Andy n Sarah

Hi we are new to the forum and have a potential move to Auckland, but we are concerned about our 9 year old son who has aspergers. We worry he would not cope well with a move and wondered if anyone has anyone else been in the same situation and how it has worked out. Thank you

BEVS

Hi there guys and welcome to this NZ forum.

I can't help with having a child with Asperger move countries , however, I have worked with Asperger and Autism in boys.
I suspect but cannot know , that it doesn't matter the size of the move, it is the change that agitates. Having said that the lads that came to the specialised 24/7 school I worked at, settled finally but it took a while.

Is your son UK statemented or is he simply in mainstream school.

Andy n Sarah

Thank you Bevs, he is in mainstream school, and just gets upset when we try to talk about moving. We went to NZ earlier this year which he loved but not to live.

simonmarkellis

Hi Guys,

We moved here in 2007 with our 9 yr. old son, who suffers from Asperger's. We did come out the year before for a month, so it wasn't totally new to him. Where we lived in the UK, it didn't feel an option to stay as we thought it was too aggressive environment for him to grow up in. When we left, the only difficulty he expressed was leaving his grandparents. Like yourselves, we never knew how he'd cope with an all new situation, but within no time, we'd realised we'd made the right decision. Alex was so much more relaxed and confident we had to pinch ourselves some days this was the same kid. His first schooling experience here was awesome, his teacher freely admitted she'd never taught anyone with Asperger's before and asked us if Alex would mind taking part in a group discussion about the condition. This was done over two sessions, the first Alex sat in front of his class and told his class mates all about himself, his likes, his dislikes, his interests, his dislikes, the things he did and why, and then the next day my wife along with my son filtered a Q & A session. For the first time in his schooling career, he was no longer the strange kid, the weirdo, he was Alex to his class mates, okay he had his little quirks, but he was accepted. We've found at school, teachers have a lot more time to handle all the kids needs and gain and good individual
relationship. The kids have a greater respect for each other and people in general have a greater understanding and tolerance.

It was certainly the best move for us, it's far less oppressive for him here and he has so much more confidence.

Using this forum helped a great deal as well. Setting up shop in Wellington as we have done, we've met a lot of great people and developed some good friendships that helped my wife and I settle, which I think helped my son settle.

Some tips.... get out and about and meet people, embrace the society and the community your living in and try and enjoy it. I'm sure if you can do that, you'll be fine....

Andy n Sarah

Hi simonmarkellis, its good to hear that your move was so positive. Thank you.

dorrick

I replied to similar query some time ago
http://britishexpats.com/forum/new-z...cation-665928/

think info still relevant - original poster might be able to tell you how their situation worked out
Good luck