medwaymaiden

Hi all,

Please be aware that this is only my opinion from our experience of having our kids in School.

We live in Kapiti (Paraparaumu area) just to give you an idea of where we live if you are thinking of moving here in particular.

The education system is two years behind that of the UK curriculum wise. Our Year 6 Son (aged 11) is the only kid in his class to know what a decimal point is and what square roots are!

Our year 3 child (aged 8) is so bored that she comes home every day telling me so! She is happy to go still to School but our Son has Aspergers Syndrome and whilst we never came out here expecting to receive anything that was going to cost the NZ Education System much money for him (this is a child that only had up to 6 hours 1:1 support in his old mainstream UK School), he has not coped.

This is because of the complete lack of understanding of the condition not just from his School but it seems from the education system in general.

If a child does have learning difficulties or behavioural problems, they can receive Teachers Aide support in a classroom setting here in New Zealand.

Our child has neither learning difficulties or behavioural problems but he does have communication issues with his Aspergers Syndrome (and for those of you that know about this, you will know what I am on about!) so no Teacher's Aide for him!

If we stay here, he has to muddle along until he is 13 and then what is on offer is the following.

College if he can cope with no teachers aide support again or if he cannot manage School he will be given a Home Tutor by the Health School but only if he is Aspergers, aged 13 and with another symptom like anxiety, depression or suicidal tendencies.

We had an appointment with the "only" Consultant Paediatrician in New Zealand North Island (yes, the only CP on the Island) and it was cancelled, it was 3rd September.

Basically I was advised that as our Son already has a diagnosis from UK, his appointment is needed more for kids that still need diagnosing. And we were paying $140 for our appointment!!!!

When I asked the woman on the phone there what happens to kids here when they get a diagnosis, she said she didn't know, she supposed they stayed in mainstream School but at least the parents know what their kids have got!

To receive any help according to the Principal, we should get our Son rediagnosed here in New Zealand.

Now our Son coped quite well with his mainstream Schooling in the UK with minimal support and understanding at home and at School but when I went to the local support group, I was the most knowledged one there!

He coped quite well here for all of two months. The bullying here is not dealt with at our Son's School. In fact, I have yesterday written a letter to the Board Of Trustees highlighting all that is wrong with the system here with regard to autism and also how the Principal does not deal with bullying and I look forward to being asked to remove our Daughter any day now lol .... should I laugh at that really lol .... I say this because another family have two kids aged 5 and their Aspie Son is being asked to leave School just because he cannot manage and they are to remove his twin Sister too. Another Parent at the same School has an 11 year old and this is his fourth School. She is what is known as "grateful parent" that her Son is managing at the moment but I asked her what she would do if he doesn't manage one day and she said he will go to another School, a fresh start for him!

I was advised by the Education Services lady out here that all children up to the age of 13 with Aspergers are supported in mainstream provision. Now this means our Son gets no support if he cannot cope.

In my humble opinion, I would say don't come out at all but if you do, make sure you know what you are coming out to.

For the record, our lad who has never taken medication in his life is now on medication for anxiety and he is not a weedy kid cause he does Tae Kwondo and can look after himself but at the end of the day, if your kids ain't happy (and I have always wanted to go home myself cause I miss my friends but would have stayed here for my family) .... anyway, if you want to ask anything about SEN provision over here, please feel free to do so but please be aware, I only know about Aspergers.

Hope I don't sound too bitter about my experiences of New Zealand. I just think I am going home, I want to get there now but we are waiting till January 2009 cause Husband can return to his old job he has been told and also why not enjoy a bit of sunshine and Australia on the way home I say!

Remember I am only speaking from personal experience which is what any of us can only do .... good luck!

lardyl

Hi M-M

we understand where you are coming from having a son who has some of the ASD tendancies (but doesn't meet the triad of impairment) and with one of us working as a speech therapist in a CAMHS in an ASD team for 8 years in the UK.

She now works in Group Special Education at the MoE and yes there is very little in the way of provision for kids who are not in the Severe Learning Difficulties bracket. The way that kids are being integrated more aggressively here is a worry but things are heading that way in the UK too - thanks to Mr Blunkett who must have had a real bad time in his school for blind kids I reckon. Not sure the exact figures but plenty of MLD schools were being closed in the UK as we left a couple of years ago.

However, all is not total doom and gloom for us as finally we have the problems with our kid recognised by the relevant agencies and we are getting help in the form of parenting groups (which are great in helping to deal with severe behaviours) and one on one with the Ministry of Health professionals - this came after a referral from the GP to Marinoto who are looking at behavioural problems (the kids there are being very violent/abusive, threatening suicide, running away, etc, etc). We are considering the options as regards classroom aides at the moment but unsure if they are needed and/or we will meet the criteria.

In the UK we never got any of this and no-one acknowledged there was a problem in spite of MrsL seeking help from doctors, health visitors, ed-psychs, etc (some of whom were her colleagues).

So there are some places where help can be had and we are satisfied that the system here is doing better by us and our son than they did in the UK.

