The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

88 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 6 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT publications available on the Internet and intranet (see Resources, pp. 84- 85): “We encourage families with children with special needs who are bidding on posts to contact the regional education officers — who are assigned to different worldwide regions and who travel from school to school, talking with staff and parents. They will share their knowledge of the schools and advise parents on locating appropriate posts to meet their children’s needs. They also have a good working relationship with the social workers at Employee Consul- tation Service.” Employee Consultation Ser- vice. ECS provides comprehensive support and assistance to families with children who have special edu- cation needs and provides medical clearance recommendations and post approvals to the Medical Clearances section of State/MED. “We work very closely with parents, academic institutions, post health units and the Office of Overseas Schools and the career development officers,” says ECS Director Stan Piotroski. As many FS families have discovered, a Class 2 (limited) medical clearance, rather than a Class 1 (unlimited, eligi- ble for any worldwide assignment) clearance, will narrow the list of posts on which an FS employee can bid. “The bottom line is that the child is assessed properly and that wherever the family is going, they will have the services necessary to support them. We have to put the child first,” Piotroski adds. Yet many special needs parents, perhaps because each child’s situation is so unique, feel they are not getting enough support from the bureaucra- cy. FS special needs parents have learned the hard way to be adept and resourceful at finding what they require — because often they have had no other alternative. As Maris Imbrie says, “The most important thing to know is that, as a special “The most important thing to know is that, as a special needs parent in the Foreign Service, you are basically on your own.” — Maris Imbrie Continued on page 90