Curriculum and Books
Here's some info about how I choose curriculum. You'll find my specific book and curriculum recommendations if you scroll down, but I do recommend taking a quick read of this information first. :)
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 curriculums 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 that I make myself.
If you don't purchase a "published" curriculum, you can make your own activities based on your child's interests, which is really fun! Of course, you can also use a published curriculum and still give your child lots of time to explore his or her interests, so it's all about what works best for your child, your family, and what helps you meet the homeschooling requirements for your location (more info about that is at the end of this post).
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. Some of the things I look for in a curriculum are: (1) concepts broken down into steps, (2) lots of pictures/visual supports, (3) hands-on activities.
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. Please note that some of these are affiliate links and I may receive compensation from any purchases you make using them.
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/
Danica McKellar's Math Books
These books make math concepts really easy to understand. Your student can read the books directly, or you can use the books to create your own lessons. They're honestly great to just refresh your own knowledge as the parent teaching the materials, regardless of whatever curriculum you're using. This is what I do for my tutoring students, particularly if they're boys, as the middle and high school level books are more written with girls as a target audience. If you have concerns about the language, such as on the "Math Doesn't Suck" book title, you can just use the examples from the book to teach your child without including that type of terminology.
Reading/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
Writing
Write Your Own Story Book
A step-by-step workbook with visuals.
https://u9527.myubam.com/p/1243/write-your-own-story-book
