Case Studies - Education
The 2018 ‘Being Misunderstood’ survey conducted by the PDA Society highlights that the school environment does not work for many children with PDA. Positive experiences are sadly few and far between, but where they exist they provide a glimmer of hope.
Successful placements necessitate a close working partnership between school and home, a whole school approach with strong support from the leadership team, a genuine commitment to inclusion and a positive, flexible approach.
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Helen’s story – PDA in families and deciding to home educate
Helen self-identifies with a PDA profile and sees the same traits in other family members including her daughter and her Mum, with mutual understanding across the generations having led to an instinctively collaborative and compassionate approach to both parenting and education. Passionately believing that our education system is not fit for purpose, despite being a highly qualified education professional, Helen has chosen to home-educate her daughter and describes the process as a ‘dance that goes back and forth and a journey of trust’. This is their story …
I discovered PDA at around age 40 and initially dismissed it as yet another attempt to pathologise what I deemed to be pretty ordinary behaviour. I’ve always strongly wanted to avoid every day demands, found other people very confusing, had periods of intense focus, struggled with mood and been really good at playing various roles to get by in the environments I found myself in – I just assumed this was everyone’s experience!
At age 41, I came back to it – by now my daughter had reached compulsory school age and, just as planned since she was 18-months old, she is home-educated. The decision to home educate had nothing to do with [...]
Surviving A-Levels – Jo’s story
Personal Reflection: Surviving A-Levels by Jo.
Jo is a PDA young adult. He studied A-Level Philosophy, Maths and English at a mainstream school and shares his personal experience here, offering valuable insights for both young people and adults. Jo reflects on some of the challenges he faced and the approaches he found helpful to overcome these challenges. He also talks about the benefits of self-awareness and how meditating helped him with this.
When I was 16, I started at a new school to study for my A-Levels. It was the first time I had attended a regular mainstream school since I quit early in Year 7. My schooling for the 6 years in between had been the complete opposite to a mainstream environment, so there was no reason to believe I would do any better this time than I had previously, except for the fact that I had accepted it would happen and that it was my will. And that tends to be the struggle with PDA I think - starting.
It’s probably unhelpful to hear then that in this case it wasn’t a struggle and indeed it doesn’t strike me as an example of my own struggles with PDA, but it [...]
In Mainstream School – Rob’s Story
Adopting a PDA-friendly and holistic approach to education together with a totally individualised curriculum and a reduced timetable has been ‘transformational’ according to Rob’s head teacher. His one-to-one teacher shares his journey and some top tips for others.
PDA diagnosis & inclusive approach enable Rob to thrive in mainstream school
When Rob arrived at school, he couldn’t integrate into the class setting and it was clear that he had some differences and difficulties. The high levels of noise and activity proved very disorientating for him and often resulted in meltdown. Whilst Rob demonstrated a strong grasp of most subjects, even basic educational tasks and activities caused distress and anguish.
However, without a formal diagnosis, his individual needs couldn’t be met and access to resources, such as one-one support, remained a closed door. After two terms, his anxiety level became so severe that his Mum decided to remove him temporarily from school until appropriate support could be accessed and funded.
Rob’s Mum had a difficult journey through the diagnostic pathway, eventually securing a diagnosis of autism featuring PDA. School life continued to be turbulent and, after repeated hearings, an EHCP (Education Health Care Plan) was obtained with funding to grant Rob access to [...]
Southgate Community Special School and Finley
As a class team we are constantly striving to improve our own practice and think of exciting and tempting ideas to engage Finley in learning activities. We have learnt so much from this journey but know we have so much more to learn too, most importantly though we have had a huge amount of fun and enjoyment in getting to know this wonderful young person.
This case study has been written by Aileen Hosty from Southgate School, a Community Special School in Huddersfield in partnership with Finley’s Mum.
Background
Finley was a bright, smiley and playful baby. He was always very active, agile and determined and could easily get out of his cot if he wanted to. As a baby Finley ate well, but became fussier as he got older. At about 2yrs old Finley started to have some difficulties around joining in with play and interacting with others; he also showed signs of being overwhelmed when in a large group. Finley also started to choose when to follow instructions, rather than when it was requested. Potty training and using the toilet were difficult (and continue to be so) for Finley. He was reluctant to leave his mother, and wanted to be [...]
Jupiter Free School and Arijana
Arijana’s classmates have adapted with ease and were very accepting that Arijana was ‘learning how to be in school’. This is in no small part down to the strong values and culture that permeates the whole school and the recognition that good practice in SEN education is good practice for all children.
