TheClarkeFamily

If we ever pull it off (as our visa is nowhere near straight forward and may not even be possible having a child with autism) we would be heading Heathride/Beldon/Clarkson ish area

http://www.aussiemove.com/costofliving/ http://reiwa.com.au/home/default.aspx Might be useful

Having looked in to rental properties and having family over there in Perth already I can tell you that a 3 bedroom house can be anything from $400 - 600+ a week (yes week, not month) and depends on usual stuff like how close you are to beach, city etc. Cars are more expensive to buy out there but apparently good price to run. Fruit can be costly as its seasonal (on a holiday in nov 2010 we paid around £5.00 for a tiny punnet of grapes). The exchange rate is not great at the moment either but may pick up. I would do a spread sheet and work out what you pay here for food, bills, rent/mortgage etc and try and find out the same for rough prices in Australia bearing in mind the exchange rates. Wages are generally higher though so you may work it all out ok Google for estate agents in australia and have a look at both rental and to buy and you will see what money gets you on both. Dont forget there is no nhs out there so medical costs differ greatly, I think you can get quotes online for medical insurance, might be worth checking. Might be worth getting quotes for childcare/nursery fees etc as I dont know much about these yet but there are plenty of people on here who do

I found other posts about schools after this and read similar to what you are saying. A year ago we were having speech therapy for one hour a week but she made good progress and now sees speech therapist only 1hr a month and that is often streched out to be more like every 6 weeks. At the moment time is on our side and we continue to have jobs on the wanted list for Australia so I am not rushing anything which is why I will reassess our situation a year from now and if needed another year or two on top of that. George will be the first person we contact when ready for his opinion (Murphys - George Lombard is a migration agent that has a lot of experience regarding autism etc, for a small fee he will assess each childs case regarding visa etc). Quoll, I know I have asked a lot of questions in the past but you seem very knowledgable so going to hit you with one more Where would we stand coming out on a different visa (for example working) regarding schooling for her, I assume we would pay more in fees as she would not have a permanent visa. Is it the same difficulty getting any kind of visa for a child with autism? If one of us were offered a job for example and the employer wanted us over fairly fast..... will we hit the same walls with visa's?

My situation is very different as my daughter is only 4 next month and diagnosed autistic but we are aiming for permanent visa maybe next year. Have been in touch with George Lombard who can assess the situation but there is a cost (we were told $330 today by him). To me it is money well spent as he can assess your child and give you an idea whether what you want to achieve visa wise will be possible. As she starts school this Sept we decided to wait another year so we can see how she gets on at school support wise but also it gives her speech a chance to improve. We will then decide if we go ahead with visa application but if we do then George is the first person we will pay for that assessment before we go any further. I have also been gathering info from Autism association WA and other places and there is so much to consider including the points already made above. One thing we were asked (and you may get asked the same) is who would look after them should something happen to both parents. It is an awful thing to think about but it is a needed question. If a child (of any age) needs care of any kind, who will they have in Australia to take them in, support and pay for them as needed etc. We are lucky that I have family settled already in Perth who would fulfill this role should anything happen to me and husband. I highly recommend emailing George Lambard and pay the $330 or whatever he quotes for your situation http://www.austimmigration.com.au

I have a daughter who will be 4 next month and is diagnosed autistic. Her lack of speech is the main problem but she signs and uses picture exchange to communicate really well. I am well aware its highly unlikely she will get a permanent visa which is why we will keep reassessing our own situation regularly. I have already emailed and discussed with George Lombard, specialist in this area regarding her autism and most likely will pay him to assess her eligability some time next year, giving us time to let speech improve and her to start school here (we will be able to know what support she needs or may need by then too as currently she manages really well in mainstream nursery with some 1 to 1 funded time). I have also been emailing Autism Association Western Australia and they have been extremely helpful providing lists of schools and info regarding autism in schools. Basically I am trying to gather as much info/evidence to support her visa application (should we go ahead with it next year). Finding out about schools would give me an idea of what to expect. - Has anyone moved from UK to WA with an autistic child and has experience of the WA schooling system? - Am I right that if she gets a permanent visa, the school can apply for funding for support if needed? - Would it make a difference to a visa application for an autistic child if we can prove we can pay for all her support/therapy she may need during school years (and beyond)? - Would it help (and is it possible) to put her name down at a school and be accepted before the visa application (proving she has been accepted based on current needs) I should add that we have family already settled in Perth so we know what area we are aiming for. Could a school provisionally accept her pending the visa I think is what I am trying to say although my words just dont want to come out!!! I have so much to think about, its quite hard to get it all out in a way that it makes sense. In my brain it seems clearer, writing it down - not so clear lol Bottom line - I welcome all info and experience, all stories good or bad. Like I say, we are prepared we may not get a visa for my daughter at all but I am going to find out as much as possible on the very slight chance that shes in with a shot

