The Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth, headed by Dr. Nancy Robinson, University of Washington, continues to study and address the needs of children with learning disabilities and those of high ability in Department-assisted overseas schools. Since the inception of this project, now in its eighteenth year, the Committee's efforts have focused on encouraging and assisting schools in identifying students with special needs and in strengthening programs to address these needs.
The Committee held two meetings in 2006-2007 at the Department of State, one in December 2006 and the second in June 2007. Committee members met with the Regional Education Officers (REOs) to receive updates on special needs services, confirm requests for on-site consultations, and hear from fellow researchers and practitioners who serve as Committee associates.
In consultation with the REOs, Committee members and associates visited embassies and/or schools in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Israel, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, South Africa, and Ukraine. A number of these visits included presentations at conferences of regional school associations and at individual schools or groups of schools.
The Committee also continues to advise the Office of Overseas Schools on issues related to the Department's allowances for special needs. Dr. Robinson consulted by e-mail with numerous overseas parents and served as an authority of whether children's test scores on the School and College Ability Test (SCAT), administered by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth, qualified for the special allowance available to gifted children in overseas schools that do not have a gifted program.
Committee members assisted the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE) in developing professional development opportunities for directors, teachers, and counselors in overseas schools. Members and associates offered workshops at the AAIE annual conference in San Francisco and advised on the planning for the Summer Institute on Exceptional Children held in Seattle, formerly known as the Optimal Match Network Institute (OMNI).
OS continues to distribute an updated version of the brochure, Transitioning to an Overseas Assignment with a Special Needs Child, which includes expanded resources and additional information on the Department's assignment process, allowance structure, and key factors in choosing an overseas post, to all overseas posts and U.S. agencies with families overseas.
