No labels in Homeschool

People always ask me why I wanted to homeschool, I give them many different reasons, but ultimately I did it for my oldest son. Since he first entered Preschool he has been met with opposition. First, it was he was autistic, then Asperger's, then ADD and anxiety and finally developmentally delayed. We were in a whirlwind of diagnosises for him that our heads were spinning! We were shocked to learn that at school he didn't talk, he never sat still (not really for that one), and that he wasn't reading or writing. He did all those things at home with the exception for sitting for long periods of time. We were baffled, stunned, shocked with each day the new things he would come home telling us that had happened at school. He was sent to a place called Skills where kids go if they are in trouble as a way to recoup before being sent to the principal. He was also restricted from using the computers because he hadn't done his classwork. He told me about the sugary treats they got almost daily it seemed and how it always made his stomach hurt. I hated these things and he hated going to school. With each grade he went into I feared that they would say, "Let's hold him back, he isn't ready for this." It happened in Kindergarten when they wanted to put him back to Preschool to "mature" a little. I mentioned homeschooling him to which the teacher gave the special ed teacher a "look", if you have been there then you know what I mean. This look enraged us, my husband almost grabbed our son away from them to take him home to never set foot in a classroom again. Instead we opted to have him tested again by a professional. When that came back we were ready for the worst. Instead, he said Jack was a quirky kid who had anxiety and ADD but those things should get better with time as he matures. He also said our son was extremely intelligent, he was amazed at how much he knew, but his ability to sit still was hurting him since Kindergarten required so much of that. We felt good about this, it fit in with what we knew about our son. Yet the school continued to treat him as if he had autism. They ignored the psychologist who talked to all of us as one, they didn't adhere to his advice until third grade when our son received a teacher who instantly knew that Jack had ADD and worked with him from day one. She ignored the stigmas that he was "delayed" or a "troubled" kid. He did better, but only when I was teaching him at home along with sending him to school. It was too much for him. And me. I wanted him home with me, away from the testing and scrutinizing adults who think they know better than us, his parents. I wanted the light in his eyes back, the light that said he was happy and wanted to learn. That light had been taken from him by school. He is different kid, who loved reading, drawing, painting, and playing with others. Sending him to school made all those things stop for him. He wasn't my same son anymore.
Now we are starting off new in a new state, with nothing practically. We are sharing my parents home and have three boys in tow everywhere we go. Instead of working I have opted to stay home and live in poverty for a little longer to teach my sons. It has only been a month but it is already getting better. He is painting again, drawing, and reading like he did as a four year old. Things are getting better for all of us, we laugh more, there is less fighting between the three boys, and they beg to do school! I took that step into the dark and although it is still dark around me it is not as hard moving forward as I had feared.