I need advice for my 16 year old son

My son is 16 and has just left school (UK). He has high functioning autism and loves everything about Japan (he has never visited, but has been researching and watching videos etc for the last couple of years.)
He has now decided that he wants to live and work in Japan in the future. I realise that this is not an easy thing to do and although I have pointed out this to him, he is still positive that he will do it.
As his Mother, I feel that all I can do is support him and help him find out as much information as possible.
From his research, it seems that teaching English would be the 'easiest' option. It also seems that he would need to do a BA degree to actually live in Japan - is that correct? Does it matter what degree it is?
If anyone has any advice or information that would help, I would be really grateful.

Go back to high school and finish. Then go to university or college. Much better and easier pathway into Japan.

Sounds like school already is finished. If he can get onto a degree program without A Levels or some other post-16 qualifications (more difficult than it was ten years ago when I did it) there is no problem.

The subject doesn’t matter for visa purposes. Of course if you son decides to move into a field other than English education there are some degrees that will be more useful than others.

The one thing I will say is that while I’ve never met your son, I worry that teaching English could be difficult and potentially frustrating for even a high functioning autistic person. The work is technically easy, but sometimes extremely unfulfilling. If he’s not the type of person who can ignore a glaring problem because it’s supposed to be that way then he may struggle with the job, and frankly life in Japan in general.

There are of course other things he could do. If money isn’t an issue I would consider a few years of language school before jumping into the job market. Or how about just proposing a trip to the country for a couple of weeks for tourism?

I read all the time the same recommendations about teaching English in Japan for people who happen to be from English speaking countries but without any qualifications to teach. This is quite frustrating and makes me quite angry.
No wonder Japanese people have such a poor level of English; they are often being taught the language by people who are not even qualified to flip burgers in their home country. Even more, the very same foreigners are complaining all the time about the poor level of English of Japanese people...

PS: I am not from an English speaking country and I am not teaching that language in Japan. I speak French but I will not teach it because I cannot explain to someone why I am using the present perfect rather than the imperfect.

PS2: No degree, no work visa. A working holiday is fine but once it is finished he is back to square one.

Hi Gabrielle. I think what you're doing to try to help your son is admirable but there are some harsh realities that you'll need to consider.

As many others have discovered to their cost, the Japan in the imagination of a teenager bitten by the Japan bug is often far far removed from the reality of life there as a foreigner. Language is one thing but there are so many other factors involved.

Has he travelled to other countries? How did he fare with different customs and culture? Does he do much on his own? Can you imagine him living a successful life on his own in the UK or would he need fairly regular help with some aspects of life?

Are you able to imagine him moving to another country on his own where he cannot understand the language or read almost anything around him? Is he able to handle unfamiliar food with no problem? How does he handle situations that don't go as planned?

What I'm trying to say is that there are many many 'ordinary' (whatever that means) young people who arrive in Japan and very quickly find that the reality is a million miles from their imagination and they struggle terribly. For all its many wonderful aspects, Japan is an alien culture in many ways and for plenty of people, it's too challenging.

My suggestion is that before he really starts to think about *moving* to Japan to live, at least visit first. Spend some time here, get a feeling for it. He'll be able to get a working holiday visa in a couple of years and come over for a year; that would be a great way to dip his toes into the water without having made the huge commitment to actually move.

Of course, you know your son best and any advice given here can only be general without specific knowledge of your son and the extent of his needs. As parents, we want to do the best we can for our kids and help them achieve their full potential. I hope that he'll find the right path in life to achieve his.

Thanks everyone for your replies.
After speaking to my son again (and showing him these replies) I realise he has thought a lot of it through already. He is planning to visit Japan first, then do a TEFL course and get a job through them for a year or so before actually trying to move there. He also needs to do a BTEC course and a degree .
I am actually amazed whenever I speak to him about it. He seems totally prepared to do whatever it takes to get there in the future. All I can do is help and support him.
Any more information anyone can give, whether it is positive or negative is very welcome :)

As a Japanese, I have to say this, sorry.
Japan is not a country for people with autism because it's a country of "context" in communication and the unsaid is a lot more important than that in the west.
"Reading the air" and "guess what to do/say and what not to do/say" should be something impossible or very difficult for people like your son.

To the poster above, I’ve known both Japanese people and westerners with autism successfully working in Japan. It has challenges, but at least in the case of westerners Japanese people assume they won’t be able to read the air anyway :)

To the OP, good luck. Aside from TEFL, your son might want to find a way to do some work that develops the practical skills he would need to teach here like volunteering as a scout leader or being a conversation partner for local EFL students. For general entry-level English teaching, soft skills are as much in demand as certifications. An autistic friend of mine has a degree in TEFL but she got rejected for lots of positions for poor interviewing skills and not coming across as someone students would be comfortable with. Most entry level work is, for better or worse, not ‘teaching’ as much as it is being a friendly interested conversation partner (for conversation schools) or leading engaging activities and making students think English is fun (elementary/jhs). After doing some volunteer work with elementary school students and lots of practice on interview skills she got a position and seems to be doing okay.

