I have three children, the oldest two of whom were graduated from homeschool and are now in college.  The youngest, who is in his high school junior year here in our homeschool, has autism.

The youngest was initially in public school special education through 3rd grade.  Although his public school experience wasn't anywhere near as awful as what Corey's experience sounds like--indeed, a lot (though definitely not all) of my ds's public school experience was positive--his academic achievement skyrocketed after we brought him home.

As is common with autism and PDD-NOS, my ds has language/speech difficulties and reading comprehension struggles.  We've had him in private speech therapy over the years, even while he was in public school. 

For reading comprehension, there are a number of possibilities.  I've used and liked a couple of SRA's series, including their Specific Skills Series and their Reading Mastery, Rainbow Edition.  The main problem with SRA is that their books are prohibitively expensive if purchased new.  I was able to find mine used, at a much more accessible cost.  I also used BJUP's reading program.  Their current teacher's editions for elementary reading contain a wealth of questions to ask the child as he/she reads, to assess comprehension.  To further supplement, I also used some of Rod and Staff's elementary readers and workbooks, but these were definitely supplements.

To help my ds learn to love to read, I took several approaches.  He loved Star Wars, so I found elementary paperback Star Wars books.  He liked video games, and I think a motivation for him to read was so that he could read the video game manuals.  He still has difficulty with reading comprehension--for example, he was utterly bewildered by Jane Austen--but is generally able to comprehend high school and some college textbooks.

 Again, welcome!

Caron