Union Jackie

Hi,

I have 3 children, two with autism and the other with ADHD. My youngest has been diagnosed with "severe autism". He attends mainstream school and shares an EA with another child in his class.
I have been thinking a lot recently about returning home to England. This is a combination of homesickness (which has been an issue for many years), and a feeling my son may do better in England with an autism diagnosis. I have searched previous threads and seen that the support seems to be greater in the UK, and that once kids age out of the system here, they are on their own. Does anyone have experience of moving from Canada to the UK with autistic children? We have the diagnosis letter, so would we need to have assessments in the UK aswell? I'm just thinking about wait lists and school placements. Thank you for any information.

Sco1983

Interested to hear the responses to this - in the same position! moving back from Canada in July with an autistic kid. I have heard that the diagnosis is transferrable from other sources but not confirmed this. That being said, disability taxes credits don't need a diagnosis in the UK - just a description of the challenges. I am intending to find a GP asap to get things sorted and his diagnosis on the record.

Pongo

It was taking well over a year to get our grandson assessed through the NHS, we ended up
paying for a series of assessments privately, over £1500 in total. After his diagnosis there were no further problems getting help/funding etc

Sco1983

Yes, I’ve heard that. The question is whether or not his diagnosis will be able to be transferred from Canada or not. I think yes but would like some confirmation. Thanks!

wardy_1990

If it helps the mid level disability is 260 quid a month for my autistic kids here and carers allowance is available too, you will have to Google the pay for that it's bog standard, we are not eligible as my missus has no benefits on her visa for uk.
not sure if it's transferable the diagnosis but if it is not then it could be 2 years or longer before you get a diagnosis. Its unlikely your kid will be in mainstream school here depending on his needs.
our child's current school can't find sendco staff to help them and we have two, so in reception we will be told they can't meet their needs and will then go to "special" schools which is better for them. Luckily lots of those in the UK.
lots of understanding in schools here now for autism and even events sometimes have sensory rooms to help your kid reset.
we want to move back to canada as the wife misses it terribly, but we worry our kids may not reach independent living, in UK they will be fine in Canada it seems they are on their own.
I wish their were a section on special needs on here, lots of good info from Australia on YouTube I wonder what their system is like.

Union Jackie

Thank you for the replies. It certainly seems more positive in the UK. I’m sure that my son would be fine here, while my husband and I are around. What happens beyond that worries me.
It would be great to hear family’s experiences moving back to the UK with autistic children/adults.

I did find a brief comparison between countries regarding help for people with autism but I’m unable to copy and paste the url. It’s on imutism.com. I will share this paragraph, in case anyone has had a different experience.



On the other hand, unfortunately in countries such as Canada many types of autism support greatly decrease or even stop altogether when a person turns 18. According to Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou, senior clinician scientist at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto, this is the wrong approach. In her view, there need to be way more support for adults with autism, and among other things, they should address housing, employment, healthcare and recreation.

Union Jackie

Just to let you know ….. I contacted the council in the UK where I used to live. They confirmed that it is unlikely the child would need to be assessed again for a diagnosis. As long as the Canadian diagnosis letter is the original and not a copy, it should suffice. Good news!

BEVS

I posted this to the Canadian autism thread but will repeat here to be sure you will see.

Please contact THE HESLEY GROUPin the UK . Autism is the name of their game. I know that as I worked there before emigrating.

There is nothing to be lost in having a conversation and may be something quality to gain.

All the best
M

Union Jackie1

Thank you BEVS. I really appreciate this.