Hi Folks,
I work for the Department of State and have a special needs Child (Mild Asperger's). There is a fairly large community of families with special needs kids about 200 families registered in our usergroup . I am looking for some advice and recommendations. We are always looking for recommendations for international schools that have well developed special education programs and have experience intigrating special ed kids into the mainstream classroom. State provides some information but it is not always complete and each child has unique circumstances. What many schools promise sometimes does not pan out to truth on the ground. Westhill institute in Mexico is a perfect example. So here is my first question:
1) What schools do you all have experience with that have very good programs and experienced special ed staff?
the USG also gives us special education allowances to help augment our childrens' educational needs overseas. At times families have hired private special ed teachers to travel with them to various countries. Most of the time the teachers will live with the family and work directly with their child as a dedicated aide in the school or sometimes a mix of homeschool and school integration in scocial programs. These teaches ususally get domestic employee of a diplomat visas. The actual contract are between the family and the teacher. These teachers come from the US, Canada, Austrailia, and Europe, so really there are few limitiations if the teacher speaks english, it just about finding the right fit. Living with a family over seas is not always easy. It is all about personalities.
One of the ideas that we as a community are batting around is sharing some of the special ed allowance to hire a special ed teacher with great experience to work with 2-4 kids at a particular post/school. They would work to teach a particular school/teachers administrators on how to integrate the kids into the classroom and develop accomodation strategies etc.
Here come my next questions:
1) Is this something that the Int'l Teacher community would be interested in?
2) How would you recommend putting the 2 communities in contact with each other?
3) where do teachers with special ed backgrounds go to look for jobs?
I welcome your input. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Thanks for your time!
US Diplomats Looking for Special Education Teachers
Special ed hiring
I commend you for having the initiative to pursue assistance for your child. As a teacher and one having taught overseas, getting special needs help can be trying at best at times.
Off the top of my head I'd say that pooling resources to hire an experience teacher might be a challenge in that any experienced teacher would want benefits/assurances that a group of parents might not be able to give in terms of employment, benefits etc.
Also, hiring a teacher is just a start. Implementing and integrating special needs assistance into a school requires considerable administrative cooperation from the school. Often this includes scheduling, record sharing, staff training and the like.
If you haven't already approached your local international school with the idea, I'd suggest you do so.
Off the top of my head I'd say that pooling resources to hire an experience teacher might be a challenge in that any experienced teacher would want benefits/assurances that a group of parents might not be able to give in terms of employment, benefits etc.
Also, hiring a teacher is just a start. Implementing and integrating special needs assistance into a school requires considerable administrative cooperation from the school. Often this includes scheduling, record sharing, staff training and the like.
If you haven't already approached your local international school with the idea, I'd suggest you do so.
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TexianTravel
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:35 pm
- Location: Egypt
Speaking from a limited overseas experience, many overseas schools are NOT accepting and supportive of special needs children. There are many reasons for this.
One is, of course, special needs children are EXPENSIVE. A significant portion of a stateside school's budget goes toward supporting these children. Therefore, a school that wants a profit is not going to accept a child that costs anywhere from twice to ten times what a non-special needs child would.
Another reason is stigma. In the US, we have moved beyond this in many, (dare I say most?) cases. This was NOT my experience overseas. Schools prided themselves on "accepting only the best", that they were "college prep" and prided themselves on their "rigor", self-delusional as all that might have been.
To admit such children attended our school would have lowered its quality in the eyes of our parents, so we all struggled with children we couldn't serve because we had no resources to serve them with, all the while pretending that their needs were being met and they were college prep material. A depressing picture, certainly.
Perhaps you can find an enlightened school with a supportive administration, but it will be a hard search. I wish you all the best.
One is, of course, special needs children are EXPENSIVE. A significant portion of a stateside school's budget goes toward supporting these children. Therefore, a school that wants a profit is not going to accept a child that costs anywhere from twice to ten times what a non-special needs child would.
Another reason is stigma. In the US, we have moved beyond this in many, (dare I say most?) cases. This was NOT my experience overseas. Schools prided themselves on "accepting only the best", that they were "college prep" and prided themselves on their "rigor", self-delusional as all that might have been.
To admit such children attended our school would have lowered its quality in the eyes of our parents, so we all struggled with children we couldn't serve because we had no resources to serve them with, all the while pretending that their needs were being met and they were college prep material. A depressing picture, certainly.
Perhaps you can find an enlightened school with a supportive administration, but it will be a hard search. I wish you all the best.
special needs overseas
None of the schools I've been at overseas have had very developed programs for exceptional children. That being said, I've known of children with special needs attending those schools with varying degrees of success. My spouse had a child with Down's in a third grade class in Jeddah fifteen years ago who fit right in and the school had no problem with it. Like anything, much depends on the school personnel.
There is a temp. agency for schools providing fill-in teachers for schools with late openings - I wonder if you could get a teacher through them? (I believe, but am not sure, that they work for the agency, which might solve your contracting problems). Or perhaps a recruiting agency would help you if you had a group of parents willing to provide a classroom, materials, benefits to the teacher along with certain guarantees.
Many countries DO have facilities now for special needs children (outside of the international/American schools); friends with a child with rather severe needs for numerous kinds of therapy found both while living in Japan and Singapore. In Qatar there is a school for children with mild special needs - and it's international, run by Americans. It's called The Learning Center and is associated with Qatar Foundation. It seems like the State Dept. would be able to compile a list of schools such as these and offer that with other information when employees consider a new post.
Best of luck in your search, hope this rather random information helped a bit.
There is a temp. agency for schools providing fill-in teachers for schools with late openings - I wonder if you could get a teacher through them? (I believe, but am not sure, that they work for the agency, which might solve your contracting problems). Or perhaps a recruiting agency would help you if you had a group of parents willing to provide a classroom, materials, benefits to the teacher along with certain guarantees.
