School Assistant For Special Child

[MJK]

Hi!

I have a child with learning difficulties (visual-motor integration, hyper activity etc.). He goes to international school, normal class in Chiang Mai.

Now I would like to know if schools use personal assistants here like we use in Europe, America..

One of my relatives who works with special children in kindergarten will come to Thailand next August and is happy to help if it is ok with the school.

But, I guess work permit will be required?

What if I, boy's mother, would help him at school?

Does any of You have experience of special need children at schools here in Thailand?

Can there be a risk that the child will be "kicked" out of school if he's not able to concentrate to school work? And I'm afraid, is also disturb the others.

Thank You!

[Ijustwannateach]

Generally speaking, the understanding of special needs children is far behind the times in Thailand.

Depending on the international school your child is supposed to be going to, they may or may not have better understanding of the matter. Haven't you discussed it with them? Did you know your child had this problem before enrolling him in the school, or is this something that has developed since that time?

Yes, your relative will need a work permit, and it may prove almost impossible to acquire unless the school is entirely supportive of you. Are the teachers foreigners or Thais? Thais may not understand the use of special assistants and may be threatened by their presence in the classroom.

Thai classes (i.e., the kids) are very understanding of special needs students who are "slow" but not very accommodating for the disruptive ones. Your child may find it hard to make friends. He will certainly need counselling and professional attention. You may find that many doctors want to load him up on ADD drugs (a common phenomenon among children of the dysfunctional Thai nouveaux riches these days); be very careful to do research on the medical and psychological consequences before agreeing to this.

"S"

[PeaceBlondie]

The best international schools in Chiang Mai (in no order, CMIS, Prem, APIS, etc.) probably have specially trained experts, or have staff more or less trained in learning disabilities. Surely you should discuss this during the intake interview, or it would show up in the interview (which they all require). I would be surprised if they had something like full-time personal assistants in the normal classrooms. I take Ritalin myself (Rubifen trade name here), and doubt you could easily get prescriptions from trained neurologists or psychiatrists here, as you can in the West.

Good luck. Do not get your hopes up, but try your best.

[too true]

Hi!

I have a child with learning difficulties (visual-motor integration, hyper activity etc.). He goes to international school, normal class in Chiang Mai.

Now I would like to know if schools use personal assistants here like we use in Europe, America..

One of my relatives who works with special children in kindergarten will come to Thailand next August and is happy to help if it is ok with the school.

But, I guess work permit will be required?

What if I, boy's mother, would help him at school?

Does any of You have experience of special need children at schools here in Thailand?

Can there be a risk that the child will be "kicked" out of school if he's not able to concentrate to school work? And I'm afraid, is also disturb the others.

Thank You!

I've got a boy in my class with autism/aspergers and he has a shadow teacher with him all day. The parents pay for this on top of regular school fees and the school arranges all the paperwork for his visa and work permit. There are 3 other children in the school who also have shadow teachers with them throughout the day. I'm sure the school would support your relative assisting your child to ensure his success at their school, particularly if they do not have the resources to deal with special needs students (and most schools in CM do not have those resources).

Good luck.

TT

[MJK]

Thank You for Your answers!

[hlfourie]

I work as a teacher for a private English program school just outside Bangkok; we have around 20 special needs students in the school. About three have shadow teachers with them in all classes that had been arranged by the parents. The school does not charge parents extra and actually welcomes this approach from the parents.

All teachers, Thai and foreign, are very sympathetic and caring in the teaching of special needs students, at my school. “S” you should look around more before giving such a broad spectrum negative answer. There are very good schools in Thailand that give very good if not better individual care to special needs student. I think even better than some that I have seen in Europe.

Your relative would not need a work permit at my school and I am sure at many others as long as you come to some amicable agreement with the school. IM me if you would like to discuss further.

[PeaceBlondie]

It is good to have some alternate opinions, and good to see that there supposedly are so many Thai and farang teachers who are so aware of special needs students. It is great news to many of us who have been here for many years.

Just one more thing, though: would you care to run that by the ThaiVisa forum for Visas and Work Permits, as to whether the special assistant (even if volunteering) would NOT need a work permit to work legally in Thailand? That is big news, indeed, if true.

[Goldenbead]

Similar experience here. I had a shadow teacher working with a child in my class who has Down Syndrome. The parents paid for her services on top of the school fees. As the class teacher, I was glad to have her and I know it was a better experience for the child.

Ask some questions, you never know.

Good luck.

[Ijustwannateach]

Your relative would not need a work permit at my school and I am sure at many others as long as you come to some amicable agreement with the school. IM me if you would like to discuss further.

As PB says, this is quite startling news, as if the relative is a foreigner a work permit is required to work legally. That doesn't mean he/she can't get away with it, but it certainly will not be legal. If you have any proof to the contrary, it would be major news (and not currently corroborated by any other information). Please do tell.

"S"