YOUNGSMAD

Hello,

I've read through a lot of posts on here, but wanted to share my circumstances and hear some experiences and thoughts.
We live in the UK and have always dreamed of moving to Australia, my husband now has the experience and qualifications for us to consider a PR visa.

My husband is 30, I am 27 and we have two children ages 5 and 2. Our eldest was diagnosed with autism just under a year ago. He is very high functioning, he can speak well although speech delayed, he is fully toilet trained, isn't on any medication and is in a mainstream school receiving some 1-1 support but no EHCP in place. He understands right from wrong, follows instructions well and it is very rare for him to have meltdowns.

I understand that Australia are very strict on who they do and don't grant visas to - in my option, I see my son being able to support himself as he gets older as like I say, he has very good understanding and communicates well.

I'm just looking for anyone who has been in a similar situation, we will obviously look for an agent who specialises if we do go ahead with this, but I'd like to hear from others first.

Thanks so much!

To add - we are in the processing of looking to homeschool and this would be the case if we moved too. Not sure if this would make a difference.

quoll

George Lombard is generally the go to for advice on visa applications for people with significant medical conditions. General rule of thumb, though, is if a child with autism or any other condition is going to need 1:1 support to function in a classroom then they probably wont get a visa - supplementary support in schools can cost a lot which would take you over the threshold. If he doesnt meet the criteria for support in schools then you might be OK

Get all his assessments together - cognitive, adaptive behaviour, skill level, receptive and expressive language and the paediatric/diagnostic report and see what George suggests. Just the diagnosis itself isnt going to do it, it's what level of functioning, compared to the norm he has and how much support he would require to thrive in an educational setting. Be aware, too, that provision of services to kids with autism in Australia is not as good as it is in UK (according to reports, especially from returnees)

Edited to say, your intention to homeschool is essentially irrelevant - they will make a judgment as if he is going to school because this week you may say yes we are going to home school but next week with a change of circumstances you may say, nope, we cant do it - there is no guarantee that you will never need to access available services.

YOUNGSMAD

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, that’s all very helpful.

I have no doubts that my child will continue to thrive and catch up where currently delayed, but I guess proving that to others is going to be the hard part. As I say, their needs compared to a child of their age aren’t all that different. I have put a request in with George Lombard to get their views on whether or not they think this could be a possibility for us.

Thanks again for your response.