Homeschooling neurodivergent kids isn’t about recreating public school at home. It’s about figuring out what actually works for your child — and being willing to keep adjusting as they grow. After eight years of homeschooling three kids with different needs, I’ve learned that the goal isn’t checking every box. It’s making learning feel possible again.
Our approach is built on a few core ideas: regulation comes before academics, friction is the enemy of learning, and flexibility isn’t lowering the bar — it’s finding a different path to the same destination. If you’re new here, start with the videos below. They’ll give you a real picture of how we think about homeschooling neurodivergent kids and why it looks different from what most curricula assume.
Scheduling Homeschool Around Real Life
One of the first questions I get from homeschooling parents is how to fit everything in — especially when therapy appointments, doctor visits, and bad days keep interrupting the plan. The short answer is: stop fighting the interruptions and build around them instead.
I also wrote about this in more depth — including how we structure our week when we have 15+ hours of appointments:
How We Schedule Homeschool Around Therapy Appointments
What our actual week looks like — and the mindset shift that made it sustainable.
The Philosophy Behind Homeschooling Neurodivergent Kids
Before we talk curriculum or schedules, there are two ideas that shape everything else we do. The first is that a dysregulated brain cannot learn — no matter how much a child wants to or how hard a parent pushes. The second is that friction is often the real reason kids struggle academically, not effort or motivation. These two videos explain both.
Regulation Comes First
Why pushing academics during dysregulation backfires — and what to do instead when school falls apart.
Reduce Friction, Not Expectations
When trying harder isn’t the answer — how reducing friction makes learning possible again without lowering the bar.
Tools That Make Homeschooling Easier
When writing or math isn’t working, the problem usually isn’t the child — it’s that we’re asking them to show what they know before their brain or body is ready. These are the tools we actually use to reduce that friction, from whiteboards and pencil grips to math manipulatives and visual timers.
Homeschool Study Playlists
We use YouTube playlists heavily in our homeschool — for history, geography, and math read-alouds. I’ve curated these playlists to go alongside specific subjects and curricula, including ancient and medieval history, some geography and math read-alouds that pair well with Math With Confidence. More will come with each new school year. Browse them here (toward the bottom of my channel):
Browse Our Homeschool Study Hub: History, Geography, & Math Videos Playlists on YouTube →
More Homeschooling Videos
I share regular videos on scheduling, curriculum, regulation, and what homeschooling actually looks like in our house — with three neurodivergent kids and a lot of appointments. Watch the full playlist on YouTube:
Visit Homeschooling Neurodivergent Kids: What Actually Works Playlist →
Looking for more? Browse our Georgia Medicaid and Katie Beckett resources or head to the Parenting hub for morning routines, hygiene tools, and daily living strategies.
I’m Maryellen Yates, and this is Growing Together: Neurodiversity at Home — where we figure out daily life with neurodivergent kids, together.