joc1966 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hello, My parents moved out to Australia when I was just a babe in arms (14 months old). My wife and I have done several trips to visit family over the years and in 2010 we spent 3 months having a good look around, considering our options. Both our children are high functioning autistic indviduals and we have heard that resources, facilities, opportunities, etc are beter in the UK than here in Oz. :confused: Could anyone confirm this and also give us a run down on who to contact, how to get them into 16+ schooling. Our son is very much into computers and wants to be invovled in game making (xbox, DS, etc). Anyone able to suggest/help with options. Also, how do you get a National Insurance Number? Cheers:policeman: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Can't help with your questions but wanted to say hi and welcome to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hi there. Applying for NI numbers is pretty straightforward. Hubby moved over here a number of years ago from Aus and he applied when he began work about 6 weeks later. Was pretty straightforward and he was on a temp visa. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ni/intro/number.htm There is a jump there on visa requirements etc also so check that bit out http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/migrantworkers/documents.htm As far as facilities go, it really is area dependant IMO. Not everywhere is the same. I think you'd have to narrow down the areas you are considering living and research the local facilities. Its easily done once you know where you want to look at. You can start with the local county council websites, email or read there, schools are listed also. And look up support groups, parents groups and so on. I know there are some very good ones around now. O and GP's are also good, but again, it really is luck of the draw about you getting a good GP practice or a good GP, but you can change them if you don't like them. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joc1966 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Thanks for the links. We are most likely moving to the SE, maybe around Rochester, if the job I have applied for comes through. Otherwise I'd like to look around Kings Lynn (rels live there)... Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Thanks for the links. We are most likely moving to the SE, maybe around Rochester, if the job I have applied for comes through. Otherwise I'd like to look around Kings Lynn (rels live there)... Cheers, Joc ......there is no one more pro England than me ......but i worry you may have been away too long .......England can be a very tough school ......if you must ,do your homework and find somewhere none urban . Our cities are unforgiving places ....i wouldnt wish them on you . There again i drove through Warwickshire yesterday in the sunshine .....trees changing colour ........through Leamington Spa ....down the old warwick rd into Solihull .....that will do for me , all day long . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliag Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hello, My parents moved out to Australia when I was just a babe in arms (14 months old). My wife and I have done several trips to visit family over the years and in 2010 we spent 3 months having a good look around, considering our options. Both our children are high functioning autistic indviduals and we have heard that resources, facilities, opportunities, etc are beter in the UK than here in Oz. :confused: Could anyone confirm this and also give us a run down on who to contact, how to get them into 16+ schooling. Our son is very much into computers and wants to be invovled in game making (xbox, DS, etc). Anyone able to suggest/help with options. Also, how do you get a National Insurance Number? Cheers:policeman: Hi joc1966, We are still currently in England and also have a son with aspergers, schooling is very hit and miss in the UK and it is much more difficult to get extra support than it used to be due to government cut backs. We are in the process of moving to Australia as we do not see much of a future for our son in the UK as work is very hard to come by for the school leavers these days. My son attends a good school but would have to leave at sixteen and attend a college as apprenterships no longer exsist here. If your children would not need extra support and can function well in mainstream you may be lucky, but I would certainly research the area you intend to move to well. It would be interesting to know how you view the future for your children, as I really worry about my son staying in the UK??? maybe the grass is not always greener, eh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stovies Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hi joc1966, We are still currently in England and also have a son with aspergers, schooling is very hit and miss in the UK and it is much more difficult to get extra support than it used to be due to government cut backs. We are in the process of moving to Australia as we do not see much of a future for our son in the UK as work is very hard to come by for the school leavers these days. My son attends a good school but would have to leave at sixteen and attend a college as apprenterships no longer exsist here. If your children would not need extra support and can function well in mainstream you may be lucky, but I would certainly research the area you intend to move to well. It would be interesting to know how you view the future for your children, as I really worry about my son staying in the UK??? maybe the grass is not always greener, eh Hi, I lived in Australia for 12 years and have been back in Scotland since March this year. I have two daughters with Asperger's and find that the system here is wonderful compared to Australia. We have support within the school and outside the school. Also, please bear in mind that, with your son being Asperger's, a huge change such as moving to Australia may have more of a detrimental effect on him than staying in the UK? My 13 year old daughter really found the change difficult but because of the great support here, things are looking up. I found that, in