Got a special learner? Maybe a boy who can't sit still or a girl who can't pay attention? Perhaps it's a significant learning delay. Or Down's syndrome. Or autism. Yet the desire of your heart is to educate your child at home. Homeschooling itself is hard. Add a special need or a unique learner, and the challenge becomes even more challenging.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is committed to supporting and celebrating all homeschoolers. Each child is God's special creation, placed in families He hand picked. It is our prayer that we can give you ideas and encouragement in your journey, through both The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and this Special Learners e-Newsletter.

I want to share a little of our journey with our third child, my daughter Grace. Despite two years of intensive phonics, she still laboriously sounded out each letter, often mistaking one for another. By the time she reached the end of a sentence, she was so exhausted from her effort that she did not remember the point of the passage. She would read, for example, the word "ball" in the second line and could not remember the same word in the fourth line.

Yet, in hands-on activities, like those of science and history, she could recall and narrate much of what was covered and displayed a real depth of understanding.

Except on a bad day. On a bad day, her memory was extremely challenged and she was highly distractible. One fine winter day, she sat looking out the window at the lightly drifting snow, crying her eyes out. When I asked her what was wrong, she said the snowflakes were "bothering her" and keeping her from doing her math.

We became caught up in a cycle of failure and negativity. Because I was so blind to what was going on, I characterized all her difficulty as an issue of character and discipline. If she wasn't following instructions, I disciplined her to build the character of obedience. If she couldn't keep focused on her studies, I disciplined her to build the character of self-control. I was so consumed with disciplining her and building her character that I lost sight of the fact that she was a unique, wonderful creation of the Living God.

After one incident of such supposed character lapse, I spanked her. As was often my practice, I followed the spanking with a prayer that went something like, "Dear Jesus, please help Gracie to obey." Hardly skipping a beat, my precious child prayed, "Dear Jesus, please help Mommy to not be so mean."

Was I being mean? I didn't think so. We looked at this as another chapter of Baby Boot Camp, our playful name for times of intense training of the children. When things were getting slack or attitudes were slipping, we would enter into a training time where we focused most of our time and energy on the issues at had. It seemed this particular child was in perpetual Baby Boot Camp!

When there is more than one child in the family, it is common to play the comparison game. Our two older children learned to read easily and effortlessly - when they were ready. They were strong in their academic work and could concentrate when it was required - and could play and goof around with the best of them when they weren't working.

This third, challenging child brought incredible strain to our little family. Every step of the day was a battle with her. Whether it was getting her to pick up her socks or pick up a reading book, she was ready for a fight. It was exhausting, and our other children often felt neglected.

We began piecing the puzzle together with observation and research. We sought creative answers to troubling questions, beginning with our own meticulous observations.

In the final analysis, she was deemed to be a fairly routine case of both LD (Learning Disabled) and ADD (Attention Deficit). Although she did not exhibit the hyperactive component of ADD, we learned that there is an equally powerful spectrum of the disorder characterized by inattentiveness, moodiness and a lower energy behavior type.

We have come to some creative solutions and our daughter is flourishing! We wish we had the bigger picture when we first experienced problems. It is my prayer that the special learner resources of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine will help you to see that bigger picture for your child.

What would you like to see in this newsletter? Are there certain authors you'd like to see interviewed? Are there products you'd like to see reviewed? Let us know the challenges you are dealing with and we will do our best to help encourage you along your journey.