School for Autistic Children ?

[dewdrop22]

My 3 year old son is autistic. How are the schools for differently abled children in Helsinki ? Any particular suggestion/ recommendation ? We'll be moving to Helsinki in January and I'm a bit apprehensive since I'm pregnant and won't be able to give all my attention to my elder son . I want to make sure everything is in place for him once we move to Finland .

[Upphew]

My 3 year old son is autistic. How are the schools for differently abled children in Helsinki ? Any particular suggestion/ recommendation ? We'll be moving to Helsinki in January and I'm a bit apprehensive since I'm pregnant and won't be able to give all my attention to my elder son . I want to make sure everything is in place for him once we move to Finland .

So four or five years to check the school system out and see if it works for you.

[Rip]

In the local system, there isn't any "school" for kids of that age. They commonly, though not always especially if it is not a family of two wage earners, go to day care ("päiväkoti").

You have the basic relocation formalities arranged/settled (permits if applicable, health care coverage)?
You could get familiar with the material in http://www.hel.fi/www/helsinki/en and consider contacting (if necessary) in advance relevant authorities.
"Autistic" does not say to me much as the term seems to cover nowadays very wide range of conditions from children that one can't really communicate at all and otherwise don't manage with tasks normal for the age, to children that a casual observer could for a good while consider to be within normal range.

You could contact these people and ask for some general information: http://www.autismiliitto.fi/liitto/in_english

[CH]

I don't think there is any specific daycares or schools for autistic children. But there are both integrated and special groups in the daycares and schools (http://www.hel.fi/www/Helsinki/en/day-c ... e/support/). I would suggest that you contact the Early Education and Care for Helsinki.

[llewellyn]

Yes, there are integrated groups but also groups that consist solely of special needs children. Before the age of 6 you need to consider whether to opt for "pidennetty kouluvelvollisuus" (very hard concept to translate - basically an extra year of school for special needs children) which often makes sense. Our younger son was diagnosed when he was 3 yrs old and we got a very good integrated group for him where there de facto is an adult with him all the time. It is a somewhat complicated system where you need to be active and know your rights - I would strongly recommend contacting some of the various support groups and organizations. The resources can be actually very good and very cheap, but you need to know your way around the bureacracy and that's hard for even the natives. We have found this place really good - they give guidance, organize peer support groups, and are a fountain of useful and practical information:

http://www.kvtuki57.fi/in-english

[dewdrop22]

Thanks for all your inputs . Appreciate the prompt response

[dewdrop22]

Thanks for all your inputs . Appreciate the prompt response

Since we'll be there for just a year I think its manageable . I just checked the link you shared . Thanks a ton!