A Filipino nurse and her 10-year-old son with autism spectrum disorder might be allowed to stay in Australia.
The Australian Immigration minister has indicated he might allow Tyrone Sevilla an autistic Queensland boy and his mother who face deportation, to remain in Australia, according to the Brisbane Times.
Both the mother and child were earlier forced to leave their home in Townsville, Australia because of the ruling, The Times said.
The Immigration Department had resolved to deport Tyrone to his native Philippines, because his autism has been judged a financial burden on taxpayers.
Sevilla moved to Australia in 2007 to study nursing and make a better life for herself and her then two-year-old son.
But six months later, Tyrone was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a condition that means his neural development is delayed.
Despite the added difficulty of bringing up a son with this disability as a single mother, Sevilla created a good life for her family, completing her studies at TAFE and university, and rising to a clinical nursing position at Townsville Hospital.
The Australian government wanted to send Tyrone back to a country he doesn’t know, to relocate to the Philippines with him, or to appeal the decision.
Sevilla decided to stay and fight, and has launched a petition to encourage Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to allow her and her son to stay.
“I’ve worked for years, raising my son and studying to be a nurse. Yet all of it could be taken away because the government thinks that children with autism are going to be more of a cost to Australian society than a benefit — but that’s just not true!” she writes.
“Tyrone is not a burden, he is a joy. He is a happy child with full of life attitude and can lighten the mood of a room with his presence. The idea that he can’t contribute because of his condition is just wrong. People with autism can be excellent at a whole range of things, he just needs to be given a chance!”
The mother described her son as a “cheeky, happy little boy” who had up and down days, but he didn’t need special medication or attention from doctors. He can read, ride a bike, and he attends special school in Townsville.
“The only thing is his language. He is largely non-verbal but he tries his best. You need to know him to understand him,” Sevilla told news.com.au.
She said the visa refusal and the appeals process was taking a heavy toll. She broke down in tears more than once during her interview with news.com.au.
Her son has written to Immigration Minister Dutton asking to stay.
The letter, which reads: “Dear Mr Dutton, can I stay in Australia please… Tyrone,” was the first one her son had written and probably the most important he would ever write, Maria said
“With our help, he managed to sit down and write all those letters.