hi there, dh and I seriously considering moving to Australia (Melbourne) with our three kids, but ds2 (6 in June) has special needs and we have found the first two years of his schooling quite difficult here in the UK.
He has epilepsy, and while his seizures are controlled by his AEDs (and have been for two years) he does have some quite difficult behaviour. Some of this is definitely a side-effect of the AEDs. However, given that he started them when he was 3 1/2 it's hard to separate out what is the drugs and what is just innate. This may be by-the-by anyway. He has huge problems with listening and concentrating, and although I, the school and the OT have tried very hard to help him in various ways, he finds it really difficult to sit still, follow instructions, write anything and of course this affects his behaviour at school. He can also have patches of being impulsive and aggressive with adults or kids, but this isn't a regular thing at the moment.
His school are just about to start the process of applying for a 'statement', which, if granted, would mean he gets extra help at school, above and beyond that which the school is offering.
Does anyone have experience of having a child like this in the state school system in Australia? How much help would they get? What would be the equivalent of 'statementing'? And would it help if we had been through the process here and ended up with a statement, or would we have to go through all the assessments again once we moved?
thanks, sorry for all the questions. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions about the medical system too, but these ones are foremost in my mind at the moment.
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what is the Australian school system like for kids with special needs?
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JustCutAndPaste · 30/03/2010 16:55
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Sooty7 ·
02/04/2010 00:02
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