Many countries DO have facilities now for special needs children (outside of the international/American schools); friends with a child with rather severe needs for numerous kinds of therapy found both while living in Japan and Singapore. In Qatar there is a school for children with mild special needs - and it's international, run by Americans. It's called The Learning Center and is associated with Qatar Foundation. It seems like the State Dept. would be able to compile a list of schools such as these and offer that with other information when employees consider a new post.
Best of luck in your search, hope this rather random information helped a bit.
Thanks for the responses.
Most, if not all, of our community have kids with minor LD's. Lots on the autism spectrum/asperger's types. Some home school and some have a mix of homeschool and integration. As a community we have experience with may schools world wide, some with better support then others. State does a good job working with schools and the fear of a bad report card from the Department is a good motivator for many schools to work with parents. However sometimes that help is somewhat limited due to the lack of well trained special ed teachers. Most all of the parents in the community know what their child needs and, at times, are more well read then the experts when it comes to designing programs for their children. We just need a sharp teacher willing to learn with us to help impliment the programs at school.
My goal was to raise awareness among the international teaching community, especially young teachers who may be looking to get a year or 2 under their belts working with American families and limited numbers of students. I am sure that the idea that I put forward above will not fit everyone's career plans, however, there may be those in the community who would find the situation very satisfying and rewarding.
In the past parents have hired special ed teachers with Master's degress from such countires as Poland, Argentina, etc. I just figured I would throw out the idea to the community and see if any of you all had thoughts or ideas on the subject.
Most, if not all, of our community have kids with minor LD's. Lots on the autism spectrum/asperger's types. Some home school and some have a mix of homeschool and integration. As a community we have experience with may schools world wide, some with better support then others. State does a good job working with schools and the fear of a bad report card from the Department is a good motivator for many schools to work with parents. However sometimes that help is somewhat limited due to the lack of well trained special ed teachers. Most all of the parents in the community know what their child needs and, at times, are more well read then the experts when it comes to designing programs for their children. We just need a sharp teacher willing to learn with us to help impliment the programs at school.
My goal was to raise awareness among the international teaching community, especially young teachers who may be looking to get a year or 2 under their belts working with American families and limited numbers of students. I am sure that the idea that I put forward above will not fit everyone's career plans, however, there may be those in the community who would find the situation very satisfying and rewarding.
In the past parents have hired special ed teachers with Master's degress from such countires as Poland, Argentina, etc. I just figured I would throw out the idea to the community and see if any of you all had thoughts or ideas on the subject.
I am a special education teacher in california and looking to teach overseas this coming school year. I have worked with autistic and aspergers kids in the past and really enjoyed them. I don't know where my recruiting fairs may take me but I have found that most schools i have contacted about next year (which will be my first overseas job) don't have any special education teachers or support.
It isn't like the US that is for sure, where the laws are awesome in meeting these kids needs. I feel for you and commend your efforts.
God Bless,
Jeff
It isn't like the US that is for sure, where the laws are awesome in meeting these kids needs. I feel for you and commend your efforts.
God Bless,
Jeff
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teachingoverseas
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:29 am
Special Education
I am a very flexible teacher and have worked with students having various types of special needs in regular classes in the US, especially LD. However, I am not a trained special education teacher. I heard that Anglo American School in Moscow's upper school principal is concerned about this.
Special Needs info
I would agree that many international schools do not cater for students with special needs.
One that does is the Western Academy Beijing. It is very supportive of students in need of learning support and has a good LSP. The school has students with a variety of special needs - including autism and Aspergers.
The US Embassy in Beijing should be able to give you good feedback on this as they have a good knowledge of the school.
One that does is the Western Academy Beijing. It is very supportive of students in need of learning support and has a good LSP. The school has students with a variety of special needs - including autism and Aspergers.
The US Embassy in Beijing should be able to give you good feedback on this as they have a good knowledge of the school.
Special Ed overseas
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!!!
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!!!
It's tough overseas to find a school that deals with anything other than mild learning difficulties. As it has been said earlier, it is very expensive to work with a severe learning issue - you almost need a one-on-one situation, and that is expensive. An experienced Special Ed teacher would go for over $40,000 easy for one year, and that doesn't include supplies/buildings/etc.
I work with mild LD's and it is still very teacher intensive, You just can't boost the numbers up without decreasing the quality of care. I think you have to pool your money together, go to a school that accepts severe LD's (which is very, very rare), or honestly stay back in the States.
A problem I see with having only one Special Ed teacher isn't so obvious - If I were in that situation of taking a job, what kind of support would I have? What happens when the teacher is sick/doctor's appointment/personal business/needs a break? Who covers? Working in the Special Ed environment is very taxing - trust me. Every once in a while you need a break, who covers that break time? I don't see how a teacher could work with a high needs student all day without several breaks and you really do need an assistant, if nothing else to have someone to talk to, bounce ideas off of, etc.
It is frustrating, but good luck and keep trying!
I work with mild LD's and it is still very teacher intensive, You just can't boost the numbers up without decreasing the quality of care. I think you have to pool your money together, go to a school that accepts severe LD's (which is very, very rare), or honestly stay back in the States.
A problem I see with having only one Special Ed teacher isn't so obvious - If I were in that situation of taking a job, what kind of support would I have? What happens when the teacher is sick/doctor's appointment/personal business/needs a break? Who covers? Working in the Special Ed environment is very taxing - trust me. Every once in a while you need a break, who covers that break time? I don't see how a teacher could work with a high needs student all day without several breaks and you really do need an assistant, if nothing else to have someone to talk to, bounce ideas off of, etc.
It is frustrating, but good luck and keep trying!