(upbeat music) >>Welcome to "A World of Difference: Embracing Neurodiversity."

I'm Darryl Owens.

For many children who learn differently, public and private school classrooms, which largely are geared for neurotypical learners, can be a struggle.

That's why educating these students at home with a curriculum tailored to their unique needs often is seen as a potential lifeline for children with learning and attention issues.

But is it the right choice?

We delve into the world of homeschooling neurodivergent students and the delicate balancing act of providing tailored education and essential socialization.

On this episode, we check in with a Florida family with two neurodivergent students that turned to homeschooling.

Next, our panel of national experts explores whether homeschooling kids who learn differently is a path to unlocking their full potential or a risky gamble.

And later you'll meet our latest difference maker whose journey to conquering the North Pole began not in the frozen tundra, but with her struggle to master the three R's.

First, let's meet Katy Hebebrand, whose family swapped public school education for teaching her three kids, two with learning challenges, in the comfort of their home in Milton, Florida.

(upbeat music) (gentle music) >>My oldest, Gage, who is nine, has ADHD.

My middle child who's a girl, she's six, she has autism.

And then I have a 5-year-old Gavin who has not been diagnosed with anything on the spectrum, but he still lives with us and kind of lives this life with us.

My name is Katy Hebebrand and I have three wonderful children.

What is that a picture of?

What is that a picture of?

Good job.

Our kitchen table is really not a meal kitchen table.

It's really more of an activity kitchen table.

We pretty much always have markers, crayons, crafts, supplies out because as far as like sensory input, one thing I've learned is with kids on the spectrum, sometimes they need sensory input to help them regulate.

A big thing for me is that I feel like kids are gonna be kids and I feel like so many times, parents or adults expect kids to sit still.

>>Mommy, hold this hand.

Look how long it could stretch.

It can stretch very long.

>>I think the biggest hurdle is constantly feeling like you're not adequate and like you're not doing enough.

They may respond better to a teacher versus mom.

And so I really had to separate out that, "Hey, right now I'm not your mom, I'm your teacher."

And sometimes we would get frustrated with each other.

>>I'm just gonna say it for myself.

When I got out of school, I would like, I would just like be sad because I just felt like the work was hard.

It was basically just because I had ADHD.

>>So Gage, after starting to homeschool him, he stopped being as angry all the time, even before he started taking medicine for his ADHD just because there was so much less pressure on him.

>>I could get my work done quicker and whenever I wanted to.

(gentle music) >>The biggest thing that I would want people to know about neurodiversity is a lot of people hear that and it's kind of like taboo, but these kids are so smart and they just learn differently and they just have, you know, it's challenges that we all struggle with.

Maybe we all struggle to sit still or maybe we all struggle to focus sometimes.

For them, it's just amplified.

And when you take into consideration that kids on the spectrum are often feeling bombarded by sensory, by lights, by sounds, by people touching them, by movement around them, it just amplifies the struggle for them.

>>Pigtails are two.

Ponytails are one.

You got it?

And braids are braids that go twist, twist, twist, twist, twist.

And a bun is a big old circle.

Got it?

>>Gabby is mild to moderate on the autism spectrum.

She struggled with speech at first when she was little.

We got her into therapy very early, and she has really just excelled.

The specific struggle is with her that she gets very easily frustrated.

And so a lot of times we have to take so many breaks and just go do something different and come back to it.

And I really just have to trust that it's absorbing a little bit at a time.

I just really want them to enjoy learning.

To me, that's what's really important.

I don't put a whole lot of pressure on them to make straight A's.

I don't put a whole lot of pressure on them to like just excel and do super well and be the best in the class.

To me, it's just I want them to do well.

I want them to do their absolute best.

At the end of the day, I want them to enjoy learning.

I want them to either want to learn through homeschool, want to learn at public school, private school, whatever it is, I want them to enjoy it, I want them to learn.

(upbeat music) >>Next, our experts school us on the pros and cons of homeschooling Neurodivergent kids.

(upbeat music) Melissa Packwood is a Learning Specialist and Academic Advisor at Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida, the nation's first accredited baccalaureate institution dedicated to educating students who learn differently.

She's a homeschooling mom and certified teacher with experience in public schools in private practice.

Peggy Ployhar is a leader and advocate in the special education homeschooling community with two decades of experience as a Special Needs Consultant for the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators in the Texas Homeschool Coalition and 19 years of experience homeschooling her own children with diverse learning needs.

