Re medicals for Autistic Kid

[sudheer.167]

Hi Everyone,
My 3-year-old Kid's medicals were done in January 2022 for a visitor visa application. However, it got refused by IRCC. Later in March 2022, he was diagnosed with Mild Autism. We had done evaluation and diagnosis through a private Autism therapy clinic and also through a reputed hospital in my native place. Both of them have confirmed mild autism symptoms and the child is getting behavioural and occupational therapies currently. We reapplied for his visa in October 2022 and received approval in November 2022. Since his medicals are going to expire soon, we plan to do re-medicals for him before travel(Travel can not be done before medical expiry due to some constraints). My questions are

1. Do they fail medicals if the kid is having Autism symptoms?
2. Does the hospital ask for diagnosis and treatment reports as a criterion for passing the medicals?
3. Any other care should be taken while giving medicals for such cases?
4. How are therapies given to kids in Canada? Could anyone who is aware let me know the process?

 

[Naturgrl]

Hi Everyone,
My 3-year-old Kid's medicals were done in January 2022 for a visitor visa application. However, it got refused by IRCC. Later in March 2022, he was diagnosed with Mild Autism. We had done evaluation and diagnosis through a private Autism therapy clinic and also through a reputed hospital in my native place. Both of them have confirmed mild autism symptoms and the child is getting behavioural and occupational therapies currently. We reapplied for his visa in October 2022 and received approval in November 2022. Since his medicals are going to expire soon, we plan to do re-medicals for him before travel(Travel can not be done before medical expiry due to some constraints). My questions are

1. Do they fail medicals if the kid is having Autism symptoms?
2. Does the hospital ask for diagnosis and treatment reports as a criterion for passing the medicals?
3. Any other care should be taken while giving medicals for such cases?
4. How are therapies given to kids in Canada? Could anyone who is aware let me know the process?

He is entering Canada as a visitor, correct? If he passed the first medical then what is the issue since he should pass the second. He wouldn’t fail a medical for a TRV unless had medical issues. Therapies are private and some have long waiting lists (or are closed for intake). It depends the province where you live but what therapies are you looking for since child is a visitor?

 

[sudheer.167]

He is entering Canada as a visitor, correct? If he passed the first medical then what is the issue since he should pass the second. He wouldn’t fail a medical for a TRV unless had medical issues. Therapies are private and some have long waiting lists (or are closed for intake). It depends on the province where you live but what therapies are you looking for since the child is a visitor?

Yes, he would be coming as a visitor along with my wife (SOWP). When he passed the first medical in Jan 2002 there were no signs of Autism. Only in March 2022, he was diagnosed with mild Autism. (After we got a refusal decision for the first visa application). They would be coming to Vancouver, British Columbia. and the therapies we are looking for are Behavioural and Occupational therapy.

When we reapplied for their visa in October 2022 we didn't mention any medical/mental illness in the IMM forms and their visas are approved now. My doubt is during medicals if they are going to find out about Autism, and how to handle it. Should we tell panellists upfront and present them diagnosis report? Will they raise any concern that this is not informed during the Visa application process and flag the medicals?

 

[Naturgrl]

Yes, he would be coming as a visitor along with my wife (SOWP). When he passed the first medical in Jan 2002 there were no signs of Autism. Only in March 2022, he was diagnosed with mild Autism. (After we got a refusal decision for the first visa application). They would be coming to Vancouver, British Columbia. and the therapies we are looking for are Behavioural and Occupational therapy.

When we reapplied for their visa in October 2022 we didn't mention any medical/mental illness in the IMM forms and their visas are approved now. My doubt is during medicals if they are going to find out about Autism, and how to handle it. Should we tell panellists upfront and present them diagnosis report? Will they raise any concern that this is not informed during the Visa application process and flag the medicals?

Autism is not a reason to be medically inadmissible unless child has other medical issues. The child will not have access to provincial services anyways. Yes, you must be upfront or that is misrepresentation. Contact behavioural and occupation therapists and see if they have waiting lists. It is private so paying out of pocket.

 

[sudheer.167]

Autism is not a reason to be medically inadmissible unless child has other medical issues. The child will not have access to provincial services anyways. Yes, you must be upfront or that is misrepresentation. Contact behavioural and occupation therapists and see if they have waiting lists. It is private so paying out of pocket.

Thanks much for your inputs.

 

[Hormone]

You must be careful in any situation you might face in Canada. Their way of therapy is different and you might disagree with some of the points. I'm researching this theme a lot because I'm in the nursing faculty at a Canadian college. You might find here some useful information. I used it for my abstracts recently. And wish you luck and health to your kid!