As far as educational standards go I think that the child-focused approach suits our boy better here than in the UK and he has come accross fewer teachers who just say "let him sort himself out" than he did in the UK. The standards for his year one and year two classes seem fine and are stretching him quite a bit but he is a boy who is one of the youngest in the class.

In a nutshell, I can see where you are coming from but there are other experiences that might paint a slightly different picture.

Here's hoping that your issues can be sorted out and that you can find someone experienced in dealing with Aspergers or sympathetic to your plight.

All the best, and keep your chin up, Ian

medwaymaiden

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your reply. When you say keep my chin up, you had better make that keep my chins up cause I have expanded a few pounds cause of all the moccachinos, cheeses etc. here that are soooooooooooooo yummy.

With regard to Aspergers, in the UK our Son was going forward for a place in a mainstream School with an Aspergers Unit attached. He would have been given a place for this September but we had moved here in the December 2007 and the Council tried to tell us in February 2008. By then my Husband got a job here in New Zealand and I agreed to come, on the basis that Ethan would never had got a place in the Unit but guess what .... phoned UK last month and he did get a place, he is ideal type of kid they said so that is our main reason for going back. We cannot ignore such a good offer of support.
I went to a local support group here and was shocked at how they were all going on about how it is to do with the additives in food and somebody reckons there is a cure for Aspergers in the group!!!! I was very unpopular that evening when asked what I thought made Aspergers and I said it is hereditary! I was the most knowledged person there I was told by other parents and I did not go along with the intention of knocking the woman in charge off her perch but she weren't happy with me. I do not have particular problems with our lad when he is at home, although he does have ADD but not ADHD so at least without the hyperactivity, I can keep him in check but boy when he wants to talk about his favourite subject, there is just no stopping him lol.
Unfortunately he is super intelligent which ain't easy to deal with (we were told when he was 9 that he could sit his A levels in maths if he wanted to!), especially when some other kids in his year 6 class were still on their 2 times tables .... and I am not exaggerating when I say this! He has been so bored and there was no chance of extra hard work for him, he had to work at the classes pace we were told.
I am pleased that you feel you are better off here in New Zealand that UK, just that in UK it looks like Medway in Kent has more to offer than New Zealand for us as a family unit so we are returning although I am aware that there have been cutback all over with SEN and other services in the UK.
I once looked at some (oooh can't think of the word but anyway ....) list that stated Hampshire UK was the second worst SEN provision in UK and Medway was something like the 3rd or 4th best yet it is only a small area!
The best thing I ever did was tell our Son to "be himself" when he went to his last School in the UK. Why should he try and be a round peg in a round hole when he is clearly a square peg! He cannot be pushed through the round hole! This is what finally got him the offer at a special unit.
He had mates in the UK but here he has only made one friend and this kid goes to a different School and is more Aspergers than he is yet all of our lad's mates in UK were not Aspergers and were great with him, even when he took things they said the wrong way or too literal .... my daughter is fine, she has made some friends here but that is a child without SEN needs.
I suppose we all get what we need from wherever and although I think New Zealand is a nice place, for me I have missed my mates and this was always my Husband's dream place to live and not mine.
Out of interest, how old is your child?
Linda.

lardyl

hi Linda - I'll send you a PM.

I would say here that a very good friend of ours returned from Singapore to get help with his 6 yr old as their (high quality fee-paid) schools could not deal with his educational needs, probably not special ed but certainly the boy was difficult to deal with in class.
He got back to the UK into the local Primary and within 12 months he was fine and a couple of years on was near the top of the class.

So different strokes for different folks.

luvwelly

Sorry to hear of your son's difficulties medwaymaiden. Can I just ask (it may help others) did you openly declare his UK AS diagnosis on your visa applications?
A surprisingly large number of posters on here seem to have kids with ADD/AS.

From reading ERO reports before I arrived here, I got the impression the special needs provision was lacking somewhat given the paltry amounts of funding quoted in the individual school reports.
It also appeared to me that a child qualifiying for the more generous ORSS funding would likely not be granted a visa.

Maybe their litmus test for a visa was whether your child was in the mainstream in the UK.

And Lardyl...yes I reckon David Blunkett probably was very unhappy at his Blind Boarding School...who wouldn't be, to be separated from parents?
Closing down special schools(not the current government) did go a bit too far though I agree. I have a sister who is 'severely mentally handicapped' (I use the old terminology deliberately..'.learning difficulties' really does not cut the mustard in her case) and there is no way she could ever have been provided for in the mainstream. Her school had no boarders though and she was picked up by minibus each day.

medwaymaiden
Are you sure he doesn't qualify for any of the special ed units in the Wellington area? I walked past a school in Newtown when I went for my mammogram and saw a signpost for the special education unit. There must be some in your area too? For instance, there's also a state school in Thorndon where the intake comes from all over and they pride themselves on working with AS kids http://www.thorndon.school.nz/
This is a quote from the website: 'Thorndon School is a little unusual for a State Primary School in that it draws most of its children from outside the immediate area, with some pupils coming from as far away as Pukerua Bay, Upper Hutt , Wainuiomata and even from Levin. The reasons for this are varied, but include the multi-cultural nature of the school, proximity to the CBD, experience and expertise with special needs children, and the provision of a large After School Care programme.'

