talbot

Just what I meant!

steve_kelly_and_boys

hi steve please let me know how you get on ( what area are you looking at living in ) it would be nice to hear from someone over there sussing things out for the 1st time
also can you tell me do you think a month in july will be enough for a good reccie ( schools , houses , areas , jobs ) i know these things take a while so being a bit optimistic
best steve

steve_kelly_and_boys

hi seeing as you have 1st hand experiance of this maybe you can help, our 7 year old boy also has learning difficulties (very rare genetic syndrome ) and this is the one thing that we are VERY worried about , he goes to our local primary shcool but has a statement for 20 hours a week support does such a thing exist over there and how hard is it to get . scared that if we leave and dont get the support our son suffers and this is a major reason we are looking at leaving for a better life for them
would be interested to hear from you
best steve

talbot

Our (11) son has mild aspergers and in Scotland attended a normal school but spent most of his time in the very good "S.E.N" Base and we were very reluctant to move over here because of that.
Here, he had to see an Educ. Psyc. for another diagnosis, which we accepted, and goes to a state school with his assistant in the classroom for 10 hrs a week.
There are kids who have assistants for more hours if they need them.

One HUGE difference in the countries is the children! In Scotland, the general school children were extremely boistrous (my son is quiet) and he was teased by a few kids.
Here in Melbourne, the schoolkids are soooo friendly and laidback. They all love my son and are protective over him, therefore his confidance has soared and we are very happy we made the move.

Different states have different rules re funding and I'm not familiar with the other states but I'm sure htey're all pretty similar,
Good Luck!!

steve_kelly_and_boys

thank you , just want we wanted to hear is your son in state or private school , how long have you been over there and what suburb do you recomend we have been looking at mornington penisula and will visit july / august hopefully to view schools amongst other things do you know when they break up for school then so our visit is nt wasted ( if they are closed )
best steve

talbot

There's a private special needs school called "Katinga" I think, in Ormond. Our son's IQ was a bit too high for it. The private schools don't cater for special needs.
The schools close on 27 June and reopen on 14 July here in Victoria.
We've been here for 2 yrs. and live in Williamstown which is a lovely part and are very happy with "Willy Primary"
Mornington is lovely too and am sure the schools there are good. Once your child receives funding, it moves with him to whichever state school he attends.

Geelong Gent

yes they do, and they do get funding but it must be requested via the parents and more often than not the parents dont need it.

hevs

It depends on the need.
Our son had a senco and 5 hour statement weekly. He also has two hours OT a week and 1/2 termly intervention from a school OT. Here he gets nothing as there is a very grey area on his diagnosis. Seems dyspraxia dyslexia and ADD isn't "autistic" enough for them Although I have argued that all three are on the end of the spectrum, unless its Aspergers or Autism, you don't get much at all.

We took the choice to sit him out of AIMS (sats) and he got a $700 credit from the government towards tuition. We all clubbed it together(there were a few parents in the same boat) to send one of our specialist teachers on a very specialized course and now, at long last, my son is reading!

Seems every school is different, the smaller the school the lesser the funding, but my son would struggle is a big school so rocks and hard places are the go!

Margaret3

awwwwe thats lovely to hear , hope things continue well

steve_uk

I will find out myself when I get there I guess but this is the opinion of my OH's family (and believe me its a LARGE family) who all have kids and send them to these schools. They all well educated so I think their opinion counts for something.

From what they say the kids get far more 1-on-1 tutoring and if they think a kid has a talent in something they get extra turtoring in that area.

None of the OH's family have kids with learning troubles though so I can't comment on what they would do in that situation.

Cheers

steve_uk

Hi, I will post all my findings on here as I go along Can't wait to get there and get started now. Was my works leaving do last night - finished at 5am so feeling fragile today

I think we are looking for the house in the BaySide area. The father-in-law and other OH family members live there. I think its one of the expensive areas but then the houses should be more sought after and hold value better.

I stayed in Mornington last time I was there for a weekend - loved it. A really nice looking area I thought. Truoble is I'm in IT and the OH in Planning so most jobs will be in the city and we don't want a long drive to work every day so looks like Bayside for us at the moment.

I think a month there should be plenty to have a good feel of the place (and give you chance to see some sights too). I think July is their cold time though so don't expect a tan I guess lol

Will keep you updated

Geelong Gent

What area of IT?

steve_uk

Systems Administration (Microsoft, Citrix, Vmware etc) and Project Management.

@boy

Some good news for those of you looking to buy in Melbourne when you get over here. The brakes have finally been applied on the rising house price problem !

http://www.theage.com.au/news/nation...207499082.html

Irish Gal

Just want to say .... I LOVE YOU!!!! This is great news. Its the one thing we'd had been really stressing about. So good to hear something OPTIMISTIC for a change.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Irish Gal