LYNMACMD Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 My son has just been assessed by Educational Psychologist and we have been told he is now being put on a very long waiting list for help in school. We hope to be in Oz by middle of 2009 and were wondering if help is readily available in the schools over there and how long he may have to wait to get the assistance he needs in the classroom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNMACMD Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 just bumping this up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 All depends on the state and the nature of his disability. Best thing to do when you come is to bring all the assessments he has had done - the ed psych stuff will be vital. Also, see if you can get the ed psych to do an adaptive behaviour assessment if they havent already done one because that is becoming increasingly important for the eligibility criteria in several states and it is good to have it done by people who know what he is doing in school at the moment. Also bring along any documents re any medical diagnosis, an assessment of current skill levels etc - bring them with you in your luggage and dont send them by sea because support can be arranged quite quickly if the eligibility can be determined easily. In ACT we can get a kid on disability support within a couple of days if all the assessments have been done ahead of time. In Qld I know it takes much longer than that - states are independent and do their own things with respect to education!!! "Help" is variable. We have a strong inclusion movement so most kids with disabilities are supported in their mainstream environments unless they are particularly high needs in which case there are a few special schools about. The bulk of support goes to kids with identified disabilities - ie the "lower" 2 - 5% of the population not just kids who "need help". For the kids who dont fall into the disability categories, then the support they get is generally school based so they may be in a school which has Reading Recovery intervention for year 1 or they may have a Resource teacher who does remedial work across the school with groups of kids. If the assistance needed is more therapeutic (speech, physio etc), then some states have a school based support program but others have a family based program and therapies are not well provided for really anywhere in Aus IMHO. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNMACMD Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 Thank you he is ADHD, DYSPRAXIA and OCD he also doesn't have very clear speech which seems to be holding him back reading and writing maths he is 2 years ahead! Your advice is much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 From your description I would think it might be difficult for him to get support from the disabilities program. Victoria (just noticed you are heading for Melb) has amongst the toughest criteria but you can check it out for yourself http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/stuman/wellbeing/2009_PSD_Handbook_FINAL.pdf page 32 onwards give you the eligibility criteria for support under their disabilities program. It might be worth printing off and asking your ed psych for their opinion and also to see whether there are any additional assessments/documents you need to provide. A speech path assessment is also going to be necessary if the basic issue is language. However, if he isnt eligible for support under any of these categories then it will be up to the school to work out what they can provide from within their regular resources although you may then need to find private speech therapy to supplement that. The booklet I have referred you to has contact addresses and numbers so it would be useful for you to get information from the right people before you come! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNMACMD Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 Thank you for all your assistance it is much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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