Student Support Services | American School of Dubai

The American School of Dubai values and celebrates all learners in our community for their unique contributions, each of whom brings his or her own diverse background and learning profile. Our culture of inclusion is founded on a personalized approach to meeting students’ social, emotional, physical, and academic needs so that every student is challenged and inspired, and so that every student has access to the education they deserve.

Student Support By The Numbers

Director of Student Services

Certified and Experienced Special Educators

School Counselors

School Psychologist

Learning Support Assistants

Speech & Language Therapist

School Counseling

ASD’s school counselors provide a comprehensive counseling program that includes academic, career, and social-emotional counseling. Our School Counselors provide a variety of services based on student need. Some services are universal and offered to all students. Other services are targeted toward small groups of individuals, while others are only provided to a few students with a higher level of need. ASD can provide referrals for long-term counseling or therapy.

Learning Support

ASD’s Learning Support program is dedicated to providing inclusive education for a managed number of students with identified learning needs/students of determination*.

Students with learning needs learn best when they are educated with typically developing peers to the maximum extent possible. We are able to meet the needs of most students in the regular classroom with differentiated instruction through accommodations and consultation. Some students may receive additional support in class through:

Small group instruction
Point-of-performance support
Co-teaching

Students who require a higher level of support may attend a small group learning support class to work on the individualized learning goals on their Individual Education Plan.

Related Services

ASD has a School Psychologist who works with students, parents, and teachers to help all students to find success at school.

The Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) specializes in supporting the development of communication, language and speech abilities by:

Conducting screenings
Consulting and collaborating with families, educators, counselors and administrators
Providing speech and language evaluations and therapy (additional fees apply)

Special Education

The Special Education Teacher works with our multidisciplinary team (including on-site Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapist) and other teachers to implement individualized programs for students with more significant intellectual and developmental needs. Student programs focus on functional academic, social skills, and daily living/life skills, with the goal of helping students learn how to fulfill their personal and academic potential and attain as much independence as possible. Additional fees apply for Special Education and related services.

Admissions for Students with Learning Needs

ASD is committed to providing a clear and transparent application process. Admissions decisions are based on a careful assessment of not only the applicant's needs but also the needs of our currently enrolled students. Decisions are made based on a complete application and provision of all requested information to ensure that we have a complete picture of each student’s needs and what needs to be in place to support their success at school. In some cases, additional assessment may be needed to obtain more information about a student’s current levels of functioning, and the support needed to achieve success at ASD. For more information, see our Admission Policies page.

The support of our Counselors, School Psychologist, and Learning Support professionals are part of ASD’s standard school service. No additional fees are charged for these supports. Additional services beyond the standard school service (e.g. Special Education services and/or Speech and Language Therapy) incur additional fees.

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ASD’s Inclusive Education Improvement Plan

ASD is working to further develop our provision for students with learning needs. Our Inclusive Education Improvement Plan is part of ASD's Framework for the Future, and our aspiration to Include All. Our action plan has two primary objectives: delivering on our inclusion commitment and enhancing our support services.

IMPORTANT LINKS & REFERENCES

* Students of determination is the term used in the UAE to refer to students with special needs or disabilities. To learn more, see the Dubai Inclusive Education Policy Framework (2017) and Implementing inclusive education- A guide for schools (2019)