The other thing I wanted to know (if anyone knows) If you can prove you have a certain amount of money set aside in a bank account for your childs "additional needs" (therapy etc), does this make a difference on whether a permanent visa will be accepted?

Its heading up to a year since I last logged in and posted. Our visa application was put on hold last April (our choice). This time last year we were waiting for a diagnosis on our daughter. She will be 4 in March this year and now has been diagnosed ASD. Her speech is starting to improve and she communicates mainly by signing for now (I am being sent on a signing course this month so I can keep up as I spend hours trying to google what shes saying!!). She has settled really well at nursery (mainstream school nursery) and has a TA funded by the disability services for part of her time there. Considering she can not say much at all she has ranked in top ten in her class of 34 kids for knowing her numbers and alphabet recently. Her behaviour is very good, we get tantrums like you do from any child her age but its very rare we get a "meltdown" and if we do, its over very quickly. We were told special school may put her on thier waiting list for a place there and they have (from what we are told she is a long way down the list mainly because they dont think she needs to go there at this current time, shes doing well in mainstream). Other than when she is excited (flappy when happy lol) nobody really notices her ASD side if you like. People that see her signing assume she is deaf (she isnt), others assume she is a quiet girl thats is perhaps "quirkly" . Last March we were having speech therapy for 1hr a week every week. Now we have 1 visit every 4-5 weeks. My daughter will start reception year in September and we asked for a statement to be put in place for her which is being done now. We have also moved back to the Midlands now to be nearer family and in all honesty had assumed moving to Australia was no longer an option, we thought we were done with the idea, that being nearer family would make us realise this is it for us. My brother and his wife (been in Perth 6yrs) were devestated that we said we were not pushing the visa forward and that "the dream was over" (we never got as far as medicals or anything, I think we needed to get the diagnosis for daughter, digest it a little and then became scared/nervous and undecided so we put it all on hold and I think talked ourselves in to thinking we were better off here). I have no idea why I decided to log in here today and search the word "autism" which led me to this post. I have put all talk of visa's and Australia to the back of my head which is hard when I speak to my brother and his wife every other day. For whatever reason (maybe slightly lead by the fact I ended up watching Wanted Down Under revisited yesterday!!) I woke up today feeling unsettled having had a lovely dream about our 3 week holiday to Perth a few years ago and before I had even eaten breakfast my head was filled with questions ranging from "why are we giving up so easily" and "why dont we find out more, maybe we can still go" mixed with "how can i move my asd daughter away from family here to the other side of the world" and "she will be refused a visa wont she". It has been lovely (and very teary) to read the above posts and to hear everyones stories. Whether we ever get a visa and move I dont know but I think maybe its time to decide whether the "dream" really is done or whether we are just telling ourselves its done incase we get hurt further down the line. Oh my poor husband is in for a night of what ifs and maybes lol

http://www.napier.ac.uk/Pages/home.aspx The ICS is done in conjunction with this Uni, so I assume it would be recognised worldwide like any Uni degree??

I have posted this elsewhere but thought I would give here a go to. Before I apply for registration as a nurse in Australia, I was looking at topping up my diploma to a degree. I want to do the course at home through ICS (like Open University but perhaps less known?) They offer the modules I want and a fair price and I can start it at any time. I am trying to find if anyone else has done this, in particular through ICS. Will this degree be recognised in Australia? The people at ICS say yes it should be as its still a degree achieved in UK. Any advice or info would be appreciated