special needs education

[tinkerbell13]

Any advice, would be really grateful

 

We are just about to have our medicals and hopefully visit Oz next year to validate visa. Our 3 year old son is having speech therapy as his development is not where it should be for his age. we have gone private because NHS only want to "observe" his development and we felt this was not good enough. If he does not catch up by school age then we would look to place him in a school with a speech unit attached. I am concerned that if we uproot to Oz, I do not have the adequate knowledge to know whether the education system would support his development. I am a secondary school teacher so I know the system well here and know that in his early years his education would be good in the UK but when it comes to GCSE's I am not sure that this type of education would suit him, I am all in favour for the TAFE system which we do not have in this country.

 

Any help/advice would be good.

[rebrol]

You would probably have to do the same in Oz if you wanted to get anywhere. There are lots of Speech Therapists around in NSW as it is very big over here. It would all depend on which state you were going to and the severity of his delay as to what you may get in terms of funding. Like the UK funding is difficult to get and each state has their own education department and rules. Also like the UK Speech Therapists are expensive and most charge between $65 - $85 per half hour in and around Sydney.

Quoll is probably a good person to ask as she has lots of knowledge about the education system here as well as SEN.

[starlight7]

Don't want to pour cold water on your plans but I think the UK is much, much better than Australia for special needs pupils! I say this because I have a friend with a Downs syndrome child and she has had terrible battles to get assistance and funding. If the problem in minor you may be fine- but if it comes to needing teacher's aides etc well you might have a big fight on your hands.

[Naomi from Manchester]

Here are my thoughts on the matter (I'm a UK trained speech and language therapist and I've worked in the NHS and also for just 6 months in Sydney for a disability service in 2009). The below just refers to SLT for children with developmental delay (not other client groups) below:

 

In Oz, anyone can do the degree then set up their own practice, you don't have to belong to any professional bodies, undergo any post grad supervsion before you're an autonomous therapist, or evidence continued professional development. IMHO there are a fair few poor private speech pathologists around in Sydney, and there are also some around who are motivated by profit at the expense of honesty (at least you can't say that for NHS SLTs). The NSW Health service has very long waiting lists (1-2yrs) and many families pay for private whilst they're waiting. If your child has funding due to a dignosis of a disability, there are quite a few excellent government funded / charity funded services open to you (who aren't motivated by profit, don't have long waiting lists, and offer their therapists continued professional development etc). In the NHS, therapists are more and more consultative (assessing, setting goals, reviewing) and often leave the actual therapy to assistants or school staff or parents (as you often don't need to be a therapist to carry it out, and also resources are tight). In Oz, the speech pathologists have more of a hands on role. So you may find yourself paying for something you could probabily do yourself given some guidance. In Oz, there also seems to be a general expectation of a traditional model of 1:1 therapy in a clinic setting, which IMHO is a bit old fashioned and doesn't really promote generalisation to other environments (e.g. home and school). I know some Sydney special schools employ their own on site therapists. I don't know anything about mainstream schools with a language unit though (I'm sure they exist though - I just haven't come across any yet). I could waffle on for ages but I'll spare you!

[Ronan20]

We in Queensland having left Ireland & have a 3 y.o. son with DS. I found the range of help amazing and the support the he is receiving is excellent

[JoandJon]

My SIL is a paediatric speech therapist in Melbourne, and from hearing her talk about it, and my knowledge of the system over here the help and support is just as good in Oz - possibly with better access.

[Guest spadgersdad]

Hi

After working in Special Ed in the UK, and worked for over 5 years in Special Ed in Oz (as a Direct Support Professional) not just Support as have to have Diploma level qualifications.

In my personal opinion the funding is not as available as it was in the UK, but the support and care is second to none!!!!

All the staff be it Teaching, Aides, DSP's, SW's, ST, they are so committed to meeting each individual needs that they always go the extra mile.

I must say that I have been inspired by most of the Health Care Workers that I have had the opportunity to work with.

Thank you for caring!! Something that I felt we was losing in the UK.