Coming to Australia a Giant Step for Siaren

It's five years since occupational therapist Siaren Tidon was offered a position at Giant Step's centre for autistic children in Tasmania, leaving the Philippines to help a new generation of Australian kids.

'It was like a gift — an opportunity like that doesn't often come,' Siaren said of her job in Deloraine — a small town 50 kilometres west of Launceston.

'It's full-on work and sometimes you have to work hard to get results but when you notice the difference you are making, it's very rewarding.'

In 2005, Siaren was working at the 'HOPE Intervention Center' in Laguna, a treatment centre for autistic children in the Philippines, when a visitor arrived who was to change her life by sponsoring her migration to Australia.

'A man from the Giant Steps centre in Deloraine visited our centre in the Philippines and was surprised to find the programs we were running were very similar,' Siaren said.

'I'd already had several years' experience working as an occupational therapist and he was impressed by my enthusiasm and my energy. That's important when working with these kids because they get bored easily. You have to make them engage.'

Soon after, the 27-year-old made the move to Australia on a 457 temporary skilled migration visa, helping to fill the shortage of occupational therapists in Tasmania.

'In some ways it was a very hard decision because I'd never been independent,' Siaren said.

'When I was six-years-old, my mum and dad separated and I moved in with my aunt. Whether it was her cooking for me or my father taking me away travelling, I always had someone looking after me.

'I spent the first night in Tasmania crying because I missed my family and doing things together, like eating meals or going to church on Sunday.'

Siaren said she found it especially hard to move so far away from her dad, Manuel, who worked in Saudi Arabia as an engineer to raise the money to pay for her education. The sacrifice was never forgotten by Siaren and she recently bought him a car to say thank you.

'It doesn't stop there but I wanted to give him something,' Siaren said. 'He was surprised because he never expected anything in return. He was just doing what he thought a father should do for a child.'

Siaren said she was over the moon when she was granted Australian permanent residency in 2007.

'I brought cakes in for all the staff at the centre and they were congratulating me and signed a card,' Siaren said. 'It was really lovely and it made me feel at home.'

While the culture shock and language barrier proved challenging at first, Siaren said she has well and truly found her place in Tasmania.

'I don't miss home so much anymore,' Siaren said with a laugh. 'That doesn't sound nice but there are a lot of distractions now. I've made a lot of local friends, as well as become involved with the Filipino community.'

And, despite her hectic new life, Siaren said she always makes the time to regularly phone her dad.

Return to: Success Stories of Australian Migration