Moving with children is always difficult.  Moving with children with special needs is an even greater challenge.  To families who have children with minor or major special needs, deciding whether or not to move is a decision of greater magnitude than it is for other families.  Since the additional stress that you face is so significant, it is wise to keep other aspects of the move as simple as possible.  Education should be the first priority.  If you are moving with a child with special needs, do not  limit yourself by geographic location, defer housing decisions, if possible, until after schooling, and other necessary therapies have been explored.

 

Navigating the educational and health care systems in a new country is a daunting task.  When immersed in the multifaceted details of a transfer, it is recommended that you work with a School Choice consultant along with a School Choice special needs educator who will work together to spearhead the effort, pulling together available help from many disparate sources.  Sources of useful information may include: the child's former school - often specialists in one country may be familiar with experts in another, research universities, research hospitals, advocacy groups, legal documents (to see which schools or systems have faced the fewest law suits), parent support networks, newcomer organizations and internet searches. 

 

After all the information is gathered, parents should make every effort to be realistic about their child.  Parents also need to be open-minded.  If a child currently goes to school in the independent sector, but the new country does a better job with children of similar profiles in the state system, it would be wise to explore both alternatives rather than focusing only on a single possibility.

Moving to a new country may allow you a fresh, new perspective.  Although replicating the services you had at home may not be possible, considering all available resources int he new location may shed new light on a treatment therapy or approach that may turn out to be the most valuable aspect of a family's overseas move. 

 

 

Write a description of your child's disability and services received.

 

Be candid with yourself and others about what is currently working for you child, what isn't, and where improvements might be made.

 

Consider updating evaluations if they are more than 18 months old, preferably by a professional in the destination country so they can be easily understood.

 

Make multiple copies of recent evaluations, individualized education programs (IEPs), report cards, and examples of your child's work.

 

Have a list of contact numbers and email addresses of professionals your child works with.  Let anyone whose name you give out know they may be contacted.

 

Know that the school you are applying to may want to do their own evaluations and may make changes in the services your child has been receiving.

 

Be prepared to educate yourself and those you will work with on different terminology and approaches to treatment where you have been and where you are going.