The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

J U N E 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 79 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT great challenges; finding good schools is one of them. For families with a child who has special needs, the task can be overwhelming. Most special needs parents will agree that finding the right educational and therapeutic services for their child is their num- ber-one priority. But unlike U.S. public schools, private overseas schools are not obligated to provide special needs education. Stefanie Bates Eye, a third-tour consular officer in Montevideo, finds her greatest difficulty is “understand- ing exactly what it is you are walking into with each new post.” She explains: “You have to first under- stand your child’s needs, which can change from year to year or even more frequently; you have to under- stand the regulations that govern medical clearances, the allowances and the bidding process; and you have to conduct exhaustive research not only on the job you want to bid on, the country, the security and the lifestyle, but also on the school, the medical community, access to the APO system for prescriptions (for kids with conditions that require medication) and even the tolerance levels of the local and expat commu- nities.” This painstaking process puts a great deal of emotional pressure on everyone in the family. Adds Eye: “Perhaps the most challenging part of all is trying to weigh and balance the needs of one child with those of the other children, the spouse and the employee. My special needs child’s education is certainly more important than my other child’s need for access to competitive sports, for example, but that’s not to say that my other child shouldn’t also be consid- ered in our plans for onward assign- ments. It becomes a very fine bal- ancing act that doesn’t seem to get easier with time or experience.” Which posts have the best ser- vices for special needs children? The challenge for the various offices and organizations that monitor and support special needs education is compounded by the fact that “spe- Unlike U.S. public schools, private overseas schools are not obligated to provide special needs education.