If you are considering a move to Abu Dhabi -- or, if you are considering moving your special needs child to a new school -- here are some questions you may want to ask the school representative before making your decision:
1. What is the school's philosophy regarding special needs? Is a diversity of abilities accepted?
2. What kind of support does the school provide (or allow) for children with special needs?
3. Does the school have a special resource teacher? If so, what kind of training does that teacher have? What is his/her experience?
4. Are children pulled out of regular classes for special support? If so, how often?
5. Are school counselors and classroom teachers trained in understanding special needs? (Some schools require training for teachers -- some do not.)
6. Is there a school nurse and are they able to dispense medication? How does the child get from class to the nurse to take medication -- on their own, or does someone take them?
7. What types of accommodations are allowed (or not allowed) at the school? Ask for examples and/or be specific with the types of accommodations your child may need. Will the school provide any of these accommodations or are the parents responsible?
8. Are shadow helpers allowed? (A shadow helper is generally a parent who trains as a special helper to assist one student in classes, and whose services are paid for by the parents.) How are shadow helpers trained? What is the cost? Who supervises them? How is communication/feedback with the parents handled? Who determines the length of the shadow helper's employment?
9. Are outside personal aids/assistants allowed in the classrooms?
10. Are there specific disabilities or special needs that the school is not prepared to support?
11. Does each class have a teaching assistant?
12. Will the school allow Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy services at the school or must this be done outside of school?
13. What is the average teacher:student ratio?
Once you have gone through the list of questions, if you are not satisfied with the level of support that the school may offer for your child, you may want to consider a school dedicated to educating children with special needs. Abu Dhabi has several schools that fall into this category, such as the Future Centre for Special Needs, the Special Care Centre, and the British Institute for Learning and Development. Please contact them for more information.
If you have comments or questions about the above list, or if you think of other questions that you think should be added to this list, please comment below or send email to specialneedsabudhabi@gmail.com.
A resource guide for ex-pats living in Abu Dhabi, who have children with special needs.
Welcome to Special Needs Abu Dhabi
Raising a child with special needs can be, in itself, quite challenging. Raising a child with special needs in a new country seems to add much more to that challenge. I started this blog shortly after my husband and I, and our two sons, moved to Abu Dhabi in the summer of 2009. We lived there for under 2 years and are now living back in the United States.
Our oldest son, AJ, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. Finding the resources in Abu Dhabi to help him with his special needs was an ongoing effort. In the U.S., the public school system provides testing, accommodations, and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for students with special needs, so we were spoiled there -- and dismayed at the seemingly apparent shortage of resources available to ex-patriot families (aka "ex-pats") in Abu Dhabi.
There are resources available in Abu Dhabi -- you just have to know where to look. Which is why I started this blog. My hope was to bring together in one place information to help parents of kids with special needs... so you will at least have a starting point. I also wanted this to be a place where we can reach out and support one another with advice and sometimes just a shoulder to lean on.
We have been back in the U.S. for about a year now, and I haven't written on the blog since the move -- until now. There have been a few parents who found the blog and wrote to me for advice -- and I have been happy to give it. I'm glad that it continues to serve its original purpose of helping ex-pat parents to find resources in Abu Dhabi to help their kids with special needs.
Recently, I have begun feeling the need to write again, but I've been unsure how to move ahead with the blog. In hindsight, I don't know if life is any less challenging in the U.S. than it was in Abu Dhabi. There are still daily struggles. I continue to advocate for my son who has ADHD -- to get him the help in school and in life that he needs in order to thrive, learn and grow. There have been steps forward and backward. I have felt hopeless and hopeful.
If you are in Abu Dhabi, or considering a move there, please leave a comment. If you know of resources that you've found helpful, let me know and I'll add them to the list. If you come across an article or book that has made a difference in your child's life, please share. Most of all, I hope you will share your stories. Wherever you are, it's good to know you're not alone.
Thanks for coming by.
For our kids,
Karen
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