It's not a good idea to pick up an exception and say everyone is ok with it.
I've known hundreds of unlucky examples both about westerners and people with autism.

Autism is a spectrum disorder, and therefore everyone with it will have different symptoms, different strengths and different weaknesses. My son is able to communicate very well and he is also very astute. I understand that a lot of people will find living in a different country difficult, however I don't think that it should be assumed, that because he is autistic he will not cope. When it comes to the time, it may be too difficult, but it also might not.
Thanks Vita for your suggestions. He definitely needs to become more confident and build up some of his skills, but he is aware of this and he has many years to practice.

Hi Gabriella,

Before I say much, I just wanted to say take this with a grain of salt and I did think about if I should reply before posting. I used to live in Japan for 3 years teaching at an international school so understand some of the nuances of teaching and working with people on the autism spectrum.

Before we speak about moving to Japan, a good question to ask is teaching students a language after school something that your son wants to do for a profession? The hours will be mainly after school and on weekends often teaching a very regimented system that follows textbooks. The reason I ask this is because many people want to live in Japan but they don't fully understand that you move there for a job - not to live in a country.

Another thing to consider is what type of support network will your son have in Japan if something does not go well? I do not know your son so I don't know how much support he will need. And when I say support - I'm speaking about social and emotional support of moving to another country where things do not make sense and there is no-one that you can talk to as many people don't have strong english skills in smaller towns. It should also be noted that a heavy drinking culture is also quite common in many ESL position in North Asia (China, Korea, Taiwan & Japan).

Before he decides to move to Japan, I would recommend that he potentially spends some time at university in Japan or at least visit during a holiday so that some of the gloss wears off. Also note that Japanese society is also quite different than western society. Differences are often seen as a burden by an employer in Japan. If your son will need support then it will be difficult to find an employer that can make that accommodation. The reason I say this is because there is currently a glut of ESL teachers in Japan.

I do have an affinity for travel and the culture of Japan, but I did find that my personality was not well suited to the Japanese culture. I am very reserved, quiet and do not make friends easily. Learning languages is also something I find difficult as well. If some of these characteristics describes your son - then hopefully they were helpful.

Hi!

I just wanted to say how much I agree with @mfedley said. I have not personally lived in Japan (I know I don't want to unless the spouse of a well-off ex-pat) but I have many friends who are foreigners who have for various lengths of time and in various situations. Everything I am typing is from talking to my friends about living in Japan in general not about specifically being autistic because I do know how different people on the spectrum can be affected in different ways, so instead I am just focusing on being a foreigner in Japan, since presumably you are obvious foreigners.

According to my ESL teacher friend who just moved back to the States from Osaka there is a huge glut of ESL teachers and so the companies in popular locations where foreigners want to live (Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo) give workers just enough hours but with no consistent schedule. And yes, there are lots of late nights and week end work as well. I got the impression from this particular friend that working in Japan in 2009 as an ESL teacher was much more pleasant. (She worked in Japan during both time periods.)

While the program is quite competitive, has your son thought about applying to be a JET? It can be a good way to try living in Japan for 1-3 (possibly now 5) years and hopefully after the experience if your son wanted to stay he would have the skills to move to another position. JETs get a decent salary and ordinary set hours as they are paid by the Japanese government and work in public schools/government offices. Most JETs get locations somewhat further afield, and if your town has a sister city in Japan you can use that as an advantage to get a specific location (I knew someone who used it to get Kameoka, which is awful close to Kyoto.) It can be lonely depending on where you get. I knew of someone who got Tokushima, which I am sure is fun to visit, but especially back in '05 could be hard to live in as a foreigner alone.

Get your son fluent. As someone fluent in Japanese, your son would have a leg up with JET or he could try to find a job where the company has a Japanese subsidiary and be sent to Japan as an ex-pat. (I've known a few people working in Japan for foreign companies and most have been quite happy, happier than some of the English teachers.) It would also help him with just being in a regular ESL school. I do have one friend who is gifted at languages who started with Nova in '03, got fluent in Japanese and moved to Japanese private schools and is now working doing translation.

Good luck, I am a parent, so I understand wanting to help your child find their way.

Hi mfedley.

Thanks for your reply. It is really good to hear from someone who has lived and worked in Japan.
I don't know if he realises the hours, although I don't think that will really bother him.
It is hard to imagine what support he will need in the future. He is only just 16, so he will probably change so much over the next few years.
Can I ask , were you able to speak fluent Japanese when you went there? Did people generally welcome you or were you looked on as an outsider?
I didn't realise that there were too many teachers - I was under the impression that there was a shortage? Again, it is difficult to know what the figures will be like by the time he wants to go.
Thanks again - any advice is really helpful.

