International living with kids - advice needed!

[xeevee]

One thing that is good about the England way of coming to interview you, is that because your son is special needs they'll actually actively help you put him into a school that is best for him.  In Australia your stuck with the school that you're catchment for.  Might be good for austism, might not be.  But there will only be one. 

Sydney avoid living in the western suburbs, particularly Cabramatta.  There are some other unpleasant suburbs too.  Melbourne I can check for you if you need me.  Both aren't cheap sadly.  We're actually looking at moving to Sydney at the moment for my husbands work, and rent in the suburbs near his job is insane,  like around the $1000 a week mark for a 3 bedroom. 

[Beldarna]

I don't have kids and I have not lived outside of my country, but we are very accomodating to english speakers and as we're learning that language early on in school you'll find most people will be able to communicate with you. When it comes to school, there are lots of options and the citizens are alowed to choose schools themselves. Many schools have special classes or staff knowledgable for kids with special needs and a lot of cities have international schools for kids coming from abroad. Housing can be expensive if you choose to live in the larger cities, but usually the prices drop significally just a few miles outside of them and many tend to commute as public transport is cheap and trustworthy.

I have relatives in Sweden who are moving to Norway and parts of Canada, they recently called me and told me not to come see Göteburg anytime soon because its not safe. I dont know for certain of this is true or if they just don't like new people moving in their country. But see Sweden has some hardcore amazing healthcare and great job/education opportunities so that's important for children. It takes several years to get a house there however. Sweden had a large amount of refugees and please note- most of them are good people trying to have a normal life because they left their homes because of war. However Sweden isn't doing background checks as intense as other countries. You will need to see their situation from their side and learn to accept them, the poor dears. Its important to consider this before moving there. Don't let the headlines in Swedish news scare you from going there!
The situation is something to really read up on.

Considering Sweden is the size of California but with only 9 million inhabitans we do have room. People fleeing from war need to go somewhere and they wanting to come to us just shows we're a good country . If terrorists would want to come here, there are other ways than trying to pose as a refugees, so a roof over their heads, especially in this time of year, far exceeds the needs of backgroundchecks. The problem is the migrationsoffices placing different religions and clans and whatnot in the same houses which cause frictions. Another problem is international newspapers picking up falsified news from racists newspages who claims to write "the truth". Sweden is a nice country and we do welcome every international being and I am proud of that.

[FantasticFirefly]

Are you on an autism forum? I'd ask about how happy people are with services in those options. My brother has autism. classified as non verbal, but meeting all the kids I have in the autism community on all ends of the spectrum it's obvious great services are paramount- they didn't have to struggle nearly as hard as my brother did when in school.

[Kanchii]

The countries you listed are all quite fabulous, and I really don't think you'd have much of a problem. Personally, I'd go with Sweden if you're okay with learning another language. If not, Australia.

[Taffeta]

I'm an Autistic English person, and it's true, England is a lottery about support and such. And it also depends on how your son copes with the move and all the changes around him. It will either go really well or it will be tough, but that's not something you can call until it happens, so try not to worry too much about it. He will pick up the vibe from you if you are worried and is more likely to become anxious about it too. We are very good at vibe sensing, contrary to popular opinion.

I have only ever lived in the UK. Education is also a lottery in some places. It does matter where you are as to what kind of place you'll end up. London has the best education stats, unsurprisingly - it's also a crazy place and expensive and the city itself is not always friendly (I am living here at the moment. I like London, but I'm also used to it.). Mind you, it is very multinational and chances are you'd meet a lot more people from other places, which might make mingling in easier.

Other areas of the UK are vastly different from each other and from London, though.

Also, you said England and Scotland -but not Wales? I believe it's still required for Welsh to be taught in Welsh schools, and some schools in the North teach Welsh. So in case Wales is on the agenda too, that might be something to consider. Wales is beautiful, but the north has really bad transport issues. (My family home is near the border, so I have spent a lot of time in Wales).

I cannot comment on other countries, as I've only visited, not lived. But unless your husband has a choice in where he goes, I would wait until you know where you are likely to be, and then plan for that.

