Michael P. Farris, Esq.
Chairman &
General Counsel

Finding support

Volume 56, Program 22 11/30/2004 Original airdate: July 1, 2003

Parents who make the choice to direct the education of their special needs child will need support. Michael Farris talks about getting the help you need on this edition of Home School Heartbeat.

Michael Farris:
Many parents who have special needs children are taking on the ambitious task of home education, and are finding great success. But like every homeschooler, sometimes these parents need to find help and solutions for their teaching challenges.


Homeschoolers Tom and Sherry Bushnell operate a national network for families who are homeschooling their special needs child. It's called NATHHAN, or the National Challenged Homeschoolers Association Network. Parents can get resources for their child's specific disability, as well as much-needed encouragement. Knowing that another family has succeeded in educating their child, whatever the disability, can really help a struggling family persevere.


In addition, HSLDA has kept a special-education professional on staff for over 10 years. Our current coordinator, Betty Statnick, is often the first light at the end of the tunnel for frustrated home educators. HSLDA keeps a battery of assessment tests on hand for members' use, as well as a list of professionals who are willing to help homeschooling parents find solutions to the problems that they face.


By tapping into the skills and knowledge of professionals and networking together, parents can indeed be effective educators for their special needs child. I'm Mike Farris.