Can you really not move to Australia with Autism?

[sandygrapes]

Just that really.

I follow a midwife on there from the UK. She is open and honest, and is paid so much better with amazing working conditions. That's just one example of a profession

Is it really true families who have someone who's autistic cannot move out there or is it far more complex than that?

This is just out of interest.

I have family in NZ and know they're quite strict there

Some people might be wanting to rethink pushing for borderline Autism and ADHD diagnoses reading this, as well as thinking twice about seeking a diagnosis of Anxiety.

The UK emergency services and the armed forces won't touch anyone who has been treated for depression or anxiety. They have enough of a problem with people struggling with the discipline, the training regime and the stressful work as it is, without taking on people who are not very emotionally and mentally robust to start with.

You also have to have a medical evaluation, heart and chest X ray. blood tests etc, to be able to move to many countries to live and work, even if it's a temporary work visa.

HIV, Hepatitis, TB, Cancer, serious obesity or a history of mental health problems, forget it. You aren't getting in.

I have to admit, this is true.

I don't even see myself as an 'immigrant' in the traditional sense when I first think of it

I am acknowledging my own bias by the way, I am not saying I'm right because I am not. Obviously.

Best thing is that an Australian or New Zealander with a significant health condition could emigrate to the UK and, with the right circumstances, even qualify for citizenship eventually.

I'm not sure why they would want to the weather alone should be enough to scare them away!

NRPF can apply to children, but schooling, support in school, EHCPs, school transport etc. are not classed as public funds for immigration purposes.

I imagine Australia has a ready supply of its own citizens with Autism and the special talents it sometimes comes with. The bottom line is that while some people with autism may be brilliant at a narrow range of specific things they are probably less flexible and versatile in their skill set than the average NT person, hence why it's considered a disability.

You don’t need to be inflexible to get a diagnosis. Lots of people with autism are flexible.

Also it’s a disability because it makes life harder but many people learn to live with it and are more resilient than most.

It’s a different mindset

Politically and culturally

I think there is still a limited understanding of neurodivergence. People with autism can be exceptionally skilled in some areas. They may struggle in other areas but this doesn't necessarily mean they will need state support. It may be that it becomes less of a blanket policy in the future, who knows.

That’s not very good advice. A diagnosis can often be very helpful. If it bars you from things further down the line such is life, maybe they weren't right for you.

You're incorrect re previous MH problems barring people from work visas.

I have a hunch that Elon Musk would be entirely self funding in every single aspect of his life and wouldn't need or want a work visa, merely a luxury beachside home and a bank to park some of his billions in order to pay his army of domestic staff. That's the difference.

It's a hard fact of life that for most countries a work visa or a residents visa is all about what you can bring, not what you might hope to take. Unless it's the UK of course, where any such attitude is seen as callous and beyond the pale. Hence why were are in such an unbelievable fucking mess.

@Waffle78 - I agree that our First Nations or Indigenous Australians (do not refer to them Aboriginal. It is considered to be a derogatory term) have been treated terribly. One thing people who have never been here fail to grasp is that only a small part of the Indogenous population lives in or near our capital cities where the hospitals are. Because of the Stolen Generation there is a huge mistrust (logically) of doctors and anything “Govt.” - meaning that a lot of Indigenous people have access to healthcare, transport and social care, etc, but choose not to use it. Add to this the myriad cultural and language differences (yes, most Indigenous Australians speak English as a second language), combined with historical distrust of “government”, accessing medical care is frightening and overwhelming. There is an enormous amount of funding going into training and employing Indigenous Healthcare workers (for free - everyone else pays fees for higher education) and bringing very much needed primary and allied healthcare (and education and legal) services to these communities in a culturally safe and appropriate way. Yes, it’s embarrassingly late in the piece but things are absolutely changing in that area. Every large city hospital has at least one Indigenous Advisor who can assist with translators, sort accommodation, transport and other services for the patient and their family members so that they understand what is going on, feel safe and advocated for. The Flying Doctors are available to transport them if needed. All of these services are free, and all of the communities have cultural advisors who are assisting with this too.

@Kendodd - I hope we don’t let Elon Musk come here! Tbf, he could probably buy the entire country AND the UK. Best that he stays in America and forgets that the rest of the world exists.

I didn't know this and I find it shocking and tbh ignorant.
Autism is a broad spectrum.
There is autism in our family.
2 of my DC have a diagnosis. Older generations who were almost certainly autistic but undiagnosed

have held down well paid professional jobs in corporate law, teaching, engineering and ICT. All paid lots of tax and not claimed anything.
DCs struggled with mainstream secondary school, 1 stayed unti16 then went to college now at uni, my other is educated at home.
But both have lots to contribute and have a bright future ahead of them.
Reading this the penny dropped why my friend in new Zealand now refuses to consider an autism diagnosis for her DS who shows lots of signs and was on pathway to diagnosis when they lived in UK. She and her husband are both from Zealand and their DC have dual British and NZ citizenship so that's not an issue but clearly autism must carry a huge stigma in NZ which explains her attitude.

Putting aside the racism stuff for now,

Do we know for certain that there is a blanket visa refusal for all people with a diagnosis of Autism? No. I’m guessing we approve lots of applicants who have Autism, but their needs do not significantly add to the loads our health/education/social services are already under.

Statistically speaking, a high percentage of successful applicants with Autism will of course never have been diagnosed, because that is how vast the Autism spectrum is.

Only for a limited time are they not entitled to public funds.

Why shouldn't a country be allowed to discriminate in this circumstances though? A country's government is there to oversee the interests of its citizens, not the interests of all the citizens in the world.

That is only for a limited time. After that they can claim state benefits. Even the adult dependent visa has a 5 year limit and after that you can claim benefits

It wasn't advice as such, more an observation. I was merely pointing out that people currently pushing to get themselves an official diagnosis with ASD or ADHD or GAD or PSTD or OCD or a handful of other things, because they feel benefits or validates them in some way (either financial, or medical, or in terms of extra time in exams, or to act as mitigation for poor performance at work or uni, or to demand 'reasonable adaptations' at work or whatever) might want to think really hard about whether that diagnosis is necessary, because it could end up more of a hinderance than a help in the long run, depending on their plans for the future.

It's not for me to say whether a person's diagnosis (or their child's) is more valuable to them than their ability to join the Army or the Police, or apply to emigrate. That's for them to decide. But once it's on your NHS file it stays there.

Yes, @sandygrapes, I was
taken aback when I realized how many hoops I had to jump through to get my American visa. We’re not used to being judged and scrutinized like that, it’s a humbling experience.

You're incorrect re previous MH problems barring people from work visas.

And you know this is the case for every country in the entire world, do you? I wasn't just talking about Australia.

Something which the UK should adopt…….

Which is fair enough for adults. But how can you tell a child with a disability isn't going to be Doctor or Nurse?

I doubt we can to where Aus are. What we think is terrible is standard policy under a centre left gov there

Granted they usually don’t bring it in, the Liberals do, but citizens keep it at voting time

I have 4 dc with autism, all 4 are considered low level of need/Aspergers syndrome. So most people with autism will have the same or higher needs than them. All 4 have already and will continue to cost the government/nhs a lot of money. I'm happy to be stand corrected but I have never met anyone with autism who doesn't need a lot of government money spent on them. I adore all my children and think they are all brilliant but I understand why the Australian government wouldn't want them living there.