Australia, we really had to fight for any help with our daughters.... even then it was few and far between.. not to mention expensive. If your son is at a good school, I would really appreciate that as going off into the unknown, into a new country is extremely daunting... especially with an ASD child. I really don't mean to dishearten you, just please research everything before you go... it's not always the Utopia people imagine it to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 E-mail some sixth form colleges in the area you plan to live. Ask for advice about which 16-18 path; A levels (including computing or ICT), BTEC in Computing or ICT apprenticeship. There are some excellent MS accredited courses that lead to apprenticeships or IT support work. Some colloeges have a seperate department for the BTECs. Check with the college about their inclusion policy. Many get extra funding per student to give help to youths with Special Educational Needs. You don't need to have had a statement of SEN through 4-16 yr old schooling to qualify and many colleges provide their own assessments. The 2 unknowns though are how extreme is their autism and how much help they will get. Sometimes colleges can provide an assistant to sit in class with the student to provide support. Colleges have an interest in making sure every student stays and completes their course as they will be judged partly on their drop out rate. If your sons thrive on routine and structure the move could amplify the more difficult behaviours for them in the short term until they were settled again, so the college would need to be made aware of that. I wish you all the best with such a big decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joc1966 Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hello and thanks to all who have responded. Juliag - we have travelled the UK with both our children on two occasions in the last few years and they are both quite enthusiastic about making a long term move. Our eldest has said she intends moving with or without us; not bad for an autistic young adult. Whilst I appreciate your concerns regarding cutbacks etc, it is not much different here. We have mainstream schooled both of ours with Negotiated Education Plans until this year. Throughout their schooling the issue of support has been a major bone of contention. We were lucky that our eldest was diagnosed early and got to experience early intervention. Once they start school the hours of support reduce and the child may not even have any as the support hours includes teacher prep and training time. Year 11 was just too much and we made the hard choice of moving number one child into the District Special Class. This is just one big holiday for her now, no pressure and trips out once a week (maybe it was the wrong choice). I think she has decided that if they are going to treat her as "dumb" then she will act it. Our son is still mainstream and is struggling through a Certificate III in Creative Industries. He will get some credits, but not achieve the whole lot as he cannot put together the written work and they left it too late to talk to us about it. A senior producer on the ABC (TV Network) made the move to the UK because they found it was the only place they could see support and prospects for their autistic child/ren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AndyH78 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I believe video game programming is one of the most desired occupations there is for school leavers these days, so your child would have to be an exceptional talent. I don't mean to put a dampner on his ambitions, but it's a bit like saying, "My child wants to be a premier league footballer, how does he go about it?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joc1966 Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 Thanks for the advice Bunbury61. Have family spread throughout England and have certainly been ear-bashed by them. I'd be happy to live in some of the less urban areas - we had a ball in Scotland and The Lake District last year and also enjoyed the South-West counties. I have experienced the best and worst a city can offer (:policeman:) so don't have blinkers there. Employment options for us in the first instance will decide on where we would settle. AndyH78 - I hear you, but the latest with regard to area of interest for my son is that they cannot produce enough dedicated employees to meet current demands. No good me wishing for a football star - although slightly better than his father, still not a shine on his grandad who was an apprentice at Millwall in the 50's!! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boganbear Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 My old flatmates, boyfriend has a small company designing games for PS3 and xbox. However, you need to have a good degree and very computer literate, a reative thinker and be prepared to work very long hours. It certainly is not glamorous, staring at a PC for 12 hours a day. On top of this the money is not great and you do not spend days playing games which a lot of kids think you do. There are universities offering undergrad and post grad games design courses but they are pumping out more graduates than there are jobs. The best games studios are in America or Canada and to get into one of these you have to be exeptionally talented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I believe video game programming is one of the most desired occupations there is for school leavers these days, so your child would have to be an exceptional talent.I don't mean to put a dampner on his ambitions, but it's a bit like saying, "My child wants to be a premier league footballer, how does he go about it?" I'd say you'd have much more chance in this specific field in the UK rather than in Oz though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hello and thanks to all who have responded. Juliag - we have travelled the UK with both our children on two occasions in the last few years and they are both quite enthusiastic about making a long term move. Our eldest has said she intends moving with or without us; not bad for an autistic young adult. Whilst I appreciate your concerns regarding