Thank you to Arijana, her Mum Danielle and the team at Jupiter Community Free School in Hemel Hempstead for sharing their story in the hope that it helps others.
Arijana
Arijana is 6. She loves riding her bike, swimming and gymnastics. She learns best by teaching herself new skills, such as drawing the subject of her current top interest the Titanic by following a YouTube tutorial. Arijana would like to be an artist when she’s older.
Arijana attends Jupiter Community Free School.
“As a Free School, we have some freedom to build our curriculum and culture and in this context we have developed an open approach to SEND and a nurturing, rather than a behaviourist, approach to children's well-being,” explains Neil Jones, the school’s Principal.
Crisis point
Neil’s introduction to Arijana was at a Child in Need meeting after the school was named in her EHCP. This multi-team meeting marked the family’s crisis point [...]
Thomas’ Story – A mainstream school experience
Finding a school which works – Thomas’ Story
As identified in our Being Misunderstood report 70% of children with a PDA profile of autism are not in school or regularly struggle to attend. This figure is much higher than for the autistic population as a whole and shows how challenging school can be for PDA children. This was the experience Thomas had on his education journey prior to joining The Link School satellite site. Both mainstream and specialist provisions had been unable to meet Thomas’ needs, resulting in a sustained period where Thomas was not able to access education. The Link School worked closely with parents to identify the support Thomas needed and work towards a positive placement for him. Today, Thomas attends school daily and is thriving in the supportive space.
Reflecting with parents and school it’s clear there have been distinct factors that have aided in this successful placement for Thomas:
Outreach service – The support from the school began before Thomas even started as a student with a comprehensive plan on integrating him into the school, led by a dedicated transition teacher. Students joining at the same time were able to link up with each other meaning that they [...]
The Link School – Making PDA adaptations
The Link School – a case study on making PDA adaptations
The Link School, a special Academy based in the London borough of Sutton, realised they needed to adapt their approach to supporting PDA children and young people to access education. They have explored different approaches, listened to the families and the PDA children they support and learnt a lot along the way. They now use that experience, understanding and learning to educate and work with professionals to help them understand that education systems can adapt to meet the needs of PDA students and help them to flourish.
The Link School, part of the Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust, provides for 150 learners who all have a communication need which causes a barrier to their learning. Similar to other Special schools, The Link School provides an adapted National Curriculum and uses evidence-based approaches to remove the barriers to education that PDA learners experience. The school has a high proportion of PDA students - there are currently 34 students aged between 6 – 16 who meet the criteria of a PDA profile. The majority of them have had a complex educational history in a variety of education provisions. Like many [...]
Oliver’s Story – a mainstream student experience
Thank you for helping me grow. - A mainstream student’s experience
Ceri Hamer is the headteacher for a mainstream primary school in Lancashire. Here she tells us about a PDA student and the help and support the school provided to them. The pupil’s name has been changed.
Oliver arrived at our school right at the end of the Summer Term in Year 3. His parents said they moved him because he was ‘stuck in a rut’ and ‘needing a fresh start’. The usual transfer paperwork came through and a new system in the area actually meant children were often given places even before the families had a chance to visit. However, his written profile spoke volumes.
On paper I was told to expect a boy who was ‘defiant’, ‘aggressive’, ‘argumentative’ and a pupil who ‘refused to do any work’. It stated that he was ‘under assessment’ for additional needs but the family still felt his relationship with peers had broken down too much and wanted a fresh start for him. Informal feedback from previous teachers had said he had not put pen to paper for 2 years. He showed obvious signs of high anxiety both in school and at home. But [...]
Jake’s Story – flexibility, negotiation and adaptation
Jake was diagnosed autistic with complex needs including high anxiety when he was 6 years old. Jake’s profile had a huge impact on many aspects of home life and there were many barriers to accessing any education provision for him.
Jake attended a specialist provision, but this broke down in 2018 as the school used traditional approaches suitable for other autism profiles, rather than the PDA approaches and adaptions Jake needed.
Jake was then offered a bespoke programme supported by a team of outreach workers and therapists who worked with him at home. Jake’s level of engagement with the team fluctuated and there were occasions when he would reject a particular visitor.
One of the biggest changes over time relates to the approaches suggested for supporting Jake. The initial diagnosis focused on the importance of structure, consistency, the use of visual schedules and support, reward systems and encouraging him to understand the consequences of his actions. These approaches did not seem to have any lasting positive impact on his engagement and learning and actually began to escalate his anxiety, resistance and distressed behaviours.
Two key workers from this team began to build his trust by offering a collaborative approach. Through his [...]