She founded SPED Homeschool in 2017 and serves as CEO.

SPED empowers families worldwide to successfully home educate children with diverse learning needs.

She also is the primary host of "Empowering Homeschool Conversations," a live broadcast and podcast that addresses relevant issues related to homeschooling diverse learners.

Dr. Rochelle Matthews-Somerville is an educator with more than 25 years of clinical experience in early childhood and special education.

She has served as a university professor, countywide autism specialist, educational consultant, and K-12 resource teacher.

In 2010, she co-founded EFM Educational Consultants, which supports homeschooling families, particularly those with children with disabilities.

She currently serves the Homeschool Legal Defense Association as an Educational Resource Specialist.

And we're gonna begin our conversation with Melissa.

Melissa, how can homeschooling cater to the diverse learning needs of neurodivergent children?

>>While homeschooling provides a lot of opportunity for one-on-one help, it also provides time for support from a speech language pathologist, occupational therapist, et cetera, for mood regulation challenges or challenges meeting sensory needs that perhaps are not met in other schooling settings.

And of course we have that opportunity for additional assistive technology help when we have that one-on-one assistance from professionals.

>>All right, so Peggy, how can a homeschooling environment provide a less distracting environment for these children and allow them to be able to better focus on the schooling?

>>Well homeschooling is completely customizable, and it's amazing just how much you can take what distracts your child out of a room very quickly without having to put in a custodial order or have it written in an IEP.

You just make that decision and you remove it immediately.

And so children and parents can customize any learning environment.

Kids can learn on the floor, they can learn upside down if that's the way they learn best.

And so the environment can change from inside to outside almost immediately, and that makes it just perfect, especially when kids are changing throughout the day on what they need in order to learn in a space.

>>Thank you.

So Dr. Matthews-Somerville, how can homeschooling allow a child to benefit social-emotionally as opposed to traditional education in public and private schools?

>>Homeschooling actually can offer a lot of several great benefits for children, specifically it's both in social-emotional wellbeing compared to the traditional public school personal learning environments specifically, they get individualized attention, greater flexibility, the bonds that that children can create at home with their families, spending that quality time, and being able to create that strong sense of identity using the family values, opportunities for personal growth, and being able to fulfill whatever their passions are because of that individualization.

And so that social emotional part of the child is basically being able to be developed in that homeschool environment in lots and lots of ways because they're able to take that real world interaction and translate it into something that's really, really meaningful.

>>All right, so Melissa, can you talk to us a little bit about some of the challenges that parents who aren't educators might face in providing qualified instruction for children with learning disabilities?

>>So a lot of parents begin feeling stressed and worried and trying to replicate what happens in a public or private school, but the truth is you pulled them out or chose not to take that option for reasons that were customizable to your child.

So it's really important to remember that you're doing what you feel is best.

It's okay to reach out for curriculum help or tutor, a consultant, but at the same time you can learn with your kids, you can talk to any therapies or therapists they see to get assistance.

And it's also important to give yourself a break.

It's not easy to educate anybody, yourself or otherwise.

Public school teachers need a break too.

So give yourself and your child those little breaks through the day, get a salty snack if that's what they're craving, and just kind of keep going while you take those breaks and give yourself the grace to kind of adjust as needed.

It is okay to change the curriculum if it's not working.

It's okay to change the therapist if it's not working, but just think about what meets your child's needs and try not to stress so much because you're doing everything you can.

And just step by step, add things in as you see fit.

>>Okay, so Peggy, one of the concerns that parents who may be considering the homeschooling option are worried about is that neurodivergent children are often insular.

So tell me how homeschooling can help them enhance their social skills and their peer relationships.

>>Yeah, a lot of times that when kids pull in in school, the reason is because they're so anxious about the subjects that they're learning that they struggle in.

And so they identify their struggles as who they are in that community.

The beauty of homeschooling is that your kids can learn in those difficult subjects and through those difficult things on a one-on-one basis in your home, and then go out and have peer relationships and things that they excel in.

And so whether it's a sports activity or just a special interest of theirs, theater, then their learning deficits don't always get as much in the way of those social interactions actions.

>>So Dr. Matthews-Somerville, one of the things we're hearing today a lot in education is about mental health and the deteriorating mental health of students.

Can you tell me how homeschooling can help neurodivergent children improve their mental health and wellbeing?

>>Absolutely.

Homeschooling can definitely positively impact that mental health and wellbeing of neurodivergent children in the long run by providing definitely a tailored learning environment that accommodates those unique needs.

