When a child cannot read fluently and effortlessly, learning becomes difficult, frustrating, and even discouraging. Many parents of struggling readers are told that dyslexia and reading difficulties are issues they must work around and struggle with for the rest of their lives. The good news is that this is not true; real help is available. There is hope for treating the root causes of reading difficulties and disabilities. You will gain an understanding of how to help your child overcome all types of reading difficulties through the latest research in neuroscience. We’ll explain interventions that address the underlying causes, allowing for dyslexia to be overcome rather than just teaching them to read and work with their dyslexia.

The focus of most support for ADHD is based on symptom management. The good news is that there are effective ways to treat the causes of ADHD! Join us to learn everything you need to know about ADHD. We’ll touch on symptoms and accurate diagnosis and then dive into research-based treatments options that work. Finally, we’ll share learning strategies for the ADHD brain that you can implement as parent and teacher. Participants will: • Understand the root causes of ADHD along with symptoms and diagnosis • Explore non-medication treatments that work, including nutritional interventions • Learn strategies to help your student with ADHD navigate learning in any environment

Disorganization, poor time management, and difficulty shifting gears are just a few symptoms of poor executive functioning. Executive Function skills are crucial throughout all stages of life. They enable us to develop leadership, time management, and prioritization skills, follow multi-step instructions, think critically, and adapt to change. In this session, we’ll build a solid understanding of executive functions and cover how you can help your child develop these essential skills! Participants will learn: • What executive functioning is and why it matters • Root causes for executive function weaknesses and disorders • Strategies and systems to improve executive functions in your classroom • Treatments for improving executive function

Have you always wanted to improve your child’s ability to follow multi-step instructions, read more fluently, or grasp those tricky math word problems? Have you wondered if there are things you can do as the teacher to improve your child’s progress? The field of neuroscience has provided us an immense amount of information on how the brain learns offering a roadmap on how to teach with brain function to optimize learning. Join us to take away easy-to-implement actionable steps that are quick, affordable, and can make a huge impact in your homeschool classroom. .

Homeschooling children with learning difficulties can be challenging for all parents, especially if you also struggle with learning challenges such as dyslexia or ADHD. Many learning disabilities are hereditary, so parents often find themselves teaching children who share their learning difficulties. The great news is that neuroscience has taught us not only how to be better teachers with these issues but also how to change and rewire the brain to overcome learning challenges, regardless of the age of the child or the parent. Come learn about the amazing, malleable brain and how to harness neuroplasticity to help your child learn and reach their full potential. Participants will: • Understand neuroplasticity as the foundation for learning • Realize the critical role cognitive skills play in learning • Recognize symptoms of cognitive weaknesses as the root cause of learning challenges • Receive strategies to use in the classroom to improve learning • Learn ways to harness neuroplasticity to improve cognitive function

Speaking towards the scripture, “Train up a child in the way he should go…,” Peggy digs into the Bible to show parents how to live up to this standard without losing their focus, or their minds. From the experience of being a parent and a foster-parent of multiple special needs children, Peggy Ployhar has first-hand knowledge of the rigorous demands put on parents who are raising, training, and homeschooling children with special needs. Woven with personal stories, biblical truth, and lots of encouragement, this talk will truly speak to the hearts of parents who want to raise their special needs children as God has called them to do.

Just as a house in shambles needs to be flipped to renew its purpose and extend its use, the typical methods for teaching special needs students in the homeschooling environment need to be flipped if parents want to see better educational results than the typical model provides. Peggy Ployhar, the Founder & CEO of SPED Homeschool, will dive into the history of the special education system and where many of the current practices of teaching students with special needs stem from and how they have affected our preconceived notions on how to best teach a student with special needs. Then, with a twist of hope, she will share how parents can take advantage of their homeschooling freedoms to flip these practices and homeschool their special needs students with renewed purpose to pursue their student’s God-given gifts and talents

Are you feeling inadequate about starting the homeschooling journey with struggling student or one who has a 504 plan or IEP? Peggy Ployhar, SPED Homeschool Founder & CEO, says that, when she started homeschooling, she would have probably been voted as the parent least likely to succeed in homeschooling. Yet, 18 years later, she’s not only graduated two children from her homeschool but has also spent the last 15 years coaching other special education families towards homeschooling success. In this session families will be equipped with the top five keys to homeschooling a struggling learner with confidence as well as practical ways to put aside the things that may hinder applying these solid educational principles.

Now, that you understand the science, this session provides you with a road map to help your child overcome learning challenges caused by dyslexia. We will outline the different options for identification (from online to informal screening to full psycho-educational evaluations) as well as guiding principles for selecting effective intervention. Additionally, we will discuss critical accommodations and highly effective strategies to infuse throughout daily learning activities. All the essentials to ensure your child succeeds will be provided in a customizable road map.

This workshop offers practical resources, lists of materials, and curricula to equip you as you work with a struggling learner in your homeschool. Faith explains multi-sensory teaching methods, direct instruction, modeled teaching, and “scaffolding” instruction. She also shares ideas for designing a unique home instruction program tailored to your child’s specific challenges.

This workshop addresses a crucial but frequently misunderstood topic related to special needs homeschooling. In this power-packed workshop, Faith explains the difference between accommodations and modifications, describes 504 Accommodation Law, and answers homeschooling parents’ most frequently asked questions. Faith will also share a disability resource guide for teens and young adults.

This workshop addresses some of the challenges associated with teaching struggling or atypical learners at home in the high school years. Do you have questions such as “How do I award my child with special needs a diploma?” or “What do I do since my child with dyslexia can’t read typical high school level material?” Faith discusses alternative coursework, specialized curricula and learning materials, assistive technology, transcript options, possible graduation guidelines, high school programs for special learners, and post–high school options. She also offers tips for navigating the process of applying for testing accommodations for College Board tests.

Does your child have a learning disability or severe special needs? Have you pulled your child out of public school where he used to have an IEP (individual education plan)? Participants of this workshop learn the purposes and benefits of an SEP (student education plan), the homeschool version of an IEP. This workshop also provides guidance on drafting an SEP. Participants look at sample student education plans and receive a template of a Student Education Plan as well as a resource list of books that will assist them in drafting their own homeschool student education plan.