Also, our visa system...I feel I should apologise for it. I dunno what the issues are, sigh. My friend from India rants and raves about it regularly...she loved living here, but yeah, visa issues meant she had to go back to Delhi.

Also, autism forums...WrongPlanet is a possible place to ask about stuff there. I honestly would ask the autistic people more than the autistic parents. What I have learned from working with kids with autism, and from having it myself, is that sometimes the kids see more and know more of what's good and not good than many of the parents do, because it's directed at them, and, online, they're more likely to share those tidbits of information.

Also, if it turns out to be the UK, maybe contact the NAS (National Autistic Society). They're based here in London and represent and support Autism here in the UK through many different things, groups, outreach programs, volunteer work, etc. They would doubtless be able to give you some unbiased information.

[Strawberry Swirl]

Hmmmm- honestly I (an autistic person) haven't been anywhere but the US so I can't say if some countries are more friendly towards us or not.

I think the best thing you can do is find a couple of schools that you like and before enrolling your son, ask the principal/other people in charge how they help their autistic students in their classrooms.
I think it wouldn't hurt to specifically ask what they would do in case he had a meltdown/shutdown if he experiences them. Sadly some teachers do things that make it worse or even may harm the child and that's my biggest fear as someone who had a teacher hurt me for being autistic.

Another thing you should do if they check out by your standards is teach his teachers and assistants what his specific needs are. Does he need to take frequent breaks? Are loud sounds painful for him? Does he need a specific stim toy? Saying as much in advance would make it easier when he's actually there.


As for flying- again consider any sensory difficulties he has. He may need ear plugs, noise cancelling headphones, sunglasses etc to make it more comfortable. Consider his special interest(s) and find ways let him engage a little so things don't get terribly boring (example: if his is dinosaurs he might want a few plastic ones to keep him company). Try to keep any routines the same as much as you can. And tell him before you go through the guards that they'll check him out and say exactly how they'll do it. Surprises coupled with new experiences = scary.



I hope this helps!!

[Crystal-Sushi]

I was born in Australia and have lived here all of my life (Brisbane, QLD but have also lived in Perth, WA, Newcastle, NSW and Melbourne, VIC), so you can ask me about things if you want. The wildlife honestly isn't as much of an issue as people make it out to be unless you're living in a more rural area - the 'burbs and innner city areas are mostly fine, it's just about common sense and supervision really. Insect repellent is your friend, particularly in the summer, as well as citronella coils.
As for schools, I attended a primary school in Brisbane which had a special program for kids with disabilities, they had a lot of various ways to support them and help them in the classroom, and certain kids who had more difficulty had a carer with them in class. They also did special activities and other things with them - off the top of my head, two of my autistic friends got to go horse-riding every Thursday and it. In general I think everyone was pretty supportive - there definitely wasn't any bullying or anything like that went on.
At my primary school in Perth, it was quite a bit different - there was quite a bit of bullying that went on, and there were no real repercussions for doing so. One kid (13-14) pushed a small child (5-6) down a flight of stairs and got a total of one detention and nothing else
In terms of other things... Perth gets extremely hot during the summer, like 40 degrees celsius and extremely cold during the winter. The Swan River and the surrounding area is beautiful, but everything is stained by their use of bore water. Also, the river is full of jellyfish...
Brisbane gets extremely sticky and humid, and rather chill during the winter, but never 'frosty'. Also we get tropical storms, my area was even hit by what meteorologists described as a tornado (I didn't think we got them in Australia but this was a rare occurrence) and the Brisbane river floods occasionally.
I recall Newcastle as being one of those places where it's hot in the sun, but cool in the shade, but I was living near the beach so that could be a factor there. There are awesome rock pools and a big tide-fed public swimming pool on the beachfront. I've also hiked through and camped in the bush areas of NSW, and it's quite the experience, but there are so many ticks...
Melbourne was where I was born, thus I don't really have any memories of it, being so young, but it gets colder there than is does in QLD...
I don't know if any of this will help you in any way, and I might just be babbling aimlessly, but I felt like I had to say something as I have some knowledge on the subject matter