I suppose the answer to your question depends on the reasons you have for wishing to teach in the Middle East. There is a desperate need for good special needs teachers in this area, even while there is a limited number of schools who are geared up to provide quality teaching in this field.

I'm lucky in that my school has special needs as its core - the whole school was built with that in mind - but in the last 3 years or so I've noticed that there is an increasing number of schools claiming to offer SN teaching and facilities, especially in and around Cairo.

Whether or not they are walking the walk is something I couldn't answer, simply because I am not sufficiently informed.

From a personal viewpoint, I'd say that there seems to be a dearth of motivated, qualified and able SN teachers and would love to think that individuals such as yourself could come into this region and help make a difference to this often-ignored section of our communities.

Best of luck whatever you do - don't forget to do as much research as possible before making a commitment; there are a lot of less than pleasant institutions out there (as well as lots of great schools, naturally!)

S