TracyT

Hi all I hope someone can help and advice

We are wanting to move to Canada but have been told there might be a issue getting a visa for our oldest daughter 11yrs she is on the autism spectrum. If anyone has any experience or advice on this please help .

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

I've moved your post in to a thread of its own as it was unrelated to the thread you posted on. Please do have a read of the 'newbies' thread (on main page or link in my signature below).

Have a hunt for threads about visa refusals for autistic dependent children, as there have been quite a few, and hopefully somebody with experience will be along shortly to advise you better.

I'd also suggest you search the main Canada forum as it's often been said on here that Canada is not a great place for those with autistic kids - look for posts by member dbd33 who has an autistic child and has written extensively on the subject before.

HTH, good luck.

Aviator

There is no question of this, it gets harder when they become adults, I don't see it getting any better. The is very little help around (ranking close to none). Without parental support (financial) many would end up on the streets.

scilly

I agree with Aviator


My 5 year old grandson is in the process of being evaluated .......... if he is on the spectrum, he will be at the very top end BUT the pediatrician and speech therapist want him to be evaluated before he starts kindergarten in September.

Reason?

Children are evaluated faster if referred for testing before they start school than if it is left until after they have started in kindy or Grade 1. AND treatment starts faster before school age, as the powers-that-be want to give kiddies the best start

Waiting time pre-school ................ months

Waiting time if referred from school ................ could be 1-2 years, depending on the province


He lives in Nova Scotia

I live in BC .............. and the problem is similar here, with parents having to fight to get help for their children.


Financial help and access to programs that help autistic children, especially those requiring much help, can be very difficult to access.

Aviator

Once they are adults it is nigh impossible to get help.

scrubbedexpat091

Is it the government just being cheap? Or does the government feel autistic adults just don't need help and can function fine and dandy?

Sounds like my sister in California gets more help with her eldest who is autistic then you can get in Canada, would have thought the opposite to be honest. (she gets medical for him, federal social security payments to help offset the medical costs.)

How do they classify autism? Medical, mental health? I don't know just curious as to why the powers that be don't want to provide the help.

confused_uk

If you google it there seems to have many quite a few stories where people have been rejected over it. Every case is different though. It might be a good idea to consult a immigration specialist

Aviator

There are some facilities in place for low functioning, but high functioning autism, nothing. I guess they figure they can mange on their own. Many cannot and without family would be on the streets. It can exhaust the family and sometimes pull it apart.