minor learning difficulties - which school???

[angelina]

Hello. My husband has been offered a job in Singapore, but my son has minor learning difficulties. This means he can't get into any "elite" school, or one that requires entrance tests etc etc. Can anybody give me advice on which schools might best accomodate him (ie. good learning support and possibly (though not essential) smaller class sizes.
I know there are many threads on which school etc, but I haven't found anything helpful on this topic. We are British, so Tanglin would be the first choice, but I can't get any feel for whether they would be supportive of learning difficulties. Many thanks, Angelina.

[beenhere10years]

Don't sell Tanglin short, call them up and speak to a counselor -- they may have the facilities to help your child. SAS has larning support for kids who need and extra boost, as does OFS. For more serious challenges, try the Genesis School at 6733 1172.

[**kronis**]

Hi Angelina,

Been is right. If your son has had any kind of standardized evaluations done in the UK, then call and speak to someone at Tanglin or UWC, or SAS, etc... about proper placement for your child. I know SAS has no entrance exam. Good luck to you.

[angelina]

thank you, "beenhere10years", i'll follow up these three suggestions. My son has something called "auditory processing disorder". i was encouraged that Tanglin at least knew what this is! But its such a huge school, wonder whether he would cope better somewhere smaller? Thanks again, Angelina

[angelina]

Hi Kronis, you sound like you have personal experience?? My son hasn't had any formal evaluations (too young), but has been diagnosed by a speech therapist with this particular disorder. He also has a sensory integration disorder. This means no lower IQ, but problems learning. Have you a child with learning difficulties or are you a teacher? Be grateful to learn from your experience.... thanks, Angelina

[Sandpiper]

Tanglin does have good facilities (quite a large department actually) for supporting learning difficulties for children in the school - they may be more choosy re new admissions depending on the remaining capacity of this department. In some circumstances it is mutually agreed that the parents pay extra for a one-on-one assistant in the classroom.

Another school not mentioned above which advertises itself as catering to special needs is Dover Court. I understand it is much smaller than Tanglin so it may be worth a look as well.

[honey girl]

Hello,

I'd recommend International Community School at 514 Kampong Bahru Road. It's the best, English, American curriculum, and a small family atmosphere. I know he'd be warmly accepted, and learn quickly in this loving environment.

[email protected] is a site you might use to contact them, or [email protected]

You won't be sorry.

[tanglin mum]

Our child has a high iq but also has learning difficulties. He has received very good support in the Junior School at Tanglin, both from the learning support dept and the class teachers. We had one to one support at extra cost from a classroom assistant for a while, but then school advised us that they thought he was managing well enough for that not to be necessary. Support has continued in the senior school, especially in organising his time and work habits. There are a lot of children with dyslexia and various processing disorders in the school who receive individual support or group sessions with specialist learning support teachers as appropriate. Support is vastly superior to our child's last school which had smaller classes but less experience and committment. SAS also has a very good reputation in this area. I hear good things about International Community School from Christian friends but be aware that it has a strong Christian ethos - fine if that's your faith but poster should really have been upfront about that.