Hi. Moving to Zurich in 2025 with our 13 yr old low-mid functioning autistic son. Would love to get insights on appropriate special education schools in the region.
Are you planning on putting him into a local school? In that case he will be assigned a school based on where you live. It would be very important to speak to the Community, where you plan to reside as soon as you know. Many kids with special needs get integrated into the regular schools here. If that is not possible, he will be assigned to a special school (Heilpädagogische Schule). The transition to Switzerland might be really difficult due to the language. I am not sure if I would make this move with an autistic child, it depends how verbal he is.
International schools may or may not be able to provide the support he needs. You would have to contact each school individually.
Hi, I just assisted a family with the same type of query in Zürich. Unfortunately, a lot of special schools were scrapped in favour of integrative schools. The few that remain have long wait lists. In any case, unless you have a rental contract and an address (which is another challenge…), you won’t be able to start the process.
I do not want to sound pessimistic but I work as educational consultant and I have seen firsthand how challenging it is to move to Switzerland from abroad with a child with level 2 or 3 autism.
Best of luck! Stefanie