Kids Online Educational Programs
Posted on Saturday, October 30th, 2010 at 10:45 am
Has anyone ever heard of the Child Readiness Program for schooling kids at home? Is it a rip-off?
My wife sent a card in from a magazine a while back, and we got a call from a guy talking about this program. Supposedly, we’ll get $6000 worth of educational materials for about $1800, payable in installments.
I’m a born skeptic, so I’m a little leery, especially when the guy told me that it is an “exclusive” program, and that “no one ever has opted out once they’ve joined”. Those all sound like buzzwords to get the sale to me.
I haven’t been able to find any information about this program online, and I’ve searched high and low. All I know is it’s called the “Child Readiness Program”, and it’s funded by Industrial Acceptance Corporation (IAC) out of Connecticut.
I’d really like to know what’s up with this. My wife is excited about the possibility of this program helping to educate my autistic son, but she’s leaving the final decision up to me once I finish my research.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
I’ve seen these before, and while some are valuable, others are a complete rip-off. Honestly, I just googled it and wasn’t able to find anything. If it’s such a fantastic program, why is there no info available? Products that are marketed to homeschooling families (part or full time) are generally *extremely* well advertised on the web. That’s their primary form of marketing, since homeschool parents need to be able to research in spare moments when they’re not working with their kids.
The thing that I would be leery of is spending $1800 on one specific program for a special needs child. In my experience (homeschooling a highly gifted/dyslexic child, working with other kids on the Aspbergers spectrum), no one program is going to cut it. These kids often need things from many different approaches – they need the information presented in many ways, from many sources, over a period of time in order for it to sink in. Depending on where your child is on the autism spectrum (high/low functioning), you will need to have a variety of methods. He’ll need very flexible materials that can be “tweaked” to fit how he perceives the world around him.
I’ve been homeschooling for 4 years now, and I’ve done a ton of research through materials to find those that fit my son’s needs. I’ve never heard of Child Readiness Program, either through magazines, mailers, or attendance at homeschool conventions. I’d run away fast and spend the $1800 on materials and resources that can easily and quickly be adapted to his needs.
Some things that I would suggest are:
-large manipulative toys that teach concepts and can be worked into patterns – tangrams, puzzles, simple machine kits, perhaps K’Nex or Magnetix, depending on his age
-lapbooks – these are visual and kinesthetic organizers that your child can have as much “say” over as he wants. He can put them together in a way that makes sense to him, and learn according to how he sees things. These are completely customizable and really easy to use, and they fit a large range of age and ability levels.
-things that are comforting to him; whatever he seems to gravitate toward. Autistic kids often need to have their environment be a certain way, whatever that way might be. It gives them a sense of order and can allow them to drop boundaries that can keep them from connecting to people and information. (If you want to check this out, a good site is http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/Default.aspx – they have several units that were specifically developed for special needs kids.)
-programs that are skills-based with people that are experienced with autism spectrum. There are likely going to be things that you and your wife will have difficulty teaching him, and there are people who can help you break through that. However, they don’t come cheap.
I hope that’s helpful? I can relate to your wife’s excitement – it’s like Christmas morning when I find something that I think will really work with my son. He’s incredibly hard to find curriculum for! However, I’ve also been down that road, and I’ve felt the regret that comes from spending a load of cash on something that really wasn’t effective for him.
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