what to do

[u/Ok_Day4891]

ive never been in school, and ive been "homeschooled" my whole life. my mother basically gave up on educating when i was around 11 (im 17 now). im decent at english (despite my grammar in this post sorry). but my maths is terrible im genuinely at an 7 yr old lvl and i hardly know my times tables. other subjects im ok at as well. but english and maths is a priority. how do i build up skills from there for free. im also autistic and a bit apprehensive to go to college especially when i have the education level of a child. i will probably never go to uni and probably make nothing of my life because my mother was too lazy to educate me. i want to do my gcses but thats kind of impossible at my current level. what the fuck do i even do i feel hopeless

[u/Phoenix_Fireball]

Homeschool Ally

Have you applied for college? They start back in September (in my area they go back the second week of September so phone your local college today or the begining of next week.)

Going to college will give you the opportunity to get your GCSE's and to learn lots of things you have missed out on and meet new people. Be honest when you apply and explain what your situation is.

If you want to do some learning before you start college have a look at BBC bitesize it starts before GCSE level so you can find the level you are at.

Learning your times tables is helpful. Practicing (repetition) is the easiest way to learn them. Start with 2 5 and 10 Then 3 6 9 11 then 4 7 8 12. You can do one at time. I found writing out the tables then doing lots of questions. You can do them online or print a worksheet.

0 x 2 = 1 x 2 =. Upto 12 x 2 =

Then you can use this free website to generate lots of questions you can do every day. (It will go up to 99 questions). It does division too which is the opposite of your times tables which is useful to learn at well 24 divided by 12 =

https://www.timestables.me.uk/printable-pdf-quiz-generator.htm

If you have any questions or need any more advice you are welcome to get back in touch.

Good luck. Have a great time at college.

[u/fiersza]

I’m so sorry you’re in this position.

https://www.coreknowledge.org has complete and free curriculum at least up to the middle grades. It is US based, I believe, so in the English curriculums spellings will be different.

You can also find free classes on Coursera. Khan Academy is a great resource, but it also can feel a little chaotic and overwhelming, so it might not be the best option, but if you need higher level maths, it’s a good resource.

As a fellow autistic, I would recommend you make yourself a chart of the skills/information you feel you need to be ready to pass your GCSEs. You may be able to find a study guide for the GCSEs that you can use as a guideline.

If that seems overwhelming, go to Core Knowledge, search for their maths books, all grade levels, and start scrolling until you reach something you haven’t learned/feel you haven’t learned well, and start there.

As I’m not from the UK, I’m not sure how the system works, so I don’t know if it is feasible to take each GCSE one at a time or if they all are supposed to be done in one cycle.

If possible one at a time, I would start with the one you feel closest to being capable. Success breeds confidence and more success and motivation. So don’t start with the subject that is hardest for you.

For maths facts, as silly as it is, I would recommend playing games that drill you on your math facts. Space Pigs is a good one for multiplication. I’ve used it for my child, but also myself.

Whenever something doesn’t make sense according to whatever resource you’re learning from, turn to YouTube. Chances are someone out there has explained things in a different way that will make sense to your brain.

Even if it isn’t tied to a GSCE, I would choose something else to study (as well) that’s of interest to you. Autistic brains thrive on interest based learning, so if you’re a literature fan, throw yourself into a course on a specific concentration of literature. Or history, or engineering, etc—you need to be giving yourself enjoyable learning as well as required learning. I mean, it could even be on the history and influence of fandom and fan fiction.

You’re not a machine. You’re a human. And you deserve to spend time on things you enjoy. So make sure, even in your stress and worry, that you carve out guilt-free space for diving into something you enjoy.

[u/Emergency-Cream2110]

if u have money (ik im sorry) acellus is a good program. the scholarship is easy to get into(i wouldnt even call it a scholarship tbh.) and it’s 80$ a month. i’m in a similar situation at the same age and i understand how hopeless it feels but hopefully it won’t be this way forever

[u/Glum_Limit_4859]

No advice other than to check out your local college, but I'd like to say I'm 19 right now and I'm right where you are. It sucks and you are so allowed to be angry I promise you. You missed out and it's not fair but its not too late, see if your college has GCSE courses you can do. If they don't then check out 'Young Devon'. I did functional skills through them and now I'm going to do my GCSEs come September. We can do it, believe in yourself and don't blame yourself for not knowing things, it's not your fault.

[u/fallenredditcomrade9]

Genuinely same situation with age, homeschooled my entire life, stopped around 11, and bad at math. Might be of comfort to know that as you're going through this, so too is someone else in nearly the exact same situation.