Well said. Couldn't have said it better if I tried!!!

I am a Canadian trained special ed teacher with about 15 years of special ed experience, in both schools and residential systems.

My overseas experience so far has been limited to the past 3 years in the middle east. The problem here is not so much with the schools as it is cultural. There are still huge stigmas attached to having SN kids. There are people who are trying to do something about the situation, but . . .

The prognosis is not great in this area. They are still in denial for the most part. Or the government simply "throws money at the situation" and then washes its hands of it. There are a multitude of local special needs kids here, due to the amount of interbreeding that still occurs. It is still important here to keep the money in the family, to marry within your class, etc. Marriage to a first cousin is EXTREMELY common, and considered a good marriage. Lots of Down Syndrome kids, 'cause they continue to have kids well into their 50's or even 60's if they can. I am working with grade 5-6 kids who have parents in their 70's and 80's!!!

The government in Kuwait has put money into it, but nothing else. There are a bunch of schools accepting SN kids, but not hiring qualified staff, not running appropriate programs, under resourced, etc. The schools take the government money (which is substantial) and then do whatever they want, and the government has no further concern with them. Report cards are a joke. Programs are a joke. Some teachers are doing an AWESOME job, and some of the schools are actually starting to implement REAL programs, but . . . the majority are truly just abusing the system.

In the UAE the situation is not much better. For the most part they are still in denial, although, they ARE trying to open up. They don't have trained and/or qualified teachers. They are using old and ineffective methods of working with these kids. In a lot of cases the schools are actually institutions where the kids live, day in and day out.

As for international schools truly serving an international population, as was previously stated, many of them are more concerned about their "standing" than about the students' needs. They simply don't accept kids with any special needs. They COULD hire qualified staff, and have the resources required, but they choose not to.

Most schools will accept students with mild learning disabilities, but not much more than that. Some accept mild to moderate LD, but most won't touch Down Syndrome, Autism, mentally or physically handicapped kids. Huge stigmas still, in a lot of these countries. If there are SN kids in the school, parents won't enroll their kids in the school.

We have to remember that, although we're all used to it now, and accept it as a given, mainstream special ed is stil relatively new in the west, as well. Or at least in the form we know it now. I remember growing up in a very small town, where everybody KNEW we had a mentally handicapped child, a deaf child, a Down Syndrome child, but they certainly weren't in our school.

As I told parents of my SN kids in Kuwait, everything that happened in North America happened through the persistance and perseverance of PARENTS, not government. If it hadn't been for parent groups and advocates, we wouldn't be where we are now. These countries are a lot less "pushy" with their governments, in general. It will be a LONG time before SN kids are accepted, both in and out of school.

As it pertains to your situation, though, I think that if you managed to hire a qualified teacher, there would certainly be ways to integrate your children into the schools, even if only on a part time basis. There is still the issue of "fear of the unknown". If you had a qualified teacher, who KNEW what to do, and could just work with administration to implement some things, it would be a win/win situation. The school would get some tuition (always on their minds!), and the entire school body would benefit from the integration. It would take away some of that fear.

Having said that, it obviously depends on how MANY kids, which country (or countries) you are in, available finances, and finding someone flexible enough, yet aggressive enough to push your case at the school or schools in which you want your kids. This is NOT an easy road you are walking!

I wish you luck, and hope that you can, indeed, find a teacher interested in helping you out. I'd love to say I'm interested, but having worked with some of these governments, I can't justify putting myself through the frustration!!!

Being an "over 30" single woman living and traveling in the middle east for the past 3 years, I can only speak from personal experience.

Men in the middle east prefer their women with "a little meat on their bones" to put it mildly. Blonde hair and blue eyes are a definite asset, but not necessary.

The basic attitude of middle eastern men, is that all white women (or maybe I should say non-Arabic!) women, is that we're whores, and will sleep with anybody. That's what they see on TV and in the movies, and that's what they believe. They also believe, for some unknown reason, that we're all rich!!!

They will, indeed, throw their phone numbers at you, offer you money, booze, all kinds of stuff. They'll follow you around, try to cop a feel. They'll literally STALK you. But they're not looking to get married, trust me. And if they DO ask you to marry them, be prepared to be a second (or third or fourth) wife. The first wife is almost inevitably Arabic. And, of course, from the RIGHT family, and RIGHT class. We don't fit in either of those categories.

On the other side of the plate, there are a LOT of western (or again, non-Arabic) men in the middle east. However, be wary of them, too. Many (if not MOST) of them are married and have wives and family elsewhere. Again, you're just a piece on the side. In most cases you're not treated any better by them than you are by the Arabs!

Having said all that, of course, those are generalizations. There are some great guys out there, both Arab and Western. But they are few and far between, and you have to literally DIG your way through the crap and bull****.

I sincerely hope that you don't look at teaching overseas as a place or position to find a husband.