Hi

I'm looking to move to either Cordoba or Madrid but I have a son who is statemented in the UK. He has a speech and language disorder and Aspergers which means he will find it near impossible to learn another language. I understand there are no schools that specifically cater for special needs in Spain and that they are instead expected to integrate into mainstream schools which I don't see happening with his level of needs. Are there any other alternative schools that would cater for a boy like my son (who can only speak English)? Home schooling is sadly not an option since I'll be working as a school teacher all day and he will need to be somewhere while I'm not at home.
With the option of some schools bringing in a special needs specialist into schools, are parents expected to pay for that service?
I'm quite desperate for some help

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Do you already have a job in a school lined up? How old is your son? In some areas I believe that there are specialist units attached to schools but I believe that these are for teenagers.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Sounds like your son has very special needs and even if help was readily available and affordable, I´m guessing it would only be in Spanish. You say he will be unable to learn a second language, and with you working all day I foresee a very lonely, difficult path ahead for him. Personally, I wouldn´t even be considering a move, sorry.

Thanks for the replies.

Rosemary, my son is 12 years old so he goes to a secondary special high school. I haven't secured a job yet but knowing where to look and what options are attached to these options will help me make an informed decision.

I have another son who is gifted and I would very much like him to learn as many European languages as he can. We've had to make many sacrifices to cater for my eldest son's special needs, but it's also been unfair for my youngest to have to waste his potential to grow. As a parent, of course I'm torn and want to do my best for both my sons, so I'm studying all my options.

So difficult for you when your two sons have totally different needs. Unless there is an English school with the ability to offer assistance to your eldest son I am sorry to tell you that everything will indeed be in Spanish so this will be impossible for him. Can I ask you why you have sellected Cordoba or Madrid? I presumed that this was because you had received a couple of job offers but obviously this is not the case. It is always interesting to hear why people have made their choices. I wish you well with your research. Hopefully someone with more knowledge of the education system will be able to give you some good information.

Rosemary

I'm sorry I cannot say what sort of special provisions exist, but I'm sure they must. I'll make enquiries.
Our eldest son is 36,with Downs Syndrome & lives with us. We moved here 4 years ago, to "retire", my wife being Basque.
In order to access any disability funding here in Spain, one needs to get what they call a "disability %", something that doesn't exist in UK.
It seemed to take months of paperwork hunting. He needed various tests, such as oral, aural, visual, psychological, medical etc but we finally acquired an 88% disability!
You'll therefore need to begin with a GP at your registered health centre & go from there. They ought to be able to guide you.
Our son gets benefits from UK as well as from Spain now. He attends daily a work centre where he is totally happy. Speaks no Spanish & never will. But people are very considerate & he's thoroughly integrated in village life.
Sorry I cannot be of more help at present.

I know, I'm not making it easy on myself. My decision to move to Spain is based on many things. I am doing a PhD in Spanish History which would make it easier if I were living in Spain and speaking fluent Spanish. But also, the lifestyle would be much healthier for my boys than it is at the moment. I'm a single mother and have no family in the UK or like minded friends so life is hard anyway.

I did receive a job offer in Madrid, but ideally I'd love to move to Cordoba. I fell in love with that place last winter. However, I'm open to go wherever I may find help for my son. Finding a job should not be a problem for me.

Thank you so much for your help! I must say your post has given me hope that something must exist. I'm sure my son is not the oddest case in the world!

Wherever you go, I assume you will be getting a job in a private school? As the only way you could get a job in a state school is through the British council and it would be temporary (There are other ways, but not very likely)

So in which case, can your son not just go to the private school you will be teaching at? Many profess to be bilingual nowadays anyway, although of course if he doesnt learn any Spanish then he won't be able to pass any exams

Obviously I dont know your finances, but just a warning that the amount of benefits you would receive in Spain will be tiny compared to that in the UK. And of course teacher wages in private schools are much lower (although OK in state schools) so unless you have a lot of savings it is quite a risky move

You say you fell in love with Córdoba, what about the boys, what do they think about it? Do they even know what's involved? I agree it's a lovely place, but it can be extremely hot in the summer, 40º, it´s not to everyone´s taste. A Spanish guy I speak with there has a place on the coast where he escapes to in the hottest months, a bit like Madrid and Sevilla, it can be sofocante. I´m all for following your dream, if it was just you I´d say go for it, but it´ll be a difficult one for the boy. A lady I know in UK has a son with special needs, he´s mid 20´s, and she has been trying to find him a special school that would look after his needs. She´s taken him to a few that seemed perfect to her, but the boy never liked any of them, eventually they found one he loved, a long way away, and they are selling up and moving there. If there is anything suitable in Spain (and I have my doubts, as he will never speak Spanish) he might well end up hating it.

Hello there, I live in Ibiza. I have lived here since I was a child and I have a 15 yr old boy with autism. Where I live there are no special schools, no day centres (for when he leaves school) and he gets a state pension of 55€ a month. The authorities say he has a 33% disability percentage but only me (a single mother) knows that sometimes it seems a 100%. Things are hard and I have often though of going back to the UK but Í can´t take him because the father won´t give me permission to leave.
I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you decide.

I don´t know about special needs and what is provided and what is not, but it is worth noting that cuts have been made to disabled peoples benefits recently, not that they were over generous in the first place.

Cuts have been made across the board in carers payments and essentials like pads for adults.

Spanish TV have programmes whereby people in need ask for help, usually financial, when looking after their disabled children/parents etc becomes impossible due to the recent cuts.

They were barely hanging on before but now their situation is desperate.

The best place for you and your family is the UK, as to try and get any help in Spain is a minefield, and there are more cuts in the pipeline.

The case of Susana is very tragic, but also very typical, the task of educating a special needs child is taken on by the parents, with either very minimal help from the state or none at all.

There may be some regions where more help is given but very few and far between.

Agree, that's why I said earlier, " Personally, I wouldn´t even be considering a move, sorry."

Don't agree. If people want to follow a dream, knowing all the pitfalls, why put them off. They're not children.

Whilst I agree with your sentiment in theory, in practice one persons dream is not always felt by the whole family.

I have known numerous Spanish/Italian and mixed (one parent Engilsh and the other not) families in the UK, where one of the couple or both had a dream to return to their home country.

More often that not it ended in tears. It has even happend to many of our own relatives, the word case being that a cousin of JLs coming back to live with us when she was 14, because her parents´ dream turned into her nightmare.

I believe in doing the best you can for your children, like my Parents did for me. That means sometimes having to put your dreams on hold.