1. GSurprising as it may sound, special
education isn’t exclusively designed
for a child with a specific medical
diagnosis. Major life changes, like uproot-
ing to another country or changing schools,
may be reason enough to seek assistance.
“Recent research is showing that 20 percent
of children without diagnoses need some
type of special support at some point in their
academic career,” explains John Giszczak,
general manager of Eliot’s Corner, a center
for pediatric therapy.
That’s good news for Beijing parents
concerned about access to special educa-
tion. “Teachers with international education
experience are coming to Beijing with the
expectation that this is how schools should
be,” says Giszczak. Inclusiveness is a philoso-
phy that encourages the practice of educat-
ing disabled children with their peers. The
practice fosters acceptance among differently
abled groups, and stops the educational iso-
lation that has hindered disabled children in
the past.
Stephen Zissermann, elementary
school counselor at Beijing International
Bilingual Academy (BIBA) in Shunyi echoes
this change, “We have a lot of ethically
minded faculty, and some very passionate
advocates, who understand that if we didn’t
take some of these kids, then maybe no one
would, and we simply believe all kids need to
be supported.” BIBA currently has three chil-
dren with physical disabilities from Little
Flower Orphanage on full scholarships.
Growing Chinese awareness
International educators are not the only
ones concerned with
advancing educational
opportunities for chil-
d r e n w it h s p e c i a l
ne e d s . Wit h g row-
ing public awareness
about autism among
Chinese children, do-
mestic organizations
have sprung up to offer
services that will meet
this growing demand.
Yvon ne Wa ng,
a local mother, was enthusiastic about find-
ing special education resources when her
son Qi Tianyi, age 5, was diagnosed with
autism. She received parent training from
Stars and Rain, took several trips to the U.S.
for research and investigated the many spe-
cial education organizations all over China.
“I believe that helping my child requires a
long-term commitment; I don’t see dedica-
tion to the long-term from these [domestic]
organizations. I think they just want to make
money.” Her solution to these frustrations
was starting her own inclusive kindergarten.
As Chinese and international parents
alike begin to expect inclusiveness, schools
will be met with two primary challenges. Spe-
cial Education Network in Asia (SENIA) board
member Noel Erik Simon, a speech-language
pathologist with Global
Speech Services in Bei-
jing, elaborates: “[First
schools need to be] able to
recognize [and] identify
what the needs are within
their student popula-
tions and [secondly to]
adequately staff schools
to meet those needs.”
Simon is also concerned
that “while more and
more schools are becom-
ing inclusive either through philosophical or
economic demands, most international schools
seem to shy away from being labeled as ‘that
school’: the special education school.”
To gauge the inclusiveness of potential
schools, consider the following points:
Do they embrace inclusiveness?
Ask administrators about the school’s specif-
ic policy on inclusiveness. Request to speak
with anyone who will teach or support your
EDUCATION
Inclusive
Education
What does this mean for
children with special needs?
Even when schools
aren’t able to hire their
own full-time support
staff, Beijing has several
clinics, organizations
and private providers
that can assist schools
Photo courtesy of
Beijing International
Bilingual Academy
Beijing Parents & Kids | 47

2. child; the homeroom teacher; the guidance
counselor; all special subject teachers and
extracurricular activity leaders.
Special Education Network in Beijing
(SENIB) chair member Dr. Reed Rhodes, the
elementary school learning support teacher
with Beijing City International School (BCIS),
says that all teachers need to share in this
vision. “All teachers [at BCIS] actively differ-
entiate instruction according to a student’s
individual needs [along with learning sup-
port staff].” Zissermann elaborates on BIBA’s
inclusiveness: “[BIBA] follows a response-to-
intervention model, where the dean of stu-
dents and I offer that next layer of classroom
assistance in the form of a student support
team, but the focus is to teach all children in
their homerooms all of the time.”
Will they meet my child’s needs?
Ask about all in-school contract services the
school provides for special-needs learning
support and physical accommodation. “To
be fully inclusive, there needs to be a com-
mitment to providing the resources needed
by the students,” Andi O’Hearn, director of
communications at BCIS explains. “I would
expect that [schools] would hire specialists
educated and skilled to work with the stu-
dents such as counselors, learning support
specialists, whether occupational, physical
or speech therapists, depending on the needs
of the children [schools] are serving.”
Even when schools aren’t able to hire
their own full-time support staff, Beijing has
several clinics, organizations and private
providers that can assist schools in providing
learning support. SENIB, the Beijing chap-
ter of SENIA, has a list of external providers
listed on their website, www.senib.org.
Know assessment test criteria
Ask which assessment tests the school ad-
ministers and why. Also inquire about the
qualifications of the teacher or counselor in
charge of administering these tests.
