Autism and Immigrating to Oz

[Elaine N]

I am very new to this group and joined for the reason being discussed with MrsWhu. It's so reassuring to know someone somewhere has had their visa accepted! We are in the position that we want to immigrate to Oz from Scotland. we were initially told we were very eligible candidates but when the immigration agent found out our 4yrs old was ASD they pretty much said no thanks! I have contacted Peter Bollard explained the basics. His reply was that 'there was no prospect of our application being successful'. I think people hear autism and expect the worst case scenario! We are considering using a different agent and going ahead with the visa process and hope when it comes to the medical we will be given the opportunity to evidence our sons abilities. I was just wondering if anyone would have any advise. Thanks.

[Croft]

Hi Elaine - having dealt with many children with ASD I know how wide the spectrum is! I hope there's someone on this board that may have been successful and may suggest a specialist agent. Notwithstanding that, you'll probably have to get some (costly) medical reports before the Australians will consider granting a visa. From the Australian point of view, they want to minimise costs on their healthcare system so are very careful about pre-existing conditions.

[Croft]

Deleted as realised you'd already seen the thread!

[wrussell]

I have sent you a PM.

[Nemesis]

Hi Elaine - having dealt with many children with ASD I know how wide the spectrum is! I hope there's someone on this board that may have been successful and may suggest a specialist agent. Notwithstanding that, you'll probably have to get some (costly) medical reports before the Australians will consider granting a visa. From the Australian point of view, they want to minimise costs on their healthcare system so are very careful about pre-existing conditions.

Peter Bollard is the agent most often recommended for medical issues.

[Quoll]

If Peter says no prospect then, of course you can chuck as much good cash as you like but more people have been stung by false promises by agents who don't understand the medical system. Autism is complex and there is a real catch 22 - if your child can function independently at school then yes you are likely to get a visa because they won't be eligible for assistance under disability programs but if they are eligible for assistance in school then you won't get a visa. George Lombard is the other agent usually recommended with respect to medical issues.

[Elaine N]

Thanks for all the advice. Quoll, currently we are hoping to secure an ASN primary 1 place for my son but this is to assist him with his mainstream education hopefully after the first three years of primary. The projection is that my son with be mainstream educated and a competent learner ( as far as we are aware there are no other developmental delays). Will my sons history of having intensive intervention work against him? Not that we would withdraw anything that would impact on this learning. Am just feeling a big

lost with this all!

[Quoll]

Thanks for all the advice. Quoll, currently we are hoping to secure an ASN primary 1 place for my son but this is to assist him with his mainstream education hopefully after the first three years of primary. The projection is that my son with be mainstream educated and a competent learner ( as far as we are aware there are no other developmental delays). Will my sons history of having intensive intervention work against him? Not that we would withdraw anything that would impact on this learning. Am just feeling a big

lost with this all!

 

Yes, quite possibly. I know that early intervention is the best indicator of later success but if your son needs that intervention at a point where you are applying for a visa then that would be why you have had the advice that a visa would be highly unlikely. There is a threshold value for support and if a child's history suggests that they will need support in excess of that threshold (and, actually, in the scheme of autism support it's not that high a figure) then a visa will be declined.

 

If you can hang on until you've had the extensive intervention and your son is an independent learner and all indications are that he will manage in mainstream without further support then you should be able to make a case for a visa. But, as I said, there is the catch 22, if he's in need of and is eligible for support in school then he is unlikely to get a visa.

[LKC]

In NSW (not sure about the rest of Australia), kids with ASD can get something like $6000 per year to help with early intervention until they turn 7. I don't know how old your son is, but maybe if you were to wait until he would no longer be entitled to this funding you might be better placed? If your son isn't entitled to help because he is too old for the funding available, they can't include it in the calculations about what it would cost Australia, if that makes sense?! As far as I've seen, there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of support for older ASD kids, although there are schools who have ASD units or support teachers these (in looking for high schools for my daughter) seem to be few and far between in our area, not sure about other places.

 

Our eldest daughter was diagnosed with Asperger's at the age of almost 7 (we were already either PR at that point), so we had no help with costs under the ASD funding. She did get some psychology visits part-funded (we had to pay the gap) by a Medicare Mental Health Plan, the first time we took her this was limited to 10 appointments per year. This last time we took her (and she was subsequently diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder) she got six visits, then we had to go back to the GP and be reassessed for a further six if needed. Any visits over that you have to pay for. They change the rules quite often so you do have to keep an eye out for changes! I can't off the top of my head remember what the Medicare component of the psychology fees was, and I don't have a receipt to check, but it would total nothing like the $6000 per year for early intervention funding.

