NZ Education system/Aspergers Syndrome

[loopylinda]

I know that my previous message has already helped one other family make a decision as to what their plans will be so thought I would write again in the hope it helps another family who may be thinking of coming to New Zealand with a child who has Aspergers Syndrome from the UK.
In one sentence, "don't do it, stay where you are" .... it has been a nightmare to say the least for us but please bear in mind I am only speaking with regard to our Son with Aspergers as our Daughter has managed well enough here.
The understanding of the condition is so poor here that I was the most knowledged Parent at the local support group, knowing more than the woman in charge! At the local mental health team, the person working there was not even sure what it meant to have Aspergers let alone Samantic Pragmatic Disorder!
The NZ education system is 2 years behind that of what we our kids are used to in the UK (we are on the Kapiti Coast at the moment) and I am sure it must be the same all over NZ because they will follow a national curriculum in Schools.
When we arrived we were told that our Son who has Aspergers then aged 10 would be given support and understanding if he found the transition too hard from the UK. This is a child who was in mainstream with only 6 hours 1:1 support for speech and language. He is high functioning extremely intelligent (got told he could take and pass his A levels aged 9 to give you an idea of his intelligence capabilities) but the problem is, he hasn't coped.
Now to get a teachers aide for his literal thinking/communications problems he has to have behavioural or learning difficulties of which he has neither of these.
So if anybody is bringing a child with Aspergers out, you will also find the following:
To get any help in NZ, you will have to get your child another diagnosis here. We had an appointment on 3rd September (paying for it ourself $140) to get a rediagnosis. Unfortunately it has been cancelled due to the Secretary of the "only Consultant Paediatrician in New Zealand" (yes there really is only one Consultant Paediatrician that does the whole of New Zealand) needing the appointment to diagnose children who have not already got a diagnosis like our Son. When I asked when we could expect an appointment, we were told in the New Year!
Now I think New Zealand is great in many other ways but it is a foreign country and not like England at all .... people say it is similar to the UK, I would disagree completely although since being here, my two new bestest friends here are actually Kiwis although I come across many Poms who say they only meet Poms.
So without rediagnosis, we cannot get any help anyway. Social Services here promised us a home tutor but I did not move all the way around the world to have our Son home tutored but it turns out they advised us incorrectly about that anyway as a child has to be 13 with Aspergers and depression or anxiety and not 11 as our lad is and now he is currently on medication although he has never been on it in his life prior to this.
We have spoken to the UK last month and they have told us our Son was offered one of the only eight spaces available every year in an Aspergers Unit .... so that is our carrot we are going back for! They tried to call us February 2008 but we got here December 2007. I didn't hold my hopes for getting our lad a place at the Unit but now have been advised our Son will not be going to mainstream again in the UK so can you blame us for going back when offered that!
With regard to bullying, which is a subject I read about on these boards, the bullying at our kids School is not dealt with appropriately to my mind although that is only the School our kids have been to please understand and I cannot comment on all kids in other Schools. In fact, I have written a letter to the Board Of Trustees at the School this week advising them of the facts where I think they are failing the children in this regard.
If you have a child with Aspergers who manages mainstream without support, in other words has it mildly, well they may manage but I spoke to a woman from the Autistic Society here this week and was advised that "all" Aspergers children are to be in mainstream School till the age of 13 here in NZ. Usually because there is such little support according to her, by the time they are 13 and ready for college, they are either on medication, being home tutored by Parents or much much worse mentally .... need I say more!
At least we ain't in China. In the whole of China, there are two autistic Schools and to have an autistic child is considered bad luck and the families are shunned by society.
Regarding everything else, houses are colder here cause they are made of wood, it has rained in Kapiti most days for the past 3 months, (1m of rain up the coast in a week and the river has flooded twice), cost of food is more expensive so is petrol, tax and ACC (our NI) is 20% of your wages. And my boss is a pillock lol and I live for the day I can hand in my notice .... every time it is pay day he pleads poverty and it took me 2.5 hours to get my wages out of him this week!
If anybody with an Aspie child wants to write me a personal message, please feel free to do so!
Linda.
PS: I am not really a whinging Pom! lol.
Counting the days down, going back in 130 days!
Thought we would get a Summer in before we go back in the New Year and also Husband can probably get a job easier in the New Year on the railways!

[Dolly]

Hi there loopylinda,

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive post.

It sounds like you've really had a nightmare time of it.

I really hope you manage to somehow get your son sorted out, it's incomprehensible how behind the system is.

I totally feel for you.

Dolly

[loopylinda]

Originally Posted by Dolly

Hi there loopylinda,

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive post.

It sounds like you've really had a nightmare time of it.

I really hope you manage to somehow get your son sorted out, it's incomprehensible how behind the system is.

I totally feel for you.

Dolly

Hi Dolly,
Thanks for your message!
I hope there wasn't a smattering of "whinging Pom syndrome" in my first posting (lol).
Seriously, this Aspergers Syndrome thing is so new (it only got translated into an english paper in 1995) that the tip of the iceberg has only been touched!
To be offered a place at the Aspie Unit with mainstream provision for maths and english was too much of a carrot not to be tempted by so we are definately going home!
Hope I didn't offend the Chinese by what I put .... lol .... but the fact is, the population is not here in New Zealand like the UK so they do not have so much funding etc.
We thought our Son would cope! He hasn't. Basically, we love our numpty Son more than we love New Zealand.
LoopyLinda.

[Dolly]

You love your son and you are doing what's best for him. Good for you.

And no, no whinging Pom syndrome here

Dolly