schools for special ed needs ?

[Guest cally]

Hi All,

We are just starting out on the emigration process wow so many questions to ask but firstly, our 9 yr old son has Dyspraxia and Sensory Processing Disorder and is currently undergoing assessments for Aspergers, i spoke to an Agent and he told me that his difficulties would not be a problem ( we hope !) anyhoo we are looking at Seaford, Hallett Cove, Port Noarlunga areas to live and i have no idea about the schools and who could cater for his needs, i did look on the Aus Ed website but got lost in a sea of blurb , he does go to a mainstream school here but there are only 74 children in the whole school and a high percentage have a 'difficulty'.

If anyone could point me in the right direction it would be a weight of our minds

[Guest kas17]

my daughter has just started at seaford K7, I know they have a special needs unit there, cant tell you any more though. It is a small school with under 300 kids.

[Guest Nick11]

Hi All,

We are just starting out on the emigration process wow so many questions to ask but firstly, our 9 yr old son has Dyspraxia and Sensory Processing Disorder and is currently undergoing assessments for Aspergers, i spoke to an Agent and he told me that his difficulties would not be a problem ( we hope !) anyhoo we are looking at Seaford, Hallett Cove, Port Noarlunga areas to live and i have no idea about the schools and who could cater for his needs, i did look on the Aus Ed website but got lost in a sea of blurb , he does go to a mainstream school here but there are only 74 children in the whole school and a high percentage have a 'difficulty'.

If anyone could point me in the right direction it would be a weight of our minds

 

I would check very carefully about what your agent said.

Does he work on a no visa..no fee deal.

I would hate to see you fail on the medical side of the visa.

My advice would be to go on british expats.com as there are a lot of people in your position. Some got their visas..others didn't because of their child's medical condition.

It used to be that if the medical condition was to cost the tax payer more than $10,000 per annum..then the visa was rejected.

It would depend very much on the extent of the medical condition.

[Guest cally]

thanks Kas it helps to know someone else's view of the school ,

Hi Nick,

we weren't going to use an agent but yes the guy i spoke to did say they work on a 'no visa no fee' i just wanted some advice from someone in the know,

Our son doesn't have any 1 to 1 support at school because of the size of the class, he just shares small group sessions, he hasn't had a formal diagnosis as yet and as Cornwall Council have been told to save 100 million in the next few years we probably wont get one anyway !

He doesn't take any meds at all and only sees the OT and Physio once or twice a year ( and that's to monitor the Dyspraxia), and on this basis the agent said as long as we have up to date assessments etc and they state that he is self sufficient there shouldn't be a problem, just would take longer for them to process.

[mick&shan]

We came out nearly 4 years ago with our youngest son having ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

We was pointed in the direction of Autism SA who was not really able to help due to his age 11 at the time, we was told they mainly deal with very young children or late teens, so we felt abit unsupported.

We later made contact with Disability SA, which is like fighting a losing battle due to the lack of support workers, we still havent got a support worker nearly 4 years on.

 

We searched high and low for a suitable school and that wasnt a easy task, we managed to get him into Hallett Cove South School that has a small special needs unit,

They was brilliant there and helped us heaps, and our son was happy in the small classroom enviroment.

He has now gone to Reynella East High School into mainstream and they are brilliant there understanding his needs.

 

We had no problem at all with our medicals before we left the uk, but dont take my word for it !!! Each case and children are different.

 

If you require anymore help just PM me and I can fill you in, in greatler detail what we went through.

[Guest Angie12]

We came out nearly 4 years ago with our youngest son having ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

We was pointed in the direction of Autism SA who was not really able to help due to his age 11 at the time, we was told they mainly deal with very young children or late teens, so we felt abit unsupported.

We later made contact with Disability SA, which is like fighting a losing battle due to the lack of support workers, we still havent got a support worker nearly 4 years on.

 

We searched high and low for a suitable school and that wasnt a easy task, we managed to get him into Hallett Cove South School that has a small special needs unit,

They was brilliant there and helped us heaps, and our son was happy in the small classroom enviroment.

He has now gone to Reynella East High School into mainstream and they are brilliant there understanding his needs.

 

We had no problem at all with our medicals before we left the uk, but dont take my word for it !!! Each case and children are different.

 

If you require anymore help just PM me and I can fill you in, in greatler detail what we went through.

 

Hi , I'm very interested in any information you may have that could help me, we're hopefully going to be coming over in a years time , fingers crossed !!

Our eldest son is 11yrs , and has a diagnosis of ADHD but has ASD learning difficulties, i'm trying to gather up as much info as i can in regards to schools and learning support that is or isn't available, and would like to get myself prepared before we come over and we find out the hard way.

Would you mind if i was to get in touch and maybe you could give me some pointers and put my mind at ease, even though we have our concerns we're absolutly confident both our children will have a much better quality of life , which we can't wait to start

[Guest knsc]

Found this on another site Child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

 

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=699651.

Might be of some interest to you.

[mick&shan]

Have PMed you

[Guest cally]

Found this on another site Child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

 

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=699651.

Might be of some interest to you.

 

Thanks Knsc joined in that one yesterday lol

[Guest knsc]

You’re welcome mind you it seems to have turned into a slanging match rather than a useful talk.

[Guest cally]

yeah i noticed, perhaps i'll back out now while i'm still alive ! lol

[Guest wildbriz]

We came out nearly 4 years ago with our youngest son having ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

We was pointed in the direction of Autism SA who was not really able to help due to his age 11 at the time, we was told they mainly deal with very young children or late teens, so we felt abit unsupported.

We later made contact with Disability SA, which is like fighting a losing battle due to the lack of support workers, we still havent got a support worker nearly 4 years on.

 

We searched high and low for a suitable school and that wasnt a easy task, we managed to get him into Hallett Cove South School that has a small special needs unit,

They was brilliant there and helped us heaps, and our son was happy in the small classroom enviroment.

He has now gone to Reynella East High School into mainstream and they are brilliant there understanding his needs.

 

We had no problem at all with our medicals before we left the uk, but dont take my word for it !!! Each case and children are different.

 

If you require anymore help just PM me and I can fill you in, in greatler detail what we went through.

 

Hi

 

Very interesting post, we experienced the same problems in Queensland only could not find a good school (now primary) for our 14 yo ASD son. Although we are Australian citizens we ended up in the UK to get him help. Like you we battled to find a good school but after several months had to make a move for his sake.

We are desperate to return to Australia (very homesick) and have family in SA. If you can help with any information it would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks

Richard & Deborah

[Guest Marmite]

Hi

 

Very interesting post, we experienced the same problems in Queensland only could not find a good school (now primary) for our 14 yo ASD son. Although we are Australian citizens we ended up in the UK to get him help. Like you we battled to find a good school but after several months had to make a move for his sake.

We are desperate to return to Australia (very homesick) and have family in SA. If you can help with any information it would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks

Richard & Deborah

 

Hi we live in SA (foothills) and although our child is in grade 5 we're now looking for appropriate High Schools. I believe from other parents that Blackwood High School maybe offering better facilities for ASD kids over the next few years. I'm intending to make contact with the school in the next few weeks regarding their plans.

 

Our child was well supoorted in the UK so what a shock we had in the Australian system. We ended up Homeschooling for 2.5 years. That said, he has now returned to school and is doing 4 days; he has a great experienced Teacher, SSO, they are more creative with their lessons and offer Gym session, Move to Learn, kindness, and understanding at times when our child finds his enviroment overwhelming.

 

I hope that helps.