SPECIAL SERVICES PROGRAM

The Special Services program provides special educational provisions to all students with mild to moderate learning difficulties. The goal of the Special Services program is to enable students with special educational needs to reach their full potential, to be included fully in their school community, and to experience success in their learning.

Dalat International School is committed to meeting the individual needs of these students. The program is set up on the basic belief that every student with learning needs has the same entitlement to receiving a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. It aims at making the curriculum accessible to students by using good teaching strategies or accommodations as well as modifications to content area, according to individual student needs. We provide learning support to elementary, middle and high school students during school hours.  

The Special Services program offers a range of services such as:

1.  Diagnostic, educational and behavioral assessment and comprehensive written reports,

2.   Individualized Support Plans for all students placed on Stages 1 to 4,

3.   Individual and/or group instruction in a pull-out program,

4.   Class-based support within the general classroom,

5.   Remedial skill building/teaching, 

6.   Organizational, time management and homework assistance for middle and high school students,

7.   Regular monitoring of student progress,

8.   Semester/annual review of student progress,

9.   Semester progress reports,

10. Consultative support and advice to staff and parents, and

11. Professional development for staff and parents.

We follow a staged model of action and intervention to referring, identifying, assessing, teaching, monitoring and reviewing the progress of students with special educational needs. Students are considered for the program through an expressed concern to the principal, after a formal referral is made by a class teacher, staff or parent. The referral is forwarded to the Special Services Coordinator. Testing, classroom observations, parent, student and teacher interviews will be conducted to determine their eligibility into the program. Based on the student’s nature of difficulties, students are identified and placed into stages, which then determines the type of support provided. All students in the program are provided with an individualized Support Plan, which is drawn up with the involvement of the parents and teacher(s).  These are reviewed on a semester or annual basis.

The admission of all prospective students with special educational needs is determined by the Admissions Committee, on an individual basis. Students are accepted into DIS if their special educational needs can be met within the Special Services Program. We accept students with mild to moderate learning difficulty in the areas of:

• Cognition learning needs e.g. specific or general learning difficulties

• Communication and interaction needs e.g. autistic spectrum disorder, asperger syndrome, speech and language communication needs

• Behavioral and attention difficulties e.g. attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

• Sensory and/or physical needs e.g. multi-sensory impairment, sensory integration disorder

DIS is unable to provide for students with severe forms of learning difficulties. We do not have provisions for students with visual, auditory, mobility, communicative, and cognitive impairments or significant behavioral difficulties, who require intensive one-to-one support and/or need specialized instruction and facilities.

If at the time of application, the prospective student has a ‘suspected’ or diagnosed learning problem, the Special Services Coordinator will review the student records and make recommendations to the Admissions Committee. The school may request for assessment and progress reports, IEPs (Individualized Education Plan), additional testing, may interview the parent and/or student, or contact the previous school. Students with a diagnosed learning difficulty or with an IEP who have been accepted into DIS will automatically be eligible for placement on the Special Services Program. Acceptance into DIS and the Special Services program is at the schools’ discretion.