Failing that, have you considered the private sector just for your son until you return to UK...the fees here are much lower than UK (you are not talking forever after all) and they could well be better geared up to work with his giftedness??? I don't know - you might get what you pay for.

Finally, a link to the Special Education Section of the Ministry of Education:
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/educationS...ecialEducation
Good luck to you all.

lardyl

thanks for the good wishes

maybe the observation about ASD, ADD, etc in our kids could strengthen the genetic case put forward by M-M?

/ducks/

luvwelly

Surely this is in breach of the educational guidelines that ERO inspects on? I know you often see comments about brighter kids not being stretched enough but this means Inspectors do look at it (In UK at least).
Even when I went to junior school, everyone had a different Maths Textbook appropriate for their level (this was a small village school)....I can't help thinking you have just got a very unhelpful school.
Teachers are supposed to differentiate work...surely?


Lardyl - I agree it is probably genetic....a friend of mine in UK had an autistic child and the first thing she noticed when she realised, was that her father-in-law was an undiagnosed aspie...I met him a few times and would tend to agree...I think people then start seeing it in everyone..maybe we are all on the spectrum to some extent but not me of course just my outlaws!

eddie_nz

Aspergers was only 'recognised' by the medical profession (yes I know its been around a lot longer) in 1995.

Which kind of explians why a lots of educated people in schools and the medical profession don't know/understand it.

I say that as a 37 year old who probably has it (if I could be bothered with the tests) who has an 8 yea old in the same position

medwaymaiden

Hi, yes we did mention all about his Aspergers Syndrome on his medical and when he had his medical, he was seen by a GP here in New Zealand cause we had our medicals done last September cause it was cheaper, ironically, to get them done in New Zealand when on holiday rather than getting them done in the UK.
I asked London New Zealand immigration office if our lad's Aspergers would be considered a problem and they said not.
Our 11 year old lad, he does not disrupt a class with bad behaviour but at his current School he has just been taken out of, they did maths and english in the morning with something called Jump Jam (aerobics type thing) and in the afternoon, they just play games. Now to a black and white thinking Aspie, he is wondering where all the lessons have gone and he hates playing games at School cause School is School and that is where you learn! In fact, he just wants to learn, learn, learn at School but to be a kid that was told he can sit his A levels in maths aged 9 and to now have been in a class of Year 5and 6 kids that are still on their 2 times table, now that is mind numbingly boring for anybody I should imagine.
I did look up to see if there are any other Schools more suitable for our lad but after speaking to the Education Authority (we come under Otaki apparently which covers Otaki to Pukerura Bay), there is nothing available for him here other than mainstream School.
There is only one Paediatric Consultant in the whole of New Zealand that does diagnosis of the children for Autism, a Dr. Paul Taylor I think he is called. Now we had an appointment for a rediagnosis but this was cancelled due to the appointment being needed as other kids need their diagnosis first and as our lad already one, it was cancelled for us but we were paying them for it anyway on a private basis. So that door was shut in our face! I am admitting defeat and going back home. I loved my life before anyway!
To be honest, I understand that there is not enough funding in New Zealand cause there are not so many people but when I look around the playgrounds I see so many of these kids. It is turning into a worldwide epidemic I think but our lad just says he is the next evolved state of the human race but he also has a theory that his brain is a female thinking brain in a male body and his dad has a female brain in a male body (although my Husband is not effeminate lol but he does make jam and does the ironing lol and has lots of aspie traits lol).
As another posting on here quite rightfully says, it was only founded in 1995 although it was actually written into an english speaking paper in 1995 but was founded by Hans Aspergers many years before. God bless you Hans Asperger!
Thank God we don't live in China. I read there today that in the whole of China, there are only "two" autistic provision Schools in "the whole of China" and apparently the Chinese think it is very unlucky and the blame is on the parents etc. if a child is autistically challenged.
So then, it works for some people here and for others it don't but all I can say is the School our lad was in has had 5 kids removed since February 2008 and three of them are aspergers.

lardyl

there must be a genetic component and we are all on the Spectrum, I have some traits but when I did the self-test I came out totally none-ASD.
With that in mind, in order to get the diagnosis there are criteria that many kids with some traits would not meet and so they would not get a diagnosis of classical autism or Asperger Syndrome. They may appear to be ASD but are not truly on that end of the spectrum. ADHD and ADD also tend to be in the mix for lots of ASD people and some of those behaviours are put down to ASD even if the kid does not have ASD.
Having siad all that many people with Asperger do get on well in life - many of my friends and former colleagues in academia would probably be diagnosed with it if they were kids today, most of them are considered "odd" or "eccentric" by "normal" people. In the past parents coped, kids got on and muddled along so I doubt the "epidemic" is more than just increased awareness by the public and professionals giving rise to improved diagnosis.

Of course I could be wrong and we may be evolving. But I like my brain wired my way and find it easier to relate to people with lots of empathy and the ability to put themselves in my shoes. That may not be morally correct but that's my take on it.

Again all the best to all parents working hard with their "different" kids - we need all the help we can get.