Abstract
Both research partners discussed in detail with their advisor the collaboration that would occur at the beginning of the project. Collaboration occurred at all levels of the project, from creating research questions, sending initial emails to contacts, following up with contacts, researching, analyzing the data, and writing the final product. Statement of the Problem Research statistics show that homeschooling is an ever increasing trend in the United States (Ray, 2009). Further statistics also show that the rates of autism are on the rise (Centers for Disease Control, 2009). As the rates of autism have continued to increase, it is speculated that there may be more families who choose to homeschool their children with autism and related disorders, although the exact number is unknown. There are no statistics showing the number of families who homeschool their children with autism. The purpose of the study is to analyze homeschooling children with autism from the parent perspective including the overall parental perception of homeschooling a child with autism, the reasons for homeschooling, the benefits, and the challenges. Sources of Data Twenty-nine participants from California and thirteen participants from out–of state were recruited through three main sources: California regional centers, the California Homeschool Network, and Internet support groups. Data were collected through a survey utilizing open and closed ended questions sent via the website Survey Monkey. Findings and Conclusions Reached The current study found that parents chose to homeschool their child with autism due to an overall dissatisfaction with the school district. Within the theme of dissatisfaction, seven main categories were found: concerns with the appropriateness of placement; a perceived low level of support from the school; dissatisfaction with quality; a lack of progress; mistreatment by students or staff; the desire for religious or moral based instruction; and multiple reasons. Benefits to homeschooling a child with autism were found to be similar to parents who homeschooled children without developmental delays. Challenges varied and included finding the right type of socialization, financial difficulties with one parent staying home, and lack of free time for the parent homeschooling. The researchers concluded that parents who homeschool their children with autism are a unique subgroup within the homeschooling population and community. They may have less free time than typical parents and more financial difficulties; however, they believe that they are giving their children the best education possible. Additional research is needed to examine how services are delivered to children with autism and how school districts respond to parents when they feel the district does not have a placement that meets their child’s individual needs.