Chapter 6: Are Homeschools Adequate Learning Environments for Students with LD?

Although it has been estimated that 2.9 percent of U.S. students with academic problems of all kinds are home educated (NCES_a), it is difficult to know how many of these students have learning disabilities (LD) because home schooling families often opt out of participating in government surveys that probe for such information (NCES_b). In addition, little is known concerning what parents do as teachers when providing instruction for these kinds of students (Duvall, 2005; Duvall, Delquadri, Ward, & Greenwood, 1997; Duvall, Delquadri, & Ward, 2004; Murphy, 2012).

In the following, the author provides anecdotal evidence that implies that parents provide the types of instructional environments that benefit students with LD because they enable them to engage in high levels of strategic learning behaviors that, according to researchers, accelerate academic gains. Interestingly, the author has observed these learning behaviors at high levels so consistently across home-schools that the implication is that this form of education could help nearly all students with LD to thrive academically.