It was never an option to send William to a regular public school. With the challenges that William faces every day, I honestly couldn’t imagine sending him to school. Likely, he would be at home sick most of the time anyway.

William’s delicate respiratory system is just the beginning of why we decided to homeschool our sweet boy.

We spend a lot of time managing William’s tube feed which would take him out of a classroom every half an hour and prevents him from being in a wheelchair all day – which public schools can’t accommodate. Schools are not equipped with appropriate resources for kids with the level of care William requires.

Medical professionals informed us from the beginning that William’s intellect was likely in-tact but that we would have to find the ways he learns best – challenge accepted! Homeschool provides us the ability to educate William where he is at. We can design learning plans that peak his interests and we can execute the learning program with exactly what he needs.

Homeschool was the only option for William and it has been amazing.

It does require some imagination and planning to execute a program that works for him but the flexibility it provides is priceless for our family. We work with a great homeschool program who regularly communicates regarding his IEP and different resources and realistic activities for us to try.

We set attainable goals and then do our best every day to meet those goals. If we don’t meet them, they just remain on the list and we keep working at them – challenges ongoing!

Progress on his eye gaze system, spending time with our farm animals, personal care participation, social and emotional awareness and physical activity are all part of his IEP along with Math, Science, Geography, History and English. We don’t make strict times for school work, but rather, we try to make each day full of learning and fun.

Some days are very full of learning and other days are full of doctors’ appointments. But by the end of the week, there is a full report of the learning William has participated in and that is always one of the wins for the week.

~ Keely

Keely is an author and advocate for children living with disabilities. She lives on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, with her husband, her son William who has cerebral palsy, her two daughters and several four-legged friends.