Chelle Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Hi all we are currently trying to find out if a move to Oz is possible, but really need to find out about education for out 8 year old son who has mild autism. He currently has a statement of educational needs of 20 hours per week in England to help his progress. What kind of help is there in Western Australia? thank you Chelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 There is limited help. Some children do have a special needs EA that work with them in the classrooms all the time.. However, for mild autism then there may be a few hours allotted a week to the class to help him, or there may be nothing at all. In any case, the teacher will work with him and draw up an individual educational plan appropriate to his needs. There can really be no determination how much help he will receive until you actually are here and he is assessed. Just be aware that less help is available in Australia compared to the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 Thanks Sammy I feared this would be the case. i have also read that it would be harder to get a visa due to his autism. Is this true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 You really need to talk to one of the agents who specialize in medical conditions - George Lombard and Peter Bollard are respected in this area (no personal experience with them) but, yes, 20hrs a week is a significant intervention (not likely that a child will get that in Aus) and could well be a deal breaker for a visa. If you do go ahead you will need current IQ and diagnostic assessments, updated skills assessments, adaptive behaviour assessments and predictions of/evidence for independent functioning. Worry about the visa before you worry about the education in general, Aus services for kids with autism lags UK by quite a bit and just having the diagnosis isn't enough to access services, there has to be an assessed need putting the child in the bottom 2-5% (all states are different as to detail). There is often a sad catch 22 - if a child is deemed eligible for a visa then chances are they will not be deemed eligible for special ed support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 Thanks Quoll. That's pretty much what I had read before. Do you know how I would get in touch with George Lombard or Peter Bollard? thanks again for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realitynotincluded Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Before you feel you have reached the end of the road before you have even started..... here is a site that might help you see what WA has to offer for children with autism... http://www.autism.org.au/ If you take the next step, your support cant be transferred to Australia but the more paper work you can bring with you to support your case the quicker and the more help you will get, good luck :yes: Hi allwe are currently trying to find out if a move to Oz is possible, but really need to find out about education for out 8 year old son who has mild autism. He currently has a statement of educational needs of 20 hours per week in England to help his progress. What kind of help is there in Western Australia? thank you Chelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Thanks Quoll. That's pretty much what I had read before. Do you know how I would get in touch with George Lombard or Peter Bollard? thanks again for your help. google is your friend http://austimmigration.com.au/site/?q=node/21 http://www.lewisbollardmigration.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 The others are very right, 20 hours per week is very significant. Just be aware that this is the state of play in WA currently: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-20/collier-to-cut-jobs-in-education-with-assistants-to-go/4899782 If you are one of those people thinking coming to Aus will give your child a better life come with your eyes fully open that with a special educational need this may well end up not being the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Thank you all. not yet given up, but thought special needs May have caused a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 The others are very right, 20 hours per week is very significant. Just be aware that this is the state of play in WA currently: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-20/collier-to-cut-jobs-in-education-with-assistants-to-go/4899782 If you are one of those people thinking coming to Aus will give your child a better life come with your eyes fully open that with a special educational need this may well end up not being the case. Unfortunately this is only the start. Many EA's have lost their positions (due to school funding cuts) and are officially to be 'redeployed' to other schools. The problem is there is nowhere for them to go as ALL of the schools in WA have lost funding and thus all have EA's to redeploy. What this means (and we are all waiting to see), is that it is highly likely the government will make them redundant in, oh say six months... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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