The Foreign Service Journal, June 2011

102 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 1 1 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT After long hours of research, pri- vate deliberation and family discus- sion, we made the difficult decision to send him to a special needs board- ing school in the United States at that time, where he matured and learned. Within two years we dis- covered that he had exhausted that particular school’s curriculum capa- bilities and needed to move on. He came back to our new post, where we worked closely with the school to create a special education program just for him, including a vocational training element that we as a family had to discuss, research, purchase and find the tutor for. And finally, when the limits of that cur- riculum had been reached, we had to move him, again, to a residential program. Audrey, Matt and their parents have had similar experiences. Over the years all three have received edu- cational opportunities unique to their posts, to their situations and to their own particular disabilities. Thanks to the State Department Special Needs Educational Allowance, provided annually, FS families with special needs children have the opportunity and flexibility to provide the right education at the right time —whether it is through home school- ing, special programs offered by host nation schools or residential pro- grams. I have often wondered if the deci- sions we have made along the way were the right ones for Brandon. But when I see all that he has accomplished, the friends he has made and the goals he has today, I have to acknowledge that my son is more resilient than I sometimes give him credit for. He has taught me that being disabled is not a sentence to a mediocre life, but only an obsta- cle that must be dealt with from time to time. In addition to formal education, our kids also have had learning oppor- tunities beyond the classroom. Their It is my hope and prayer that other FS families find similar experiences for their special needs children.