Looking for schooling?
Most children with special needs can be mainstreamed with some additional support. Parents may find it challenging to find an international school that is accepting their child, once the child has been diagnosed. In the last seven years though most international schools in the Kanto have shown more willingness to accept children who have been diagnosed, certainly when parents show committed to providing the additional services needed. These mainstream schools will however not advertise that they are willing to accept special needs children but usually consider enrolment on a case-by-case basis basis. It may be helpful though to check beforehand whether the school that you are applying for has a learning support team that could work with your child! Many of the big international schools have such a (team of) specialist(s) (e.g. in alphabetical order Aoba Japan International School (A-JIS), American School in Japan (ASIJ), British School Tokyo (BST), Christian Academy Japan (CAJ), International School of the Sacred Heart (ISSH), KAIS elementary, Nishimachi International School (NIS), Seisen, St Mary's, St Maur, Tokyo International School (TIS), Yokohama International School (YIS), but these services are not necessarily available for all grade levels.
When you are looking for specialised options please see below.
There are other (smaller) schools that also have shown to be welcoming children with learning needs, despite not having a learning support specialist. This means that the list of schools mentioned on this page is far from exhaustive! For clients I try to make a good match between a child and a school, but only can do so for my own clients when having a good grasp of the child's (and family's) strengths and weaknesses.
I here mention, but do not endorse schools, so please visit these schools and talk to other parents to find out about their experiences !
When you are looking for specialised options please see below.
There are other (smaller) schools that also have shown to be welcoming children with learning needs, despite not having a learning support specialist. This means that the list of schools mentioned on this page is far from exhaustive! For clients I try to make a good match between a child and a school, but only can do so for my own clients when having a good grasp of the child's (and family's) strengths and weaknesses.
I here mention, but do not endorse schools, so please visit these schools and talk to other parents to find out about their experiences !
Schools for children with learning differences (Kanto region) |
For a general description about special needs education in Japan see this English brochure with also a description of what options exist in the Japanse system, and this document (in English), the ministry of Education website in Japanese and English and the National Institute of Special Needs Education website (Japanese & English (part of information).
Here you can find a list of (Japanese) Tokyo Metropolitan Schools for Special Needs Education. Schooling for children/adolescents/young adults with special needs (Japanese only) with an emphasis on vocational and social skills training is available at Showa Gakuen www.showa-gakuen.net Schooling for children on the autism spectrum who cannot, or do not want to, attend a regular school, see Musashino Higashi Gakuen. English speaking schools who welcome children with learning differences (various needs), see Maximising Potential, Harvey and MacLaurin and Yamato International School. TIPS (previously ISS) accepts children grade 5-12. Check with other parents for experiences, because they are mixed for some schools. The Special Needs Education School for Children with Autism, University of Tsukuba (Japanese) in Tsukuba. Use translate web for a rough translation in English of the school's website. See also Kaien A university program in Japan that is also inclusive for special needs students at Tsukuba University of Technology. Some colleges/universities in the US have special programs to welcome students with an autism spectrum disorder, such as the Open Door program at the Tarjan Center of UCLA. Also see this list and for some online colleges for "nontraditional students" see here. See also homeschooling part below for homeschooling children with special needs. Schools for gifted children See the description at the education in Japan blog here for the science high school in Yokohama for gifted children interested in science, and who have good English skills. |
Homeschooling
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There are Facebook groups and other websites with resources about homeschooling (in Japan). For post secondary education, see some online colleges for "nontraditional students" here.
A site with considerations, links, tips and programs for homeschooling can be found here. Also some books about home schooling children with special needs see (with links to amazon.com): Home Schooling Children with Special Needs, Sharon Hensley Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner, Kathy Kuhl Homeschooling the Child with ADD (or Other Special Needs): Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the Child with Learning Differences, Lenore Colacion Hayes (Author) Strategies for Struggling Learners: A Guide for the Teaching Parent, by Joe P. Sutton Ph.D. , Connie J. Sutton M.A.Ed. Staying Sane as You Homeschool (Learn Differently), Kathy Kuhl Learning in Spite of Labels Joyce Herzog (Written from a Christian perspective). And some websites (US programs): www.ldonline.org www.learndifferently.com www.elementaryeducationdegree.com/101-homeschooling-sites/ This website gives information for Japanese families abroad, but a also returnees who would like to enrol their child in a Japanese school or Japanese/English bilingual program in Japan. A school for Japanese returnee families is Keimei gakuen. According to my information this school is not only Japanese returnees, but also for Japanese kids who want to transfer from international schools and foreign children residing in Japan. They tailor their instruction to the linguistic background of a student. This NPO provides Japanese classes for youths and adults and translation services and host social events. They also provide classes for preparation with high school entrance exams. Students who attend public schools in Shinagawa ward can attend Japanese classes for free and their attendance to the class will be counted and applied to their schools. |
