New member with a question

Hello,

I does partly depend upon which education system you are planning for your children to follow; Kenyan, UK or USA?

As I am sure you know there is the ongoing controversy about the diagnosis of ADHD and whether it is a 'real condition'.  It's certainly not a common, or well recognised condition in Kenya.

One thing I do know is that understanding of and provision for neurodevelopmental disorders are relatively in their infancy with a tendency for provision within special schools, rather than mainstream education.  I believe that in many mainstream schools children with behavioural difficulties may simply be perceived as being naughty and the question would be whether/how they would cope with this. 

Private schools can be choosey. Certainly there is a risk of a school not accepting a student if they feel that the student would be difficult to manage - happens quite a lot with children who have been to school in Britain, where discipline is perceived to be lax!

I have found one Nairobi school (St Mary's School) which has a special educational needs policy.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r … DiR5QfjT0u

I have also attached a map so that you can locate it:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/St. … 2706?hl=en

Best of luck!

Thanks so much for your reply, Longolot62.

Our son is currently in the US so we would like to follow that curriculum. However, needs will dictate so if we can find the right school able to manage his behavioral disorders then we fill follow that curriculum.

It is my fear that we place him in a mainstream school with a special needs program it simply would not be able to manage him and, as you say, he will be seen as a (very) naughty boy. Hence our need for a Therapeutic Boarding or Day school focused on Special Needs programs.

Your information has provided me with a valuable entry point into the Kenyan Education system. I have also gained the name of an educational consultant company who I will be in contact with.

Thank you for your help. It is much appreciated.

Regards
Charl

Cheryl,
Try woodland star. its a great school  and american  system

Apologies Charl

Thanks Mbaika

I will definitely do so. By the way, the name is Charl, I don't want to switch gender just yet!

Yes, but does it cater for special needs?  There's absolutely nothing there on the website to indicate that it could manage children with ADHD, for example.  Its a fairly new school as I understand it.  That could go both for and against.

I have always sent our kids to schools which are established and have proven track records.

Incidentally, I am a paediatric occupational therapy and see a lot of children with ADHD and ASD (in the UK though).

No need, it's a confusing name!

That is my primary question.

My son is presently  in a highly therapeutic environment with a very high staff to student ratio. He suffers, in addition to ADHD, from General Anxiety Syndrome, Oppositional Defiance Disorder and Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

I would need a specialized school - not just with a special needs track - and very experienced and highly qualified staff. I have contacted several schools (including both suggested on this forum) requesting help in identifying a suitable program. I hope they will be able to provide some pointers.

It is a long shot as I am starting to realise that such an institution probably does not exist in Kenya (or in Africa). Prior to placing my son in the US we had already looked long and hard at Africa and had no luck. I was hoping that a local would be able to unearth a hidden gem.     

As an aside, my daughter is busy with her Paediatric Occupational Therapy degree

Thank you for you help

There is a growing belief/thinking that 'Oppositional Defiance Disorder' (ODD) & 'Intermittent Explosive Disorder' (IED) are not 'real disorders' and labelling kids with these diagnoses can cause a subtle, yet significant shift in parents and others approach - a self fulfilling prophesy in a way.  One or two psychologists are starting to say the same about ADHD.  There is also a theory that these modern day issues are the result of nurture, not nature - children are much more sedentary, less able to play out, explore and take risks and use their bodies.  The result is a failure in the proper development and integration of sensory systems.

Certainly in the UK, where I work, its rare for a child to be diagnosed with ODD, or IED, but ADHD is possibly over diagnosed.   Diagnostic criteria for all these conditions are fairly vague, to say the least

In Kenya I doubt that many schools will know much, if anything about ODD or IED.  ADHD is possibly more widely recognised - there have certainly been features on the condition in the papers. 

I would tend to argue against specialised schools for children with ADHD and related diagnoses, but who are otherwise intellectually unimpaired.  In the UK, such kids are educated in main stream (normal) schools (unless that have a significant learning difficulty) and have additional support, such as a classroom assistant.  Many will have a written plan, which defines what extra support the child needs.  I am unconvinced that placing children in a highly specialised settings, therefore singling them out will benefit them in the long term - many people at least learn to manage and sometimes grow out of these conditions, so being able to mix with a socialise with 'normal' children is very important.   I think that it will be this type of approach would be the most likely to be found in Kenya.

Hi

We have run the gamut of professionals and finally arrived at the residential therapeutic boarding school in the US as the outcome as we could not find any support or institutions in SA that offered any hope. My son has significant learning disabilities and this, together with explosive and physical outbursts, rule out out mainstream schools -even those with individual learning plans and written programs. 

He is adopted and was subject to neglect in the first few years of his life so nurture was definitely toward the negative side. He is a very active extroverted boy so a sedentary lifestyle is not a  factor.

I am leaning toward keeping him in the US till I am in-country and can investigate schools on the ground

Thanks for fully clarifying the situation.

The more detail that you give, the more likely I believe it will be that you are going to have significant difficulty in finding a suitable school for your son, in Kenya. 

The only facility I was able to find is for children with autistic spectrum disorder:

https://www.facebook.com/StGeraldsCente … WithAutism

If you were unable to find a facility in South Africa, which is more advanced generally in terms of health & social care, I doubt that Kenya will have a suitable facility, certainly not the type of facility that he attends in the US.  I hope that I am wrong and all the best of luck.