A lot of children with disabilities come with, again, of very unique individual needs that a lot of times take very specific kind of tailoring in order to reduce a lot of the stress factors of maybe sensory overload that they need accommodating, that homeschooling allows for flexible scheduling.

They may be overloaded with schedules that are just too much for them, but when they homeschool, it allows for that stress releaser that allows for them to actually take a break of that mental stress, which actually works for them.

The personalization, the approach, it also helps with their self-esteem, it helps with the social skills a lot of times, it has a direct impact on their mental health too.

The social opportunities, they're controlled to allow for those positive social impacts for the child.

So overall it does a lot for their overall social health.

>>So Melissa, how can homeschooling help a neurodivergent learner develop self-esteem and confidence as a learner?

>>Well you're able to go at the student's pace.

So if they're ahead in math but struggling with language arts due to a learning challenge, a learning disability, you can provide that explicit sequential instruction.

You can give a place for that emotionally safe review where it's not so risky to have a wrong answer, you don't feel embarrassed because your peers are not there watching.

And then it gives you the chance to focus on mastery.

It's okay if you have, for example, down syndrome, and it takes you many years to learn to read.

You can keep working on it and reviewing in a safe, healthy environment that's going to support you and provide that chance for modeling and explanation and practice.

>>All right, well Peggy, in higher education, they're currently flip flopping over the value of standardized testing as it relates to admitting students, but just in case they decide that they want to do that again permanently, how can homeschool children be adequately assessed for standardized testing?

>>So a lot of times, states do not require that parents use standardized testing when they homeschool, but if they do, the parents are able to help children to learn their strengths, and so that they can use them when they're facing things that are gonna be testing their knowledge or ability to use that knowledge.

And so a lot of times kids even with neurodivergent learning issues will test on the borderline of a lot of learning struggles just because their parents have done such a good job of helping them to know what their strengths are and to accommodate just in how they approach learning and testing.

>>Well, Dr. Matthews-Somerville, if it indeed takes a village to raise a child, how can homeschooling parents collaborate with therapists and other professionals to help support their neurodivergent student who is learning at home?

>>Well it definitely does take a village to raise a child.

And when you homeschool, you are uniquely positioned to partner with those service providers.

And so that is one of the gifts of homeschooling and that ability to collaborate with your therapist.

When you are in the public school system, a lot of times in the therapeutic situation, kids are taken out and they receive therapy kind of in a box kind of system where the parents are on the outside.

But when you homeschool, you are uniquely collaborating and partner with those therapists and it's brought in.

You have the unique opportunity to maintain a regular communication relationship.

Those therapies then translate to a continuum that happens in the house, they're consistent meetings.

It's really a partnership.

And so it's really a gift that homeschoolers have with their therapists that is a cohesive support system that doesn't only happen like in a clinical setting, but it's a continuum of support and so it really is beneficial for the child in that situation.

>>All right, so Melissa, you're on a college campus.

Talk to us about how homeschooling prepares students for the rigors of college academics and the social demands that come with college.

>>So home education gives you the opportunity to look and see what your child, future college student hopefully is doing well with.

And what are the challenges?

We wanna focus very much on executive functioning skills.

So we wanna talk about how is the time management, do we need a visual schedule to help us sort things out and plan out activities and assignments?

Do we know how to do life skills, like what the steps are to wash our laundry or clean a bedroom?

Do we need that visual representation like a photograph in advance, which many of our RAs and RDs here do provide for students that first week so that they understand the expectation.

So practicing things like that can be very helpful.

In addition, other executive functioning skills such as mood regulation, deescalation strategies that work for that child are super important because not everybody's going to have the same strategies and coping skills to help deescalate themselves.

>>Watch the full Ask the Experts segment on our website at awodtv.org if you wanna learn more about this topic.

You can also watch or listen on Facebook, YouTube, or on your favorite podcasting platform.

(upbeat music) Next, let's meet our latest difference maker.

With the way she struggled in grade school with everything from reading to spelling, few would've thought Ann Bancroft had a snowball's chance in Kenya to ever go to college.

Yet Kenya, where her family lived for two years, spoke to her longing for the wilderness and exploration.

And her determination to succeed in school after a dyslexia diagnosis displayed the grit that would carry her first to the University of Oregon, and later to the North Pole, where in 1986, she conquered the frozen tundra by dog sled.

Since then, Bancroft has gone on to notch a slew of firsts as one of the world's foremost polar explorers.

