wardy_1990

Information for people moving to Calgary Alberta

dbd33

In what circumstances would it make sense to move an autistic child to Canada? Fleeing a war zone or famine, I suppose, but I don't think either is the case in the UK. Parents unable to find work in the UK but offered gainful employment in Canada, perhaps, but that seems unlikely. In any case, how can a familty including an autistic person avoid disqualification for excessive demand on the health system?

I don't think anyone should be considering such a move as a reasonable option.

wardy_1990

It's useful info if it suits someone's scenario, appreciate your experience but to others it's hard to get information for returning canadians about the differences between the two places, this has been our experience so the info is there if anyone wanted it, am not advocating people take the leap just spreading information to help decision making.

I wish it were different and canada was better for special needs, my kids are young and we don't know how they will develop so we are, by the sounds of it, rightly hesitating. I wish people like you would share more experiences.
your hardship and writing about it here has been invaluable to me and my family and I thank you for that, its been a bitter pill to swallow having our wings clipped, maybe if they were not twins it might have been manageable or we had serious capital, so if anyone has that this could help them maybe.

spouse of scouse

Thanks Wardy, it was good of you to provide that information for others who might thinking of moving to Canada

AirborneDan

Lots of different circumstances

CanadaJimmy

I don't think the medical checks required for PR actually include neurodivergent conditions such as autism, so that wouldn't prevent a family from immigrating.

Also as for why, I've heard that autism care in Canada (depending on the province) is often faster to get approval for and can be more comprehensive than what is in the UK, so it may even be beneficial to move to Canada with an autistic child, asides from the fact that these kinds of factors shouldn't stand in the way of opportunities and dreams for a family. Additionally if a parent has an opportunity to earn more money in Canada than they would in the UK and have more disposable income, their child can also benefit from a better quality of life than they would have had in their home country.

Hemlock

When we were in the UK, resources were better than we found in Canada. Autism diagnostics in BC take an inordinate amount of time and sometimes kids don't diagnosed at all. Resources are scant, teachers aids in schools are less prevalent than in the past. As an adult, unless someone is severely disabled, there are few to no resources. Disability benefit would not support anyone, the onus is very much on the family.

Airborne_Dan

Well said! A child will be just as autistic in Canada as the UK, many other factors determine the feasibility of a family decision to emmigrate.

CanadaJimmy

Interesting, I have friends who have a child with autism and while they did have to pay a private clinic to get the diagnosis they told me their friends in the UK who also have an autistic child have really struggled to get support in comparison to BC. So I guess it depends on the circumstances.

As for Adult Disability support I agree it has been lacking however Bill C-22 - the Canada Disability Benefit Act - did just pass through the house, so hopefully things will be improving there.

Almost Canadian

Dbd33 has lived in Canada with an autistic child and, as such, he has far more knowledge of the issues involved than those that have not done so would.

As has been outlined above, once a child ages out of the system in Canada, it is left for them and their family to cope. So, while the person may be just as autistic in either country, the support network available in each country are very different.

dbd33

This is the crux of the matter.I have a daughter, born in Canada, well supported in the Canadian system until age 21. (whether or not "well' would apply to other autistic children is arguable but not the point here). The key issue is that, eventually, the disabled, in this case, autistic, person ages out of the support systems in Canada whereas, in a welfare state, the person never ages out of support. In Canada the person is, forever, the responsibility of the parents, in other countries the person is ultimately the responsibility of the state,

This presents a problem for the parents in Canada. It's difficult to make enough money to support an autistic adult for his, or her, life. Suppose the person will live to age 70. They age out of support at 21. That suggests that the parents need to be able to put up around five million bucks in support. ($100,000/year). That's feasible as long as the parents can work but, eventually, they cannot or they can but they can't generate that kind of income.

The disabled person may have supportive siblings with no other ambitions, The parents may belong to a supportive religious sect. Otherwise, the autistic person in Canada is ****ed.

dbd33

Give your head a shake (autism joke for those unfamiliar with the condition). Money and quality of life are not synonymous but there is no way a parent can improve their income by a sufficient amount to offset the cost of moving from a welfare state to one with no support. For that to be true they'd have to go from making hundreds of thousands of pounds to millions of dollars; it just doesn't happen.The opportunities and dreams for a family including an autistic person are defined by the needs of the autistic person; take that person somewhere they have less support and the whole familty suffers.

I get that this is a well meaning post but, oh my, it's wide of the mark.

dbd33

Examples, please.

CanadaJimmy

I appreciate the information. I got a completely different impression from my friends, they seemed so happy with the support from the BC government for their autistic child and lamented the UK system. I guess they weren't thinking long term, and I guess it depends on the severity of the autism how much support a person needs for their entire life. I'm not an expert but I could imagine with milder autism and early intervention, perhaps someone wouldn't need full time support, though I don't really know. Also I mentioned earlier hopefully the new disability benefit will help address that shortcoming but no idea how it will compare to the UK's supports.

Also thats some dark humour, lol.

wardy_1990

I would like to point out this is for alberta too, which tends to have more support and better healthcare than other provinces, how autism is treated is provincial also, so saying canada this canada that isn't helpful, maybe ontario sucks but alberta doesn't, I won't know yet until I get the info.
I imagine the system has some what changed in 21 years but then again maybe not. I am currently reading sandy rows book about how to fight the school system in the UK to obtain the support I need for my daughters and alot of people are taken to tribunal up against barristers just to have the support in place, its not all roses in the welfare state.
my family is half canadian and they miss alberta, not much of a father if I don't look and get the info to see what's best.
I actually missed the event so I jave booked on to September, if something new comes from it I didn't know before I'll be sharing it here