Homeschooling is not always easy, but it can provide many benefits for children with autism. In the first two years of the pandemic, researchers found that home environments were frequently advantageous for autistic children because they reduced the amount of social and sensory overload found in schools[1]. Children with ASD were also frequently found to be more relaxed and communicative in the home environment (2&3). Also, researchers found that homeschooling children with autism can be more effective than placement in public schools. During the first two years of COVID, many students with autism made greater progress in their learning largely due to individualized parental support that was provided in their home school environment.[4]
What Curriculum Works Best for Homeschooling Children with Autism?
Do you homeschool your child with autism? Have you ever wanted to try homeschooling, but self-doubt or a lack of resources held you back? Through ARIS (the Academic Readiness Intervention System), Stages Learning offers everything you need to engage in a comprehensive autism curriculum at home with your child. As you embark on youur home school journey, start by downloading two free lessons on Drawing Shapes and Departures and try out ARIS to see this curriculum can support your child’s needs. With ARIS, your child can access award-winning materials and comprehensive, research-based curriculum in your own home school.
Here are just a few reasons to consider ARIS when planning your home school:
1. Everything you need all in one, portable place.
ARIS is more than just an essential curriculum for children with autism. It is an educational experience tailored to your child’s personal needs – all in one complete set. The ARIS set includes award-winning Language Builder Picture Card sets, Language Builder Blocks, 2D-3D manipulatives, lesson plans, a complete program manual, assessments, paired digital lessons, and even a behavior management system.
Record keeping materials for instructors also allows parents to keep detailed reports of their children’s progress to document growth throughout the homeschooling process. Plus, ARIS comes with a wheeled storage tub that can travel with you and your child wherever you go. No matter how your child learns best, ARIS includes materials to guarantee a fun, supportive, and engaging learning environment at home or away!
2. A comprehensive curriculum that addresses all developmental needs.
Best of all, ARIS provides a comprehensive curriculum that includes over 200 custom lessons tailored specifically to improving the skills of daily living for children with autism. Each lesson builds on the preceding lesson and offers resources for building language, pre-academic, motor, social, and self-help skills.
While the ARIS lesson plans best serve students at the preschool through elementary school level, the lessons can also be modified to serve children of all developmental and cognitive levels at any age. Furthermore, every lesson serves to teach children practical skills of daily living in a manner that caters to every child’s individual learning style. Whether your child is a visual, aural, verbal, logical, or kinesthetic learner, the ARIS tools can be used to best serve your child’s learning needs using both digital and material components.
3. Simple and easy to understand: Designed for Homeschooling
The ARIS curriculum is not just designed with teachers in mind; it is also meant for parents interested in homeschooling their children or just looking for some at-home support.
Homeschooling your child with autism may seem daunting, but ARIS offers a simple curriculum that is easy to understand and implement in all settings. Each ARIS lesson provides step-by-step procedures to ensure you are using the best teaching methods possible. ARIS includes a parent training component, including optional on-site Language Builder training, and an implementation guide that provide support specifically for parents seeking to teach their children at home. Plus, if there are ever any questions regarding how to best implement the ARIS curriculum, Stages Learning offers unlimited virtual support via phone, e-mail, and text to parents and ARIS instructors everywhere.
Parent participation at every level of therapy is so crucial to helping children integrate what they’ve learned into everyday life and to help them understand the applicability of the learned skills outside of classroom time.
4. Includes photo cards and manipulatives for increased engagement and fun.
ARIS is designed specifically for children with autism, which means that every item included in the system is structured to be accessible and engaging for children on all aspects of the autism spectrum. The photo cards are particularly engaging for children with verbal delays, and research shows that photograph-based treatment strategies, such as the Language Builder Picture Card set containing over 1,200 photo cards can be highly effective in helping autistic children develop their language skills, since children with verbal challenges tend to be strong visual learners.
The photo cards are easy for children to understand because they use real pictures instead of drawings, which allows children to easily understand what the photo represents. ARIS also contains 3-D models of the pictures depicted on the photo cards with extra supplemental curriculum available through the lessons on the digital app. These 3-D models are especially useful for younger children and for children with more severe language delays.
5. Grounded in research: Evidence-based and founded upon ABA practices.
Most importantly, ARIS is grounded in science; the curriculum is grounded in the principles of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy, which is considered the most effective treatment for children with autism. The Language Builder Picture Card sets, in particular, were designed over twenty years ago by a UCLA-trained Applied Behavioral Therapy Consultant and use progressive ABA best practices for language development.
ARIS is also built upon discrete trial training (DTT), which is an aspect of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (also grounded in ABA) that breaks complex skills down into simple steps to facilitate effective learning for children at all levels. There are four essential learning variables that ARIS also addresses in alignment with Pivotal Response Training: motivation, responding to multiple cues, self-management, and self-initiatives. Through these principles, ARIS teaches children how to be self-directed and confident learners for life.
Take the leap and consider using Stages Learning Materials’ Academic Readiness Intervention System (ARIS) to homeschool your child with autism or to augment your current homeschool curriculum. With ARIS, you can be both parent and teacher to your child to transform ordinary moments into teaching opportunities.
The ARIS curriculum makes learning engaging and fun, and you will begin to see noticeable improvements in your child’s skills. Allow Stages Learning Materials to turn your home into an effective and empowering learning center that will inspire lasting progress with every lesson by selecting ARIS as your homeschooling curriculum.
References:
1. Aubé, B., Follenfant, A., Goudeau, S., & Derguy, C. (2021). Public stigma of autism spectrum disorder at school: Implicit attitudes matter. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51, 1584-1597.
2. Asbury, K., Fox, L., Deniz, E., Code, A., & Toseeb, U. (2021). How is COVID-19 affecting the mental health of children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families?. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 51(5), 1772-1780.
3. Rogers, G., Perez‐Olivas, G., Stenfert Kroese, B., Patel, V., Murphy, G., Rose, J., ... & Willner, P. (2021). The experiences of mothers of children and young people with intellectual disabilities during the first COVID‐19 lockdown period. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(6), 1421-1430.
4. Latzer I. T., Leitner Y., Karnieli-Miller O. (2021). Core experiences of parents of children with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Autism, 25(4), 1047-1059.
State Regulations for Setting Up Your Home School
For additional help on homeschooling your child with autism see the state regulations for homeschooling in your state. Homeschool.com provides resources to use for each state.
For more information about setting up a home school for your child with autism see:
7 Best Homeschool Curricula for Children with Autism
Strategies for Homeschooling Children with Autism: You Can do This!