More important perhaps, she invests her time inspiring women and girls globally to explore their dreams.

And she puts her money where her mouth is with the Ann Bancroft Foundation.

After all, without support and cold hard cash, having a head full of dreams can be cold comfort.

(upbeat music) >>Ann Bancroft is one of the world's preeminent polar explorers.

She was the first woman to reach the North Pole on foot and by sled in 1986.

She would go on to lead an expedition of four women to the South Pole in 1992.

In 2001, she teamed with Norwegian explorer and fellow educator Liv Arnesen to ski across Antarctica.

Bancroft's partnership with Arnesen evolved into Bancroft Arnesen Explore, a global consortium of educators on seven continents dedicated to reaching 60 million minds through experiential education.

Small in stature, Bancroft has played an outsized role in inspiring women and girls around the world to unleash the power of their dreams.

She credits her success to hard work, a love of the outdoors, and a lifelong struggle with dyslexia.

>>My dyslexia is my superpower.

It's what got me to the North Pole.

It gave me the work ethic, the stubbornness, the perseverance, and also the total easy transference to an expedition.

Nothing comes quickly.

To pull this sled that's twice your body weight and then some uphill for a hundred days, it's one foot in front of the other.

That's what school was.

>>Frustrated in the classroom, Bancroft sought solace in nature.

Growing up in Minnesota, that meant coming to terms with the cold.

>>My first expedition I like to say was at the age of eight in our apple orchard.

I decided to sleep out in a Minnesota winter.

I had a lot of cousins and so I talked some of my cousins into joining me one weekend night or whatever.

And then after one night they said no more.

I ended up with the family dog on multiple tries of figuring out how to do it comfortably because I was pretty miserable.

We didn't have down sleeping bags back then.

This was the early '60s.

And so they were these quilted canvas flannel bags.

And I don't know what kept me coming back.

It just was kind of fun.

I'm sure my father would come out at midnight and see if I was still alive under all that snow and flannel.

But they didn't clip my wings and my trips got longer and my skills got better.

And I just found myself recreating in every way I could.

Climbing, kayaking, canoeing, skiing, whatever I could get my hands on I wanted to be a part of.

Despite her difficulties with reading and math, she pursued her dream of becoming an educator.

>>First kid in my family to graduate from college.

Big deal.

And I find out later that my parents called my tennis coach in high school who happened to be a college counselor.

So he knew who to call and he calls them up and he talks to my advisor apparently.

And he says, "Let this one go.

She will not give up.

You just let her keep trying.

It may not be on your schedule, it may not look pretty, but she's gonna get the job done."

I didn't do this journey alone.

I had advocates, I had mentors, I had people that saw the spark that raised their voices on behalf of me because they knew me, and otherwise, I wouldn't have succeeded.

>>Now instead of teaching 30 children a year, her curriculum reaches millions, including some that she has helped in an even more direct way.

>>We believe every girl, regardless of background, regardless of their learning difference, regardless of who they look like, that they all have a dream and they all have really big goals.

And so our role is to really support them in achieving their potential.

And so we do that with grants, we do that with mentorship support, and then also continue to look at what other resources girls might need that we can connect them to so they can live out that potential.

>>One of those trailblazers, as grant recipients are known, now works for the foundation, helping other girls realize their dreams.

>>I applied for my grant when I was a senior in high school.

So this would've been 2018.

My dream was to play volleyball at the college level.

And I used my grant to play club volleyball up in Duluth, which is how you get recruited in kind of the pipeline to playing at the next level.

>>At 68, Bancroft reckons she has at least another decade of teaching and exploring ahead of her.

>>I wanna do something with hope and younger people.

I think I have six nieces and nephews and they're young adults, and the world should be their oyster, but there's a cynicism and a skepticism because we've mucked up so much.

So how do I keep relating my stories to them in a relevant way so that they keep going and putting one step in front of the other?

>>For a world of difference, I'm Brad Kuhn.

(upbeat music) >>Congratulations Ann Bancroft for making a difference.

And that does it for this edition of "A World of Difference: Embracing Neurodiversity."

I'm Darryl Owens.

I'll see you back here next time.

You can watch episodes of "A World of Difference" on the Beacon College Facebook and YouTube channels, and on the show's website, awodtv.org.

The website also provides tip sheets and other resources for your parenting journey.

You can watch the show from the PBS app available on your favorite streaming device, and you can listen on your favorite podcasting platform.

Thank you for watching and supporting "A World of Difference."