• Canada
  
• UK
  
• Australia
  
• New Zealand
  

Education in Canada

The Canadian special education process is very similar to that used in the US. Provincial guidelines are set down by the national Ministry of Education and governed by the Education Act, but most decisions are made at the regional, district, or school level. Evaluations are done by a team that may include a school district psychologist, a behavior specialist, a special education teacher, other school or district personnel, and in some cases a parent, although the latter is not required by law as it is in the US.

Children between the ages of six and twenty-two may qualify for special education assistance under the Designated Disabled Program (DDP), the Special Needs Program (SNP), or the Targeted Behaviour Program (TBP), depending on the labels they receive in evaluation.

The evaluation is used as a basis for an IEP. Almost identical to the US document of the same name, the IEP is usually updated yearly or more frequently if needed. A formal review is required every three years.

We have IEPs, but they don't have quite the same clout here that they appear to have under the US legislation. What you have to trumpet here is the legal requirement, under human rights legislation, that disability be "accommodated." For us, the school counselor is being very helpful, as is the district behavior specialist. I'm doing some research at the moment on the actual legal requirements so that I know just how much I can demand. I've found the most effective resource is to be a pleasant, informed, persistent, somewhat annoying pest. --Rae, mother of thirteen-year-old D'Arcy

A full range of placement options is available for Canadian students, from home-based instruction to full inclusion. Partial inclusion is increasingly common, as is supported mainstreaming. Students from rural or poorly served areas may be sent to a residential school, or funding may be provided for room and board to allow the student to attend a day program outside of her home area.

If disputes arise between the school or the district and the parents, there is a School Division Decision Review Process available for adjudicating them. The concept known as due process in the US is usually referred to as fundamental justice in Canada.

Education in the UK

When a child in the UK is judged eligible for special education services, he is said to be statemented. This term refers to an IEP-like document called a Statement of Special Educational Needs, or Record of Needs. This document is developed at the council level by the Local Educational Authority (LEA), and lists the services that a statemented child needs. Usually the team that creates the statement includes an educational psychologist, a teacher, and the parents. It may also include the family's health visitor or other personnel, such as a speech therapist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, or child development specialist. Each child's statement is reviewed and updated annually. Disability advocates strongly urge parents to get expert help with the statementing process.

Your LEA can limit services according to its budget, even if those services are listed as necessary on your child's statement. Service availability varies widely between LEAs. Some therapeutic services, such as speech therapy, may also be available through National Health.

School placements in the UK run the gamut from residential schools to specialist schools to full inclusion in mainstream schools. There are more residential options available than in the US system due to the English tradition of public schools (American readers may be confused by this term: in the UK, "public schools" are privately owned and run, while government schools are those run by the LEAs).

Schools working with statemented students operate under a government Code of Practice that is analogous to, but much weaker than, the federal IDEA in the US. Parents and disability advocates can insist that LEAs follow this code when devising programs for statemented students, and have access to a formal appeals process.

The UK government has recently taken steps toward improving Early Intervention offerings. Currently, EI services are not mandated by law, although they are available in many areas.

Parents report that home-schooling a child with a disability is particularly hard in some parts of the UK. Regular inspection by an educational welfare officer is required, and some of these bureaucrats are not very knowledgeable about disabilities. Parents should be prepared to document their child's educational experiences and learning progress.

The Autism UK Web site provides many pointers for parents.

Education in Australia

Australia's system is paradoxically looser and yet more accommodating to students with disabilities of all sorts. There is only a thin legal framework for the provision of special education services, but in the urban areas, where most Australians live, these services are apparently no harder to obtain than they are in the UK.

Early Intervention services are usually readily available in urban areas for children age six and under, including EI services specifically for autistic students. To obtain an EI evaluation, parents should contact the Specialist Children's Services Team at their local Department of Human Services.

Placement options for older children include residential schools (including placement in residential schools located in the UK, for some students), Special Schools for children with moderate to severe developmental delay or autistic spectrum disorder, special classrooms for disabled children within regular schools, and the full range of mainstreaming options. "Mix and match" placements that allow students to be mainstreamed for just part of the day are still rare, however. For students in rural areas, there is a Traveling Teacher service focused on autism and other disabilities.

There are federal regulations regarding special education, but most of the regulatory action takes place through each state's Department of Education, Training, and Employment (DETS, formerly called the Department of Education and Children's Services), or at a local or school level. The DETS in each state provides information, parent services, assistive technology, augmentative communication, special curricula, and many more services for students with disabilities.

The Autism Victoria Web site offers links to a number of excellent education-related resources throughout Australia.

We don't have anything like IEPs, and I think that there are some cultural factors involved in the way disability is approached here. I've been trying to put my finger on just what it is ... I think it has to do with the fact that Australian society is less "harsh" than American society. There's a bit more sense of cooperation and caring for the underdog. People don't talk as much about "rights," don't sue each other very often, etc. (though it is happening more). Perhaps there has been less need to label kids because there is somewhat less tendency to isolate and discriminate.

I'm not saying that there aren't huge problems for kids with differences (especially subtle differences which aren't at all obvious); however, I think that people here tend to expect to talk things through with schools and teachers and make informal arrangements. There's an expectation of reasonableness, in many cases. I get to know teachers on a personal level and explain about Kim's differences. On the one hand we have less bureaucratization of services and more individual innovation, on the other hand we have less services altogether.
--Kerry, mother of twelve-year-old Kim

Education in New Zealand

Students who qualify for special education services in New Zealand are called "section nined" (old terminology) or "qualified for the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme" (ORS). ORS qualification is currently reserved for those children whose impairment is judged to be "high" or "very high," with the most resources going to the latter group. As of this writing, special education services for early childhood centers and home-based programs are not funded. Nevertheless, some young children with PDDs receive Early Intervention services through special arrangement, in a clinical setting, or in home-based programs.

The Ministry of Education sets up qualifying guidelines for early childhood and school-age special education services. The Autistic Association of New Zealand provides parent education, expert evaluation services, educational and vocational advocacy, and other direct services.

Recent news reports indicate that limited local resources and a move to push for full inclusion under the Special Education 2000 program has eliminated many special education resources that were once available in New Zealand's schools. Autistic spectrum children are said to be highly represented in the large group that is now being denied ORS funding.

School placements include a few special schools, attached special education units within regular schools, and a range of inclusion options in mainstream settings. Some students are in residential settings. Under Special Education 2000, many more schools will have a resource-room-like arrangement rather than self-contained special education units.

Lifespan services for autistic spectrum individuals in New Zealand have been getting a closer look since the death of an autistic girl in 1997. Seventeen-year-old Casey Albury was killed by her mother, who cracked under the strain of caring for her without the availability of respite or other needed services.

Changing educational paradigms

No matter where you go in the world, there's one similarity in the nature of educational services for children and adults with PDDs: an increasing emphasis on intensive intervention early in life and a wider spectrum of services for older children and adults as well.

At the same time, most school systems are struggling with budget restrictions. How these conflicting forces will affect educational service offerings for children with PDD-NOS and atypical PDD remains to be seen.