 

[canuck78]

Hi Everyone,
My 3-year-old Kid's medicals were done in January 2022 for a visitor visa application. However, it got refused by IRCC. Later in March 2022, he was diagnosed with Mild Autism. We had done evaluation and diagnosis through a private Autism therapy clinic and also through a reputed hospital in my native place. Both of them have confirmed mild autism symptoms and the child is getting behavioural and occupational therapies currently. We reapplied for his visa in October 2022 and received approval in November 2022. Since his medicals are going to expire soon, we plan to do re-medicals for him before travel(Travel can not be done before medical expiry due to some constraints). My questions are

1. Do they fail medicals if the kid is having Autism symptoms?
2. Does the hospital ask for diagnosis and treatment reports as a criterion for passing the medicals?
3. Any other care should be taken while giving medicals for such cases?
4. How are therapies given to kids in Canada? Could anyone who is aware let me know the process?

You should have indicated a change in your child’s health in the most recent TRV. If the child is 4 or older a study permit is now what most VOs require (TRV used to be sufficient) and many schools also seem to want a study permit although BC seems more demanding when it comes to proof that child is not purely a visitor. I assume there has been issues with visitors trying to register their children for school when they aren’t entitled to attend schooling in Canada.

Every province has their own autism programs since healthcare and social services are delivered provincially. Whether your autism evaluation will be accepted or whether a new one will need to be performed will depend on the province. In general when it comes to autism funding in Canada there are usually wait lists and parents end up having to personally finance a good portion of the prescribed therapies. How much therapy a child can access is often related to their parents’ ability to pay. More therapy than is covered is almost always recommended. There is a huge amount of demand on these programs and for school support aids but in most cases a lot of these demands go unmet. There is also minimal funding after age 21 so if your child is not able to live independently, work or pursue further education then it really falls on parents. This is a huge issue and is only becoming a bigger issue as a large wave of children with autism age and their parents get older and are no longer able to care for their children at home any longer. In terms of autism leading to being considered “medically excessive” there would need to be very high needs and usually some other medical issues. Mild autism without other health issues shouldn’t be an issue. When your child does their medical for their study permit I would bring proof of their assessment, prognosis and recommended therapies (also amounts per week).

Depending on what resources you currently have, how affordable care is, whether a private education that meet your child’s needs is currently available and affordable (especially the ability to have a small class size and even having a classroom aid), etc. I would look carefully at whether Canada is better than whatever country you currently live in.

 

[GandiBaat]

Hi Everyone,
My 3-year-old Kid's medicals were done in January 2022 for a visitor visa application. However, it got refused by IRCC. Later in March 2022, he was diagnosed with Mild Autism. We had done evaluation and diagnosis through a private Autism therapy clinic and also through a reputed hospital in my native place. Both of them have confirmed mild autism symptoms and the child is getting behavioural and occupational therapies currently. We reapplied for his visa in October 2022 and received approval in November 2022. Since his medicals are going to expire soon, we plan to do re-medicals for him before travel(Travel can not be done before medical expiry due to some constraints). My questions are

1. Do they fail medicals if the kid is having Autism symptoms?
2. Does the hospital ask for diagnosis and treatment reports as a criterion for passing the medicals?
3. Any other care should be taken while giving medicals for such cases?
4. How are therapies given to kids in Canada? Could anyone who is aware let me know the process?

Why did you need a medical for visitor visa?
You typically do not need a medical for a six month or less visit in canada.
Are you planning on staying longer?

Source : I have a son in Canada with autism.

1. NO. Autism is NO LONGER a cause for rejection on inadmissibility on medical criteria (https://ackahlaw.com/news/canadas-new-medical-inadmissibility-rules).

2. They can BUT Autism is something they will no longer be looking out for.

3. Nothing special. Ideally, they should NOT be asking about autism but may be they will and ask for a furtherance (who knows).

4. My kid recieves behavioural therapy and occupational therapy here. Since he is a Canadian citizen so he receives a grant from the provincial government covering the cost of this. For under 4 years this amount was about 22 thousand canadian dollars. It goes down with increasing age. If your kid is in similar age group it can be similar or different depending upon the province you are in. Our centre is a full service one, so they pick him up from the day care, give the therepy and leave him back in day care. They have a purpose built centre for the services and give both individual and group therepy for autism. For a 3 and a half year old with autism, he has started to speak a lot, in complete sentences and responding to commands and telling us about his needs (for toilets for example), so he has made a good progress, thanks to the therapists he has.

