| Welcome to Yanks Down Under! You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customising your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Anyone homeschooling in Oz? | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Aug 20 2010, 07:20:29 AM (574 Views) | |
| jennszoo | Aug 20 2010, 07:20:29 AM Post #1 |
|
Anklebiter
|
My son has special needs (autism and behavior issues) and is in a special school here in the states. I've pretty much been told that as 457 visa holders, we have a slim to none chance of getting him in the Aussie equivalent. So likely, I will enroll my middle child in Kindy, the youngest in some sort of part time preschoool and try to homeschool the oldest. Just wondering what supports you have found overe there. |
| Jenn, mom to 3, one with special needs, hoping for good luck with 457 Visa application! | |
 |
 
|
| TerritorianTori | Aug 20 2010, 10:38:03 AM Post #2 |
Dance to disco
|
 I'm going to move this over to the "How Do I..?" section as it's more of a topic about how to do things in the Australian system.  I've got 2 children on the autism spectrum. We're in the process of putting our eldest in mainstream Transition (the Northern Territory's equivalent of Kindy), while the youngest will be attending the special preschool (for now). My kiddos were born here, so I don't have any experience with US vs Oz, but my understanding is that things work significantly differently here. We don't have all the struggles with insurance coverage that they seem to in the States; OTOH, you tend to wait a bit longer for certain services. Some people with autistic children do homeschool, but I don't think there's near as many as do in the States. I know there's a pecking order when it comes to special schools, but if I was in your shoes I wouldn't write it off just yet. Start talking to schools NOW. E-mail or call the principal and get on waiting lists. You never know. I'm pretty sure there's an autism-specific school somewhere in/near Sydney, but no idea how that works. Definitely contact ASPECT and The Autism and Aspergers Support Group for advice. There's also a Yahoo Group for autism parents in Australia, not terribly active but people will pop in to answer your questions: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AspergersAutism Good luck! How old is your son? Please feel free to shoot me a PM if you want to talk about anything or have any specific questions - I'll try to help as much as I can!  |
 South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
|
|
|
| jennszoo | Aug 20 2010, 01:10:22 PM Post #3 |
|
Anklebiter
|
Thanks for the info. I did contact ASPECT and they sent me an email with a ton of attachments. I just dont know where we will settled yet. Its hard because I dont know if we should settle close to one of the special needs schools in case I can get him in or not. He is 9 and in 4th grade here now. If we did start him in school down under, I will prob start him up in 4th again, just because it might be less overwhelming. He's close to grade level work, just has some deficits in some areas (namely reading comprehension). |
| Jenn, mom to 3, one with special needs, hoping for good luck with 457 Visa application! | |
|
|
|
| TerritorianTori | Aug 20 2010, 03:34:22 PM Post #4 |
|
Dance to disco
|
Oh yeah, I know it's tough when you don't know where exactly you'll be living.  I read somewhere that you won't be moving til January? Hopefully that'll give you enough time to figure everything out. January is also the beginning of the new school year, so might be an easier transition. The other thing I can think of is to post a message over on the American Society of Sydney's website. Many of their members are US workers on temp visas, and perhaps they may have some experience with navigating the special needs system on a 457... http://members2.boardhost.com/americasociety/index.html?1282278663 There used to be a lady on here who was very well-versed in homeschooling... but I haven't seen her in awhile. Hopefully someone else can chime in about that! |
|
South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
|
|
|
| L.A. Jen | Aug 20 2010, 04:17:59 PM Post #5 |
|
True Blue Mate
|
I don't have a child with special needs, but I was a teacher in the U.S. and from what I can tell, the public schools here are way behind the public schools in the US in terms of services offered for special needs kids. (This is true at least for the public school my daughter attends in Sydney). There is an organization called Giant Steps (http://www.giantsteps.net.au/). I know some parents who have kids in the school. Might be something to look into. Also, preschools in Sydney have long waiting lists, so it might be worthwhile to try to get your youngest on some lists as soon as possible. (Although this might be difficult if you don't know where you'll be living). It took about 9 months for my preschooler to get a place at a local school. Good luck- I hope it all works out for you. Jen |
|
|
|
| staylor8383 | Aug 20 2010, 04:38:14 PM Post #6 |
|
True Blue Mate
|
Once you figure out what area you will be living in contact the government schools to and see what they have to offer for special needs. the government school my son goes to has an OT onsite to work with the kids who have special needs. good luck! |
|
|
|
| TerritorianTori | Aug 20 2010, 06:07:58 PM Post #7 |
|
Dance to disco
|
Ah, that must be the school I've heard about. Looks like they have full government funding, too.  Here in the NT (and I suspect the same is true in NSW), it really depends on the individual school as to the quality of special needs programs. We had to shop around to find the right place for J. Of course, it helps a LOT that we have a fantastic education advisor who knows the system and was able to guide us through it.
|
|
South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
|
|
|
| staylor8383 | Aug 21 2010, 12:54:04 AM Post #8 |
|
True Blue Mate
|
i have found here and the us that the quality of education whether it be special needs or not varies from school to school. some offer a lot more programs and better facilities. my son's school offers a very average program, but his teacher this year is really great and the says the ot is really great as well. her own son attends there and sees the ot too, so we shall see. |
|
|
|
| « Previous Topic · "How Do I...?" · Next Topic » |
5:57 AM Feb 8