Edited January 31, 2017 by LKC

[Elaine N]

Hi LKC,

 

thanks so much for this. My son is five this year. He gets great support here but it's that thing of he is very able and the support is aimed at maximising on that rather than being at the early stages of 'intensive intervention' (he has had support since he was two). The powers that be in Education feel he could go to mainstream but he's non verbal (little functional use) so we are applying for ASN place for the first three years of primary. After that the projection is mainstream as he is assessed as a capable learner. We were hoping to start the visa process then make the move permanent in three year. However it seems from what everyone is saying it's best to hang off until my son is older maybe nearing the end of primary to enhance our chances!

Hope you don't mind me asking do U feel that u and ur daughter are supported well In meeting her needs. There is huge benefit of staying put where we are with such easy access to services but we really feel the quality of life Australia can offer would be great for our kids ( which we would of course work hard for!).

[Quoll]

Hi LKC,

 

thanks so much for this. My son is five this year. He gets great support here but it's that thing of he is very able and the support is aimed at maximising on that rather than being at the early stages of 'intensive intervention' (he has had support since he was two). The powers that be in Education feel he could go to mainstream but he's non verbal (little functional use) so we are applying for ASN place for the first three years of primary. After that the projection is mainstream as he is assessed as a capable learner. We were hoping to start the visa process then make the move permanent in three year. However it seems from what everyone is saying it's best to hang off until my son is older maybe nearing the end of primary to enhance our chances!

Hope you don't mind me asking do U feel that u and ur daughter are supported well In meeting her needs. There is huge benefit of staying put where we are with such easy access to services but we really feel the quality of life Australia can offer would be great for our kids ( which we would of course work hard for!).

 

The general feedback is that UK does disability support better than Australia and each state has its own eligibility criteria and support levels, some of them are quite draconian and because funding is finite the amount of support each child receives is always going to be less than parents perceive they need. You will need to be careful because once they are eligible for support under disability programs they won't be getting a visa. One returnee I know had a child who was virtually excluded from schools in NSW (with autism) but had thrived beyond measure back in UK and had just started college very successfully. So you would need to know which state you were planning on going to add they are all different.

 

I would be hesitant, too at assuming the "quality of life" would be better thing - I know that is a common assumption. Just another first world country with lots of adolescent mental health issues, drug use and high youth unemployment levels at the moment and if you take some kids away from extended family relationships you are giving them a worse quality of life.

[LKC]

Hi LKC,

 

thanks so much for this. My son is five this year. He gets great support here but it's that thing of he is very able and the support is aimed at maximising on that rather than being at the early stages of 'intensive intervention' (he has had support since he was two). The powers that be in Education feel he could go to mainstream but he's non verbal (little functional use) so we are applying for ASN place for the first three years of primary. After that the projection is mainstream as he is assessed as a capable learner. We were hoping to start the visa process then make the move permanent in three year. However it seems from what everyone is saying it's best to hang off until my son is older maybe nearing the end of primary to enhance our chances!

Hope you don't mind me asking do U feel that u and ur daughter are supported well In meeting her needs. There is huge benefit of staying put where we are with such easy access to services but we really feel the quality of life Australia can offer would be great for our kids ( which we would of course work hard for!).

 

Our daughter is definitely at the milder end of the spectrum for most things, so we've had very little help to be honest. She is clever, and articulate, but has trouble with changes in routine, social difficulties and also some sensory problems. Her fine and gross motor skills are a bit behind (she still can't use cutlery or tie shoelaces and isn't good at sport because she can't run particularly well - she also has congenitally absent anterior cruciate ligaments) but really her biggest problem is more mental health related, which I think is quite common in girls on the spectrum. This is really all we've sought help for. She developed an OCD when she was 6 after having been bullied at school (which is how she came to be diagnosed), and then more recently for panic attacks and anxiety troubles. She was seen under a Mental Health Plan from the GP on both occasions. Many of the Aspect Australia workshops and interventions (for example) either require a diagnosis of ASD plus an intellectual disability, or they are limited places with kids selected by a panel, and they don't run in our area. Other areas may well be better provisioned.

 

School have been pretty good with her. They changed the rules to allow her (and other kids) to sit in the library at lunch time (the noisy playground can be a problem for her), and her teacher this past year was outstanding with the trouble she has had with anxiety, so she was incredibly well supported at school. They even let me keep her home when necessary, and supplied her workbooks etc and didn't count her absence as an absence (she'd already had some time off).

 

Having said that, I will disclose that we are now moving back over to the UK, after eight years here. There are lots of different reasons, but part of our reasoning is that we feel that as our daughter moves into adolescence (she is almost 11 now), child and adolescent mental health provision is at least equal to if not better in the UK, and as her mental health is likely to be the thing that she has trouble with, we feel we are better off where that support is better.

Edited January 31, 2017 by LKC