Thanks for your reply rkold
I have no idea what a JET is?

Hi Gabrielle,

Presumably this is the page for the UK version of the JET Program since all the spellings are British English:
http://jetprogramme.org/en/

Most of the people I know who were in the program are American (like me) however, that's not to say people from the UK don't get accepted. I do have an acquaintance friend I met through one of my American friends who was from Durham. Because the program is government sponsored, they tend to put you in public schools where there is more of a need for foreigners so you are unlikely to get Tokyo proper, Osaka proper or Kyoto proper though I do know one person who actually got Kyoto proper. The people I know who were JETs have lived in: Tokushima, Aomori, Kumamoto, somewhere on Hokkaido, Kainan, Tanabe, Mito, Toyama, Kameoka, Kyoto, and one friend got somewhere in Saitama-ken but of all the people I know she had the strongest Japanese language skills. Most of the JETs I know were happy as JETs and mostly liked where they lived even if it took some adjusting.

Some of the people I know who have been JETs have suffered from depression when they applied so I am not sure what the definition of "mentally" healthy on the application implies, but I think they just want to make sure you're not going to up and leave part way through out of homesickness or refuse to go to your posting if you get somewhere far in the countryside. And yes, that does happen. I think my friend in Kainan had a JET just up and quit during the first month and I've heard of people refusing posts. I think the physically healthy is because you will need to walk or bike a lot. My friend in Kainan lived in a 4th floor walk-up and biked to the station all the time. My friend in Tanabe biked all around her area to get to her many grade schools. There are many many many more ALT positions than CIRs. My friend who was in Saitama-ken got a CIR job. CIRs work in government offices and must be fluent in Japanese. ALTs work in schools, my friend in Kainan was mostly Jr. High and High School my friend in Tanabe was elementary only.

It can be a wonderful way to try living in Japan because the hours and pay are much higher than most private language schools, which is what most people are referring to when they talk about teaching English. My friends who were in Kainan and Tanabe are no longer in Japan, but both work with the JET Program in the USA. It is competitive because a lot of people want to live in Japan right now, but I still would not count it out as a way to try living in Japan. As I've said, some of my friends who started in the JET program parlayed that into another job in Japan. Others have since picked to leave.

Good luck!

Thank you rkold - that is really helpful.
I haven't heard of it before, so it is something that we will look into.

that phrase is the translation of 心身ともに健康.
"healthy" in Japanese means that you don't need to have any consultation (or medication) by a medical doctor or a counselor.

Hi Gabrielle,

I should have been more explicit in describing what I do. I am a Science/Math teacher who teaches international/expat students. This means I only teach in English, the students speak good english and most people at my place of employment also speak English. No ESL position (apart from 3/4 international schools in Japan) will have a position with similar support as I received.

I speak very basic Japanese but my position does not require me to speak Japanese. There are also people employed at the school to take care of many things such as problems with bills, getting an apartment and the like which will not be shown to most EAL teachers. As such, my experience is probably the same as an expat but I also taught SOME Japanese kids. Note that I am also qualified to teach in my home country. Sorry for the diatribe...

Sorry - I did not answer this question: Did people generally welcome you or were you looked on as an outsider?

I found the Japanese is general very welcoming but I found it difficult to get to know Japanese people well. I've lived in 5 countries overseas and I don't have many Japanese friends compared to other countries. However, this is also because of my personality where I'm quite quiet and introverted around new people. Add this to many Japanese being reserved and it's a recipe for two people not speaking to one another.

As such - it depends on the individual. People who are more outgoing can find it easier to get to know locals than someone such as myself. On being seen as an outsider - yes I am seen as an outsider but this is because I am not Japanese. This is very much a North Asia thing (Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan). As such, it's not a Japan problem.

Gabrielle, do yourself a favor and don't listen to the negative people in this forum. You know what's a common thing among foreigners in Japan? they all want to feel special and unique, the most knowledgeable about japan and the only ones capable to understand its extraterrestrial culture and intricacies. and they get angry when other foreigners make it here, regardless if they have autism or not. For some reason, this forum has many of them.

Japan used to be very unknown and "weird" maaaaybe some 15 years ago, but in this era of digitalization and information, this is no longer truth. If your son, considering his condition, has a genuine interest in Japan and has done his research properly, he'll make an effort to understand and adjust to the culture. A few posts back someone claiming to be japanese said something about the importance of being able to "read the air". Let me tell you, this is complete bs. I know lots of foreigners clueless about the culture who can't read a thing and are doing perfectly fine here. Your son would probably do much better since he as an interest.

So, in conclusion. There are ways for your son to get here. Don't listen to this regurgitated story about the difficulty to adapt to life here.