 

[sudheer.167]

Why did you need a medical for visitor visa?
You typically do not need a medical for a six month or less visit in canada.
Are you planning on staying longer?

Source : I have a son in Canada with autism.

1. NO. Autism is NO LONGER a cause for rejection on inadmissibility on medical criteria (https://ackahlaw.com/news/canadas-new-medical-inadmissibility-rules).

2. They can BUT Autism is something they will no longer be looking out for.

3. Nothing special. Ideally, they should NOT be asking about autism but may be they will and ask for a furtherance (who knows).

4. My kid recieves behavioural therapy and occupational therapy here. Since he is a Canadian citizen so he receives a grant from the provincial government covering the cost of this. For under 4 years this amount was about 22 thousand canadian dollars. It goes down with increasing age. If your kid is in similar age group it can be similar or different depending upon the province you are in. Our centre is a full service one, so they pick him up from the day care, give the therepy and leave him back in day care. They have a purpose built centre for the services and give both individual and group therepy for autism. For a 3 and a half year old with autism, he has started to speak a lot, in complete sentences and responding to commands and telling us about his needs (for toilets for example), so he has made a good progress, thanks to the therapists he has.

Thank you the detailed reply and providing the inputs on available care. My dependents(Spouse and kid) are coming to accompany me for the duration of my stay as a temporary foreign worker here in Canada(>2 years). And medicals were asked by IRCC as part of the application. Remedicals were successfully completed and the panel physician who took the exam asked couple of questions related to Autism and we told them about it this time and there was no follow up questions further. Hospital has also submitted the results to IRCC and I am currently waiting for it to be updated in my dependents file.

We are temporary workers here in Vancouver, BC ,and I think we won't receive the provincial funding as told by some of other forum members here and have to pay out of pocket. Good to hear that your kid is seeing some real good progress. Do you know of any private therapy centers in & around Vancouver?

 

[GandiBaat]

We are temporary workers here in Vancouver, BC ,and I think we won't receive the provincial funding as told by some of other forum members here and have to pay out of pocket. Good to hear that your kid is seeing some real good progress. Do you know of any private therapy centers in & around Vancouver?

I am in Vancouver Island (Victoria BC). So I do not know about Vancouver. There are province wide programs. Look for few of them.

We benefited from
1. More than words program (this has an accompanying book, available from the city library).
2. Early intervention program, this was available from 1 year. This is what guided us through early intervention to diagnosis and now support.

I will suggest you should talk to your family doctor about it. Get one ASAP. It is hard to get one these days but not impossible.

Lastly, ALL therapy centres are private. Government only gives you funding which you then let therapy center to bill.

 

[Hormone]

You must be careful in any situation you might face in Canada. Their way of therapy is different and you might disagree with some of the points. I'm researching this theme a lot because I'm in the nursing faculty at a Canadian college. You might find here https://happyessays.com/free-essays/autism/ some useful information. I used it for my abstracts recently. And wish you luck and health to your kid!

I'm also interested in some programs Canada allows to inclusive kids, because I still can't find such info

 

[Taran D]

Hi Everyone,
My 3-year-old Kid's medicals were done in January 2022 for a visitor visa application. However, it got refused by IRCC. Later in March 2022, he was diagnosed with Mild Autism. We had done evaluation and diagnosis through a private Autism therapy clinic and also through a reputed hospital in my native place. Both of them have confirmed mild autism symptoms and the child is getting behavioural and occupational therapies currently. We reapplied for his visa in October 2022 and received approval in November 2022. Since his medicals are going to expire soon, we plan to do re-medicals for him before travel(Travel can not be done before medical expiry due to some constraints). My questions are

1. Do they fail medicals if the kid is having Autism symptoms?
2. Does the hospital ask for diagnosis and treatment reports as a criterion for passing the medicals?
3. Any other care should be taken while giving medicals for such cases?
4. How are therapies given to kids in Canada? Could anyone who is aware let me know the process?

Sorry no idea but only in this forum I had read about a person's child with autism. Search for autism maybe that thread will come up.

 

[Fesal]

Hello Sudheer,
Can you please get back to me?

Best wishes

 

[Fesal]

Hello Sudheer,
Can you please get back to me?

Best wishes

 

[canuck78]

Hello Sudheer,
Can you please get back to me?

Best wishes

Whether autism will be an issue is extremely dependent on the child and their abilities.