“The issue with assessments is that
most of the common ones are standardized
on native English-speaking populations,” ex-
plains Simon. “A school with a good support
services department will be able to work as
a team to distinguish whether the issues a
student is facing are due to language acqui-
sition or learning needs, or both. A common
assessment that an educational psychologist
will administer is the Wechsler Intelligence
Scale for Children (WISC). However, it’s good
to understand that there are a variety of as-
sessment tools available. The specific tool
is not as important as making sure that it is
administered by a qualified professional who
has the training to interpret the results. A
responsible school will also be able to iden-
tify if a student’s needs are beyond what they
are able to provide for and not just mask or
ignore issues in order to collect tuition.”
Individual education plans
Expect a parent-teacher meeting to review
and discuss an Individualized Education
Plan (IEP). Remember that the IEP is nego-
tiable and should serve your child in his or
her weaknesses and strengths.
Dr. Reed says, “The most important
parts of any IEP are a delineation of a stu-
dent’s strengths and needs, learning targets
with strategies and resources, how outcomes
will be measured and who is responsible
for the implementation. As with any plan, it
needs to be reviewed periodically.”
Simon echoes this: “When an IEP is
created, a professional school will want to
meet with the parents to go through and
explain it to them. Parents should look for
measurable goals, the date that the IEP
will be revised, the frequency in which
their child will receive services, the setting
(small group or individual) and who will be
providing services. I think that it is reason-
able for the parents to want to ensure that
the teachers providing services are quali-
fied special education teachers with mas-
ter’s degrees or a related specialist field.
Also, what is the philosophical approach of
the school? Is the school student-centered
or more program-centered?”
Parental education
Zissermann points out that his job as the
BIBA counselor includes periodic informa-
tional sessions for parents. “I’m planning a
parent workshop where we discuss a few key
values ... inclusion tops the list. From this, I
will gauge parents’ understanding of special
education, and build from there. For the fac-
ulty, I have planned training on autism spec-
trum disorder, tics and Tourette’s, and inclu-
sion generally. I’ve trained a few individual
teachers and parents as needed.”
Red flags to watch for
Look out for overambitious or understaffed
schools. “One [red flag] would be if a family
with two children applies to a school and
only one of their children is admitted and the
other is told no [because of learning needs].
A school that wants to split up a family is
not very community-minded,” says Simon,
“and isn’t looking at how best to serve the
entire family. I would say that a school or
organization that doesn’t ask a lot of fam-
ily and medical history questions might not
be experienced enough to meet the needs of
your child. Does the school have an interven-
tion program? How integrated are the differ-
ent professions in the school? Will there be
a team who will individualize the support or
is it just one person? Does the school involve
the parent and family as integral members of
the support plan for their child?”
“No matter how good a school or or-
ganization is,” adds Simon, “progress will
be limited without the parents taking an
active role in their child’s education. This
should be continually communicated to the
parents by the school and be an expecta-
tion of the school.”
Specialist credentials
“Parents should expect that, if a school or
clinic has specialist teachers, they are actu-
ally qualified and experienced in special edu-
cation, speech-language pathology, educa-
tional psychology, literacy intervention and
English as an additional language,” explains
Simon.
“Special education organizations are
largely unregulated in China, so parents
should stay informed and vigilant in making
sure organizations have the proper creden-
tials they need to provide adequate service.”
Also check to see if special education
professionals are continually updating their
expertise. Stars and Rain sets this example
through its partnership with Harpers Green,
a school in the U.S. with over 85 years of
special education support. “We partner with
them in order to provide comprehensive sup-
port for autistic children,” says Scott Sun
of Stars and Rain. “We have a volunteer
exchange so our teachers and their teachers
can gain valuable experience.” SENIB also
provides workshops at its meetings and con-
ferences to help support professionals and
schools when setting best practices.
Seeds of change
Even if all schools in Beijing became fully
inclusive overnight, Zissermann points out a
huge hitch. “Despite what we as faculty think
of inclusion, it’s hard to gauge how the par-
ent body will react in private or public. [T]his
social aspect can scare parents into denial or
silence.” Zissermann and other BIBA faculty
hope to “educate parents that acknowledging
their child’s special needs is actually a good
thing.” His comments point to a key way in
which parents can support this global move-
ment toward supporting children who have
naturally different learning styles and needs.
Parents can contact their school’s board to
vocalize support for inclusiveness. Support
for this change can also be done through vol-
unteer work or even just clicking a few social
sharing buttons to increase awareness about
inclusiveness and special
needs in Beijing.
Vanessa Jencks
thinks no child should
be left behind
EDUCATION
48 | December 11 - January 6