kainic

We are planning to get over by the end of next. However it has taken us some time as we have a 6 yr old son has very mild cerebral palsy. He recieves speech therapy and physio every other week. Would we receive any assistance regarding treatment?He is at main stream school however he does sometimes find it difficult. We are also concerned how he would manage within the school? As he has been deferred for a year at school in the uk would Australia accept this?

iamthecreaturefromuranus

I have a son with cerebral palsy as well. My personal experience suggests that your son would get nothing, no assistance whatsoever. If you want to continue with speech therapy and physio then you will have to fund it yourselves.

Main stream schools tend not to integrate disabled pupils and your son would be placed in a special unit. If, he is only really mild CP then they may integrate.

That's just my experience, here, in my bit, of NSW. It may be different in other parts of Australia.

SillyOldBag

Here is a link to Cerebral Palsy Australia on their contact page which provides contact details for their organisations in the various states, you didn't mention where you were headed. Perhaps if you contact them you might get a good idea of what help/support you might hope to get - worth a go anyway!

Their is a little girl at my daughter's school who has cerebral palsy, and she is a great girl, really quite an inspiration with her positive cheerful outlook and attitude. It's a catholic school and she is fully integrated into the usual education system. I couldn't say what additional help/support she might get but her parents certainly seem happy with the school.

The other aspect you mention is your son having deferred a year, it seems to me not an uncommon thing for there to be varying ages within a class and the kids themselves seem to shrug it off and see it as no big deal. I remember my daughter coming home from school and telling me a lad in her class was going to do Year 3 again .... her conclusion was that "he must have liked it". Her best friend in her class is 18 months older than her and so once again she presumably was kept back a year at some point. I don't think anyone thinks anything of it.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

I should have mentioned that my son was much older than your's when he started school in Australia. Primary schools may be better.

quoll

Do you have a visa? That could be your first stumbling block if you have not.

The catch 22 is usually that if you have been given a visa then chances are you would receive nothing by way of disability support in schools - eligibility criteria are pretty tough these days but it all depends on which state you go to. If you do have a visa then bring every assessment ever undertaken with you. If you can get an IQ, adaptive behaviour, skills and any therapy reports from where you are about what sort of accommodations are necessary and what therapy goals have been set and achieved then you will have good information for making a case for support (whether you get it or not is a different matter).

They will probably still try and enrol a child with their age peers and as UK has one more year of education at most ages he would still be in sync with the number of years of education completed thus far.

kainic

Thanks for all your comments. We have nt received our visa yet quoll we concerned this may be our stumbling block. However we have spoke with a few agents who believed that as the CP is so mild it should be an issue, although we do still have our concerns. It is very mild and to look at him you would nt think there was any issues. I think we would continue physio however we were over a few years ago and the difference in his movement was fantastic with the heat and the outdoor lifestyle. It is great to hear that they are so open to deferred years over there. I think the speech therapy would only be carried out short term as he has a speech delay not disorder. How he develops over the next year will effect our decision on if we move or not!