Job Discussion Forums

[santi84]

I noticed in your post that you have experience in ABA therapy/children with autism? I appreciate that (as a mother of a child with it myself) but as an ESL teacher, I warn you it might be very disheartening to see it abroad.

[weshh1]

Sorry to hear about your trouble finding the right environment for your son. I know it can be hard and having a good classroom with the right management and compassion can make a world of difference. Ive been substituting in the US at various special education classrooms and there has been a huge range in how different staff handle behaviors and interactions. I cant even imagine the differences with how children are treated in other countries.

By far the best classroom I have been in was the one I was a teaching assistant for last year. It was at a charter school for Autistic kids and because the whole school revolved around ASD all the teachers were well informed on how to manage the classroom.

I hope you find the right classroom for your son and I highly recommend looking at different charter schools in the area to see if there are any specializing in teaching children with Autism. Good luck on your adventure back home!



spiral: I would ideally run a special ed classroom at an international school . Based on most of the comments it looks like this is not a very common thing overseas. As far as teaching english to special ed learners.... special education or ESE is very broad. There is a wide range of abilities and for some kids it is mainly behavioral issues that get in the way of their learning. Some kids just have trouble focusing. These kids could still be on grade level but are sometimes put in special classrooms because they are a distraction to other students and require too much individual attention from the teacher. I could see classrooms with high functioning ESE kids being geared towards teaching them english. Again, I dont know how common it is. Doesnt seem like its very common, but I could see it happening.

[nomad soul]

Why not direct your questions about possible career paths/opportunities to Teach Away since they're familiar with jobs in your field abroad? Send them an email or contact them via phone.

[weshh1]

Thats a great idea!

[corniche]

I think there's a huge demand, if not at international schools, then among the families who have another sibling they are keeping at home. In fact, I often hear of people working in diplomacy bidding on locations based on where there are schools that have special education.