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 87 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT Cooney says. “We have been the ones informing the embassy medical unit of the specialists we have man- aged to find, not the other way around.” Cooney adds that this speech therapist has turned out to be “one of the best we’ve had any- where.” Why isn’t there one comprehen- sive list of all overseas resources? To be fair, it is probably impossible to document all the personnel, pro- grams, schools and resources avail- able at every post worldwide, particu- larly since the expatriate population is in a constant state of flux. It is that population that often provides the tutors, therapists and specialists used by special needs families, whose needs change with every arrival and departure. However, there have been calls for a more comprehensive resource, per- haps Internet-based, that lists all cur- rent schools with special education programs, as well as occupational therapists, physical therapists, educa- tional specialists, speech therapists and others working in relevant fields at all Foreign Service posts. The schools list maintained by the Office of Overseas Schools is helpful (see Resources, pp. 84-85), but A/OS is careful to inform families that the resources on this list are not always up to date. What department offices can help? Office of Overseas Schools. Carol Sutherland, information coor- dinator for the Office of Overseas Schools, is actively trying to make conditions better for FS special needs families. “A/OS for many years has worked diligently to assist and encourage department-assisted over- seas schools to offer special needs programs. The result of this effort has been a significant increase in the number of schools able to assist chil- dren with mild to moderate learning difficulties,” she says. Sutherland urges parents of spe- cial needs children to take advantage of A/OS’s briefings for new hires and To be fair, it is probably impossible to document all the personnel, programs, schools and resources available at every post worldwide.