cutbacks etc, it is not much different here. We have mainstream schooled both of ours with Negotiated Education Plans until this year. Throughout their schooling the issue of support has been a major bone of contention. We were lucky that our eldest was diagnosed early and got to experience early intervention. Once they start school the hours of support reduce and the child may not even have any as the support hours includes teacher prep and training time. Year 11 was just too much and we made the hard choice of moving number one child into the District Special Class. This is just one big holiday for her now, no pressure and trips out once a week (maybe it was the wrong choice). I think she has decided that if they are going to treat her as "dumb" then she will act it. Our son is still mainstream and is struggling through a Certificate III in Creative Industries. He will get some credits, but not achieve the whole lot as he cannot put together the written work and they left it too late to talk to us about it. A senior producer on the ABC (TV Network) made the move to the UK because they found it was the only place they could see support and prospects for their autistic child/ren. Joc , the other thing to think of is the weather . It was decent on sunday .....now all of a sudden that chill has arrived .....its cold .....sharp I personally hate the winter ....cold ...dark ...no ta but my wife and kids love it .....bonfire night ....christmas .....halloween ....new years.....nights in front of the tele ..........i would just like to sleep through it until march:biglaugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliag Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 After reading some of the posts on here, I have had serious doubts as to wether we are doing the right thing in moving our son, he is all up for it and is ok with change it does not faze him much, and we were thinking in the long term australia would offer him better job prospects as we know academically he won't be a high flier. Just got our PR visas after much cost and stress, but now seriously worried if we are doing the right thing........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2tigers Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 After reading some of the posts on here, I have had serious doubts as to wether we are doing the right thing in moving our son, he is all up for it and is ok with change it does not faze him much, and we were thinking in the long term australia would offer him better job prospects as we know academically he won't be a high flier. Just got our PR visas after much cost and stress, but now seriously worried if we are doing the right thing........ Maybe you should post on the 'general chat' to ask for peoples experiences of moving to AU with autistic children? By getting more peoples experiences you may get a better view? Each experience is unique as you well know - autism has a broad spectrum, what may be good for one may not be for the next. Even though you have spent money on visas etc, its good how your researching further before uprooting your child. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joc1966 Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 Juliag by no means be put off coming down under to experience what there is on offer. Our experiences are by no means reflective of the whole. Depending on where your child is on the spectrum will definetely influence what support and ultimately what future can be made. States in Australia all differ on their levels of support and commitment to providing assistance; indeed the State governments seem determined to "go it alone" rather than adopt the federal models that have been proposed. If we were starting out again with younger children I think I would have sacrificed my job and moved to Canberra or Tasmania. When our eldest was in junior primary a team from NSW came to the school. The NSW system had some positives - like one on one assistance! In SA we have had great experiences at Klemzig School for the Hearing Impared - plenty of support and learning to sign certainly assisted ours to communicate (ours are not deaf), and Roxby Downs Area School set up a social skills group. Our experiences have shown that, with preparation, individuals on the spectrum can be very resiliant and accepting of change. We have moved house and schools three times in the last five years owing to my job and they have adjusted well to these challenges. Like with us moving to the UK, the real message is, I guess, that it is better to have tried something than to live with the thought of "what if"...:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest joannaplus4 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hi there. Applying for NI numbers is pretty straightforward. Hubby moved over here a number of years ago from Aus and he applied when he began work about 6 weeks later. Was pretty straightforward and he was on a temp visa. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ni/intro/number.htm There is a jump there on visa requirements etc also so check that bit out http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/migrantworkers/documents.htm As far as facilities go, it really is area dependant IMO. Not everywhere is the same. I think you'd have to narrow down the areas you are considering living and research the local facilities. Its easily done once you know where you want to look at. You can start with the local county council websites, email or read there, schools are listed also. And look up support groups, parents groups and so on. I know there are some very good ones around now. O and GP's are also good, but again, it really is luck of the draw about you getting a good GP practice or a good GP, but you can change them if you don't like them. Good luck I agree with this post. My closest friend in the UK has 2 sons with Austism and Aspergers and attend a very good school that my children were at, but she has been fighting for extra help for the last 2 years, keeps getting refused as there is no funding in the area and they "school should be able to cope adequately". We were also with a very good doctors surgery at which my mum works at, they are not taking on new patients for the unforeseable