Places in Brisbane for Asperger's?

[mamaoftwoboys]

Hi all,

We are a family of 4, with a 3.5 yo boy with Asperger's and a 2 yo boy. He just got diagnosed and the paed told me what kind of environment he needs to be in, but we don't know where to start because we're new in the area. We're completely lost.

We live in Carindale area and would love to hear from anyone who has had a positive experience with an Asperger's-friendly daycare or kindy and private primary school anywhere in Brisbane.

Preferably close to where we live, but I don't mind travelling.

Now my Asp DS goes to Montessori daycare two days a week, but the paed told me that he should be somewhere else where can provide him more of the group time, because Montessori is more focused on doing things individually. He is also "accepted" to a private school from Prep located in Bayside.

The word-of-mouth from other parents and teachers is the only way to find out about those places! Since we are new here, WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP!!

We are looking for:

Daycare or Kindy
1. Group activities focused
2. Medium class size (His current class has 8. It's too small. He was in a class of 22 before and he was completely overwhelmed. So somewhere around 15?)
3. Supportive
4. Teacher awareness or professional development of Asperger's
5. Preferably having the experience of having children with Asperger's or Autism before


*I'll put his name on the waiting list at 5 C&Ks in our area on Monday for entry next year. I guess it's too late, but will see how it goes. Any alternatives if he doesn't get in to any? Actually, I need to transfer him out ASAP according to the paed.

Primary school
1. Caring co-ed private school
2. Small class size
3. Supportive
4. Teacher awareness or professional development of Asperger's
5. Preferably having the experience of having children with Asperger's or Autism before
6. Extra-curricular activities like science, chess, robotics, etc.

It will be appreciated if we can hear from you any positive and negative experiences with daycare, kindy and school.

Thank you very much.

Desperate mum,
Sarah

[ManekiNeko]

I would suggest you contact the local special school in your area and ask if they offer an early childhood development program. Not all do but they could point you in the direction of your closest. My DD goes to one on the northside and it is a small class of about 7 autistic children but there is a lot of one on one care from two carers. They have their own therapists who sometimes work with the children and they really focus on their weakness' trying to improve on them. Since going my DD has shown a lot of improvement.

The other things I could suggest are googling asd playgroup and that should give you info on your closest in the area. The other thing is contacting Autism QLD and registering your child with them. They will appoint you an autism advisor who will give you info on programs or other things that may benefit your child so that you can be pointed in the right direction. You should be able to find there details from google. Hope that helps.

[Strewth]

Hi there, I live in Camp Hill just near Carindale and my 4 year old son was diagnosed with Asperger's on Thursday. He currently attends the C&K Kindy at Carina. Funding for a teacher aide at C&K needs to be submitted by January so worth bearing that in mind if he is accepted. Our teacher has no specific training but we are now looking at bringing in some support partly funded by ourselves and partly funded by the C&K.

There is also a specialist school for ASD in Brisbane called AEIOU.

In terms of schooling, we were looking at private schools too but have ended up selecting Camp Hill State School as it has a special needs unit. My son will attend Prep there next year and we are meeting with the Head of Special Needs in a few weeks to discuss transition and integrating my son into the school.

Just to let you know there is also a specialist ASD psychology clinic in Brisbane called Minds and Hearts. Tony Attwood is affiliated with the centre and they run lots of workshops etc.

I hope this was of some help even if limited.

There are other centres as mentioned such as the ECDU at Mt Gravatt but I am not plugged into that resource.

Regards

[mamaoftwoboys]

Thank you, ManekiNeko for your reply.

Good to hear that your DD had a lot of improvement! Yes, I'll contact the local special school to see if they have an early childhood development program.

I called Austism QLD already and we'll have an advisor coming soon.

Thank you for your help!

[mamaoftwoboys]

Hi Strewth,

Thank you for your reply. I went to C&K at Carina on Monday, too. Yes, all the teachers at C&K told me that I need to get all the documents ready for funding. I was very much encouraged to find out all the teachers that I met on Monday were so keen to find out what Asperger's is and how to help them, and some of them have already went through some training for ASD.

But my current concern is what do we do for the rest of this year!! If we get in to C&K from next year, he has to change the place soon and then next year, so I feel it might be too much for him. But I guess he still needs to do it.

Good that Camp Hill State has a special needs unit. I think I still want the private school because the public ones around our area don't have good reputation. I'm thinking about calling some private schools to find out about it.

I checked Minds and Hearts, but they don't have a group session for 3.5 yo. I'm looking for a playgroup type, so I might try the ECDU.

I'm looking forward to the visit by the autism advisor. I'm a bit overwhelmed with so much information online, but at the same time, I need to know every possible option before I make decisions for my DS.

Thank you for your help!