Today I am joined by Natalie Vecchione, Podcaster at FASD Hope and co-author, with Cindy LaJoy, of the new homeschooling book: Blazing New Homeschool Trails, Educating and Launching Teens with Developmental Disabilities.
Natalie explains how the book was born out of desperation, as she and her husband were parenting and raising a FASD student. FASD (Fetal Achhol Syndrome Disorder). This is a brain based diagnosis, and like many brain based diagnosis is on a spectrum, meaning people with this disability, has a range of manifestations, which can include physical, emotional and intellectual.
What is a Brain Based Diagnosis? A brain based diagnosis is a broad category of disorders, which can vary in symptoms and severity and can include any condition or disability that affects your brain and can be caused by:
- Illness
- Genetics
- Traumatic Injury
Brain based Diagnosis can include:
FASD
Autism
Tourette’s
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
ADHD/ ADD
Learning Disabilities, including Dyslexia, Dyscalcia, Dysgraphia, etc
Processing Disorders.
How to determine and cope with a Brain Based Diagnosis:
- Figure out why you suspect something: Take detailed notes including medical conditions, genetic components, how students are not keeping up; write down detailed deficits, needs and strengths
- Find a practitioner who can do a Neutral Typical Evaluation (also called a Psychological Evaluation or an Educational Evaluation), usually done by a Psychologist. These can be very pricey, so check with your local University and Clinic with a Sliding Scale).
- Understand the Dysmaturity or “gap” of your student. This is quite different from immaturity. Dysmaturity is a gap between a person’s chronological and developmental age. This gap, depending on the disability, can be between a few years and up to half of the students’ age.
- Make accommodations
Resources Mentioned
- Natalie@FASD.com
- SPED Homeschool
- FASD Hope Podcast
- FASD Hope Website
- Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner with Kathy Kuhl
SPED Blog posts:
- Special Needs Credits and Transcripts
- Struggling Learners and Special Needs, What’s the Difference?
- Communication Challenges for Special Needs
- Spotting a Struggling Learner in Your Homeschool
- After the Diagnosis: The Next Steps
- Holidays and Special Needs
SPED Podcasts:
Communication Skills with Struggling Learning with Peggy Ployhar
Special Needs and Critical Thinking Skills
ADAPTED CLASSES AND SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH TRUE NORTH HOMESCHOOL ACADEMY FOR NEURODIVERGENT LEARNERS!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS
Speak Your Mind