Downs Syndrome in France

[Stretch76]

As a family we are considering a move to France to possibly run an existing business; maybe Gites or something along those lines. However, our daughter has Downs Syndrome and we need to get advice on what provisions exist in France that would give her and us support. We are lead to believe that support is not good, but we need to address the situation for oursleves.

If anyone can point us in the direction of who we could contact or have had similar issues and have overcome them, it would be a encoraging start for us.

Our daughter is currently 11 yrs old and attends main stream school with one to one support.

Thank you

[NormanH]

This is an association which supports families

http://www.trisomie21-france.org/

Provision for various difficulties in France generally and in schools in particular is very different from the UK.

Do your research very carefully and don't assume anything (including attitudes) will be what you are used to.

[Pickles]

Others on the forum are more capable and knowledgeable about the situation regarding children with special needs, but I get the impression that it is even more of a postcode lottery than in the UK, but with the added complication of everything being in French.

Look, I know that you are going to be very assiduous and careful in thoroughly researching this potential move, but please think VERY carefully about how you are going to support yourselves. If you have to borrow money to buy gites, then you may find that all you are doing is buying the right to pay the bank back forever: dependent on the area, there is a lot of competition for providing gite accommodation. Have a search on this forum for some of the posts of those who are actually running gites to see what the issues are.

I don't want to be negative, but make sure that the numbers work, or else see if you can manage gites for someone else first before you  burn your boats.

[idun]

Read these too:

http://www.education.gouv.fr/recherche.php?recMot=trisomie+21&submit=&type=Simple&recPer=per&site=educ

http://www.education.gouv.fr/archives/2012/refondonslecole/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/trisomie_21_france_ulis.pdf

I know that these links are in french, but that is one thing you need to be very good at if you are moving to France, especially with a handicapped child.

Will your daughter manage to learn french? Not all able bodied adults manage very well and I know for a fact that not all children do, because I knew one such child (able bodied), fine in english though.

[Patf]

As others have said, sorry to be negative, but do think very carefully about moving to France with your Downs syndrome daughter.

When I was working (UK) I came into contact with many of these children, they're usually very sociable and love company and full of fun.

From what I've seen and heard of provision here it's patchy,  or non-existent. so your daughter might well feel lonely and isolated.

Another negative is that you don't get any "support" here without having paid into the system first. There might be exception in the education system.

I tried to find a link to more info. in french but the only one seemed to be in Canada!

Will have another look later.

Here's another link, similar to Norman's.:

http://www.afrt.fr/fr/index.html

Seems that the concentrate on the medical aspect rather than the educational.

[YCCMB]

Not sure how old your daughter is, but do beware. Unlike the UK, where children with special needs are, generally, reasonably well catered for, France has quite a rigid system where any child who does not conform to the requirements of the system is generally taken out of the system and their differences and difficulties are reinforced, rather than the system being flexible with them. Of course, there will be exceptions and pockets of good practice. It's all about finding them, and that's the hard part.

[Stretch76]

Thanks for all your input and advice - much to consider