Good Special Needs Schools?

[dzahler]

We are interested in the experience of other international teachers concerning schools that do a good job of serving their special needs population.

It is pretty obvious when a school does not have any services to offer. But a bit harder to tell if a school that indicates services on their web-site really do a decent job.

What international schools do a good job of providing services for students with special learning needs? Or, what tips can you pass along to us as we continue our extensive research?

Thanks in advance!

[wrldtrvlr123]

[quote="dzahler"]We are interested in the experience of other international teachers concerning schools that do a good job of serving their special needs population.

It is pretty obvious when a school does not have any services to offer. But a bit harder to tell if a school that indicates services on their web-site really do a decent job.

What international schools do a good job of providing services for students with special learning needs? Or, what tips can you pass along to us as we continue our extensive research?

Thanks in advance![/quote]
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Can you be more specific? What type of programs or services are you looking for? Most schools tend to support students that can survive/progress within a mainstream classroom for the vast majority of the day.

Schools that go beyond that would include English Schools Foundation in HK (20 schools), Int'l School of Geneva, Zurich Int'l School, Dover Court in Singapore. All of those schools would at least have some type of self-contained classes and/or more extensive resource rooms, in addition to in class support.

The other factor would be are you teachers with a child with special needs? That may also narrow the field a bit. Some schools may hesitate to give those spots to dependents of teachers, unless you are in a very high needs field.

I'm a special needs teacher with a child with special needs, so have also done quite a bit of research in the area.

[dzahler]

Thanks very much for your response...maybe we can chat via email as well?

We are a teaching couple with a 9 year old son on the autism spectrum. He is very high functioning and is in a regular classroom at his current school. He benefits from OT and Speech, as well a teachers that are willing to work with a few of his quirks (very scared of fire drills, etc.) and communicate with us about what learning techniques he uses best.

He does not need a self-contained space...but does need more than just to be left entirely on his own in a regular classroom, He is academically very bright and there are no academic concerns. He is also a very friendly and well-behaved kiddo, with no behavioral concerns.

Any insights from anyone familiar with international schools that might have the resources he may need would be appreciated. Thanks!

[shadowjack]

Just a warning - many international schools do not cater well to special needs students. Note, Many. The best thing to do is to approach the schools themselves or see what they are saying about this on their websites. That will give you an idea of their programs and philosophies. I was at a school once where they made it very clear that any special needs requirement would result in your child not gaining admission to the school.

[Lagringa]

I would say that as a general rule, the bigger the school, the better off you'll be. Small schools just don't have the resources for Learning Support teachers. Look for some of the big schools with really good reputations; SAS (both Shanghai and Singapore) ISB (both Beijing and Bangkok), UWC Singapore, maybe ASIJ, HKIS, JIS, european schools like Prague, Budapest, London. But it would definitely be a good idea to up-front about your child's needs when you interview and be clear about what kind of services and support he would need.