Did anyone go to the recent Expat Woman evening event at Emirates Golf club in April? Can you provide some feedback on what you thought of the event? I have never been to one and I am interested in going in May, but I will be going alone. Did you find it was easy to mingle? Meet people with similar interests? Was it easy to move to other groups of people? Did you feel you were stuck in one corner all night? Could not wait to get out of there?!
Would you contact any of the people you met on the night? I HATE going to these things alone and feel so awkward. Just wanted some first hand feedback please!
Hello, where are you moving from? What curriculum is he following?
I also have a high functioning autism son who is in year 1 mainstream GEMS school here in Dubai. He is following the British curriculum and has a full time support teacher in the classroom. We have to pay all costs of the support teacher which work out to be the same as the school fees. Does your husband get a school allowance? Does it cover any element for SEN? If not, it can work out to be very expensive.
The school has a great inclusion team who see him outside of lessons and provide support with sensory, motor skills etc. Additionally they have an outside company that comes to the school to provide SLT and OT, but this is an extra cost. It is good because they do it at the school and can work with the parents and teachers.
What I did find on first arrival was that many of the 'good' schools are secretly selective in their admissions process and as soon as you mention SEN their 'quota' for SEN children is suddenly full although they like to come across as inclusive.
Additionally when you start at a school you will find that a full time support teacher will be a requirement for them to be enrolled. My son has developed so much and can follow the curriculum as well as all his peers. His support teacher helps him with other things like playtime, lunch, sports etc. Also if he is feeling overwhelmed in class she can support him outside the classroom.
Hope this helps.