future. Other areas maybe better and would totally agree with the luck of the draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophia777 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Sorry to ask what may be a fairly daft question but isn't it really difficult for PR to be granted to families with kids with ASD? asking on behalf of my nephew who would love to emigrate, but his gorgeous son is autistic. I was under the impression it was a non-starter. Hopefully I'm wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsindecision Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Hi joc1966, We are still currently in England and also have a son with aspergers, schooling is very hit and miss in the UK and it is much more difficult to get extra support than it used to be due to government cut backs. We are in the process of moving to Australia as we do not see much of a future for our son in the UK as work is very hard to come by for the school leavers these days. My son attends a good school but would have to leave at sixteen and attend a college as apprenterships no longer exsist here. If your children would not need extra support and can function well in mainstream you may be lucky, but I would certainly research the area you intend to move to well. It would be interesting to know how you view the future for your children, as I really worry about my son staying in the UK??? maybe the grass is not always greener, eh apprenticeship very much alive and kicking here and definitelt a key focus for govt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Sorry to ask what may be a fairly daft question but isn't it really difficult for PR to be granted to families with kids with ASD? asking on behalf of my nephew who would love to emigrate, but his gorgeous son is autistic. I was under the impression it was a non-starter. Hopefully I'm wrong? Nope, generally a correct impression. If a kid wont require any support then they may get through the visa process but if they are in special school or receive considerable support and would be eligible for the disability pension (were they old enough) then they wont get a visa. Some people misguidedly head over on a 457 which doesnt have the same stringent medical requirements in the expectation that they will be able to use the 'oh but we are settled so well here' excuse - doesnt work, as soon as they apply for PR they get the same medical limitations. To the OP - I have just moved back after 32 years (well, I came for a holiday but am not returning on my flight on Wednesday) and would say go for it!!!! I guess it all depends where you will be living and of course, like the rest of the world, there is a GFC to contend with, but it looks pretty good here from where I am standing. There is just so much more to do within such a small space that whatever your interests you can be engaged pretty much all the time! I have one son who has made a very successful career here (he came for a holiday as well and never returned!) after uni so it can be done - he actually had a career change part way through which made it even more impressive from our point of view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine111 Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Nope, generally a correct impression. If a kid wont require any support then they may get through the visa process but if they are in special school or receive considerable support and would be eligible for the disability pension (were they old enough) then they wont get a visa. Some people misguidedly head over on a 457 which doesnt have the same stringent medical requirements in the expectation that they will be able to use the 'oh but we are settled so well here' excuse - doesnt work, as soon as they apply for PR they get the same medical limitations. To the OP - I have just moved back after 32 years (well, I came for a holiday but am not returning on my flight on Wednesday) and would say go for it!!!! I guess it all depends where you will be living and of course, like the rest of the world, there is a GFC to contend with, but it looks pretty good here from where I am standing. There is just so much more to do within such a small space that whatever your interests you can be engaged pretty much all the time! I have one son who has made a very successful career here (he came for a holiday as well and never returned!) after uni so it can be done - he actually had a career change part way through which made it even more impressive from our point of view. To the OP good luck with everything, but as has already been said, thoroughly look into it, as you are. Good luck. , Quoll, just wanted to say, I am sooo happy to hear you are back home where you belong. In the early days of me looking at returning to UK from Perth at the beginning of the year, where I was scared out of my wits, I found your posts very helpful and honest. Fantastic, wishing you all the very best on your next adventure..... It is a great feeling to be somewhere were you feel you belong and I know exactly what you mean about there being so much to do in such a small space, we are still getting our head around that bit, somewhere on a map we look at, and think is further than it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 To the OP good luck with everything, but as has already been said, thoroughly look into it, as you are. Good luck., Quoll, just wanted to say, I am sooo happy to hear you are back home where you belong. In the early days of me looking at returning to UK from Perth at the beginning of the year, where I was scared out of my wits, I found your posts very helpful and honest. Fantastic, wishing you all the very best on your next adventure..... It is a great feeling to be somewhere were you feel you belong and I know exactly what you mean about there being so much to do in such a small space, we are still getting our head around that bit, somewhere on a map we look at, and think is further than it is! Heres one for you ......stratford upon avon to oxford via woodstock ( blenheim palace) ....nice drive .....done it today for work .....went to abingdon ...thats not a bad place either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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