Autism Homeschool Success
Curriculum and Books
When you start homeschooling, one of your first questions might be about which curriculum or materials to use to teach your child. There are many options for curriculum that you can purchase, but you can also put together your own curriculum by making individual lessons and activities.
I'll list some of my favorites below, but I honestly haven't found many complete curriculum programs that I like for all students with autism, so I prefer to put together my own curriculum for each child I work with using a combination of published curriculum and supplemental activities.
To put together your own curriculum, start by setting-up a plan for assessment and progress tracking (such as a homeschool IEP). This allows you to know what skills and knowledge your child already has, and then create goals to build on those. Once you have some goals, you can then make or find lessons and activities that match those goals.
You can also buy a curriculum program and supplement it with making some of your own activities. This is what I do the most often. I own lots of curriculum kits, and I make visual aides or other materials to go along with them to help match my students' learning styles. I also make extra activities if there's a skill that a student needs more practice on than the curriculum provides.
Below you'll find some of my favorite curriculum programs that I've used with students. Please look at these in detail to see if you think they would work for your individual child, as no two children are the same.
Please note that your state or country may have specific requirements for which subjects to teach and similar regulations. Check with a local homeschooling organization for specific guidance. Since I'm in Texas, I'm most familiar with the regulations here. You can find some great FAQs for Texas at this link.
If you have any questions about curriculum, please feel free to ask them in the Autism Homeschool Success Facebook Group!
Here are some examples of curriculum programs that I've used with students.
Math
Shiller Math
Montessori-Based, Multisensory
http://www.shillermath.com/
(I like this program for younger elementary school-age kids.)
Math-U-See
Visual, Multisensory
http://www.mathusee.com/
Reading/Writing/Spelling
All About Reading
Multisensory
https://www.allaboutlearningpress.net/go.php?id=1079_2_3_2
Read my review of "All About Reading" here.
All About Spelling
Hands-On, Multisensory
https://www.allaboutlearningpress.net/go.php?id=1079_3_3_3
My First Story-Writing Book
A step-by-step workbook with visuals.
On Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MkhaGi
Science
Art
Code.org
A free website to learn the basics of computer programming (for young kids through adults) featuring fun characters.
www.code.org
How to Teach Art to Children Grades 1 - 6
Easy-to-use lessons on various art topics.
Read my review here.
Bible
Godly Play
Montessori-based program that encourages children to develop their own personal connection to Bible stories.
www.godlyplayfoundation.org
Kumon Workbooks: One of My Favorite Resources for Numbers and Letters
I've been using Kumon workbooks with my students for years, and I absolutely love them. They take each skill and break it down into easy steps for the child and they include lots of visual supports. I usually like to make my own teaching materials to use with my students, but these workbooks are so great that I don't need to make materials for the skills they cover.
Note: The books have recommended ages listed on them, but I usually ignore those and just choose the ones that are right for my students and what skills they're working on regardless of age.
Kumon Workbooks
Numbers
From Amazon
Kumon Workbooks
Letters
From Amazon
Kumon Workbooks
Writing
From Amazon
