series of homeschooling success stories.

This is the story of our Homeschooling ADHD journey. It began when my gifted, active son begged me to homeschool him!

I’m sharing this story to encourage you. I know the decision for homeschooling ADHD is a big step. I hope our story will help you see the good in homeschooling ADHD kids. 😉

The questions are in bold. My answers about homeschooling ADHD are listed below each question.

Have you homeschooled from the beginning?

Sandy: “No, we sent our sons to public school. I had never considered homeschooling. Our oldest went to public school for five years. My young went for three years.  We began to think about homeschooling ADHD when my young was in second grade.”

What made you decide to take this homeschooling ADHD course?

Sandy: “Early in second grade, my son began asking me, “Why won’t you homeschool me?” “Why can’t we homeschool?” “Can I learn long division?” Et cetera.  Our Young Son began hating school. He begged to learn things beyond what they were willing to teach him in school. He was in the gifted program, but the learning pace was too slow for him.

His teacher said they didn’t want to teach him more in second grade because “he’ll be even more bored next year!”  That was probably true.  Unfortunately, it was also a disservice to our son to hold him back educationally.

My son’s begging to homeschool (I still wonder where he got that idea from because I surely did NOT give it to him!). The ‘issues’ my son had with school led my husband and I to consider homeschooling as a solution.  We decided to homeschool because our young son wanted it and our oldest son clearly needed it.

Since you started out in public school, what issues and problems did you face with your children in school?

Sandy: “When we sent our young son to school, he was our active “human tornado.” He was constantly on the go. He had a quick wit and smarts well beyond his years. My son was identified and placed into the gifted program. The gifted program was a pull-out program at our school.

In second grade math, the class was working on addition and subtraction. My son could work 100 problems faster than his teacher had ever seen.  She was fascinated by his skill. So my son repeatedly did these pointless drills to see if he could go faster than the previous time. His teacher was amazed by his speed. It kept my son doing something, but he was bored with the repetition.

My son already taught himself multiplication and he wanted to learn long-division.  So, I taught him long division *one day* when he was sick at home. At that point I realized my son could zoom further ahead if we just taught him whatever he was interested in learning.

“In addition to young son being held back academically, he began clowning around in class. He was bored waiting on the other children, and creatively entertained himself.  Given his ADHD, he would act without thinking.

My son started getting to visit the principal’s office pretty often.  I became concerned because the school was starting to label him as a “bad boy.”

The reality was, my son was a very bright, energetic, and bored to death! He spent a lot of time sitting in a desk waiting for others to finish worksheets he finished awhile ago.  The public school just did not meet my son’s individual learning or ADHD needs, so we began our homeschooling ADHD trip.

What is your personal level of education?

Sandy: “I had my B.S degree in Computer Science when we began homeschooling.  While homeschooling, I earned my M.S. Degree in Instructional Design. My M.S. degree helped me develop great programs for my boys.  I wanted to quit my Master’s program, but my husband was insistent that I should not quit.  I’m very thankful that I didn’t quit, but it was difficult to be Homeschooling ADHD and going to college myself!”

Did you feel well-qualified to teach your child before you began homeschooling?

Sandy: “Truthfully, I did not.  I was TERRIFIED of homeschooling. The thought of being fully responsible for my boys’ educations concerned me.

Still, I knew public school was not helping either of my boys.  I went into homeschooling thinking we would put the boys back into public school after a few years at home.  I was not at all confident of my abilities.”

What struggles did you you face when homeschooling ADHD?

Sandy: “My young son was a challenge because he was always wanting to know why he had to do his schoolwork. He wanted to play instead and informed me I was a boring teacher! That smacked my pride a bit, but it also helped me work to meet his needs better.

My Young Son was an active learner. He flipped over the arms of chairs, bounced around, and moved all over the place when we were trying to work on his lessons.  He was moving all the time, but he could answer my questions. It was clear he was learning, so I let him flip to his heart’s content. He was a happy homeschooling ADHD kid. That meant I was a happy mom!”

What benefits did you experience when homeschooling ADHD?

Sandy: “For my young son, I think we kept him from developing a hatred of school. Although, he didn’t ever love it, I think homeschooling ADHD helped my son stay in school until graduation.  If he’d been in public school, I’m pretty sure he would have had bigger issues down the road.  It was clear the school wasn’t going to change what they did just to help my son.

I think we also avoided him feeling like a “bad boy.” That was the mindset of the school when they called me into the principal’s office.

At home one of the greatest benefits in homeschooling ADHD was my son’s ability to move–constantly–while doing his school work. He wore me out with his level of ‘go energy,’ but being able to expend that energy allowed him to be happy and well-adjusted.  Homeschooling ADHD allowed us to avoid medication for his ADHD. I was willing to teach him while he was moving, so he learned without issues from his ADHD.

Another great benefit was our ability to excel my son’s math program. My son was able to take college-level courses during high school.

We developed a wonderful appreciation for each other too.  My young son is a loving, insightful individual. His academic abilities were served well through our homeschooling ADHD journey.”

What is your son’s educational outcome and what is he doing now?

Sandy: “My young son graduated from our homeschooling ADHD quest with 36 credit hours for college. He went to college ranked as a Sophomore.  He has a merit scholarship for most of his tuition. He arrived at college with a 3.80 GPA.  He is currently in college and continuing to do well.

I am very proud of the young man my son is. I know he will do well in college. He was well-trained to work with his ADHD through our homeschooling ADHD training. I think my son has a great future as a leader ahead!”

Check out other homeschool success stories of overcoming learning disabilities.