sonnyg

Hi Dorothy, Moneypenny,

Could you possibly give more information on why not Australia?

We are currently in The Netherlands but we have always thought that we will move to Australia at some time. Our oldest boy is still too young (3 years) to be fully diagnosed but it appears that he is on the spectrum although chances are he will be high functioning.

Provided that his autism is acceptable under the Australia immigration policy, are there any other reasons why he would be better off here in The Netherlands?

Regards,
Sonny

Jerseygirl

I have moved your thread over to the Australia forum as the forum you posted in is for US Immigration only. Good luck.

roaringmouse

Our son was diagnosed in Australia as being on the spectrum when he was 2yrs and 5 months old - why is 3 years too young? The diagnosis we had was via a number of appointments with a paediatrician, an educational psychologist and a speech therapist.

In any case, there is some funding in Australia via FaHCSIA for early intervention once the diagnosis is made, but it doesn't go far - it's $12,000 with a maximum spend of $6,000 per financial year which can go towards things like speech and occupational therapy. When each therapy sessions costs about $130+ it can go quite quickly. There is also very limited funding via Medicare that goes even quicker.

Once into school though there is very little help - it's a matter of being lucky if a school is aware of how to go about offering extra assistance to an ASD child, and also if they're willing or able to do it.

We've recently returned to the UK for a few years and although it's difficult to access, there is definitely more assistance available once approved. Haven't a clue what it's like in the Netherlands though!

Saying all that, visas are refused due to a child with autism - just do a search online for "australia visa autism". Perhaps your child not currently being diagnosed is a good thing if you want a visa and can wait until you've moved (presuming visa is granted), if you really want to move to Australia.

old.sparkles

Diagnosis is not always done early - my son wasn't diagnosed as being on the spectrum until he was 9 or 10. He is classed as being on the Asperger's end of the scale. We got our visas this summer but had to provide a psychologists report on his IQ level, level of independence, etc. Good Luck

sonnyg

Thank you for moving the post, Jerseygirl.

Thanks roaringmouse for replying. It is good to get some hard figures and facts. I will try to get the same figures for Netherlands.
Which place is better ultimately depends on many things, but comparing the limits on financial help available will be a good start.

Jilliebee

Hi Sonny. Just to say that each state/territory in Australia also have different criteria of disability with regard to funding in schools. We are currently in Darwin and our 10 yr old daughter has been diagnosed with high functioning Asperger's. At school here in the NT she has funding at school and has a classroom aide for 2 hours every day which has been a godsend.

We are about to move to Victoria in January and have been told that she will receive no government funding as she does not require a speech therapist and is highly articulate therefore does not require this extra help! Really dreading this but hey Ho. One day at a time.

We presently pay $85 for an OT for sensory processing and $180 a session for a Child Psychologist. We do get a good bit back from Medicare.

I know your son is too young yet for you to be concerned about schooling, I just wanted to show that each state/territory is different so take that into account when reading advice from people. You will need to investigate what resources etc are available where you are planning on living x

Good luck x

quoll

Your first challenge will be to get a visa.

There is a bit of a catch 22 in play here because if a child is good enough to get a visa then they won't be bad enough (sorry for the subjective words but to give you the gist) to get support in the classroom.