Schools specialising in PDA

Hello, this is my first post. 

My son is diagnosed Asd, PDA with sensory issues, he has an ehcp with a funded place at an independent school which said they specialise in pda. He has been there for over a year now and we still can't see that his sensory diet is being followed  

When we talk to teachers it's obvious they don't get pda, to the point we weren't able to show son his last terms report as it was full of demands. 

Increasingly he is being bullied at school  at first the teachers said there were no witnesses but recently there have been and the offender gets excluded for 1 day if we really make a fuss. 

Does anyone have some ideas of pda experienced schools around the Berkshire area as it's looking like we may have to consider a new school 

Parents
  • PDA is still relatively new. I've no idea about the Berkshire area, I'm from the north but I don't think any of the schools round here would say they specialise in PDA. In the last 2 years the special school I work in has had a sudden increase in children either diagnosed with or showing signs of PDA. As a school we have been training up on strategies that work with these children.

    Is this independent school a special school? My advice would be to look into the special schools in the area. They may not specialise in PDA but they should be more aware of it than in main stream. 

    Does your son have an individual plan (not the EHCP) in school. Most special schools have a plan for each child with the strategies, triggers, motivators, sensory information etc. If so I would sit down with the school and go through the strategies that work for him. If not is be questioning why not.

    Good luck.

  • Yes it's a special school, we had annual review where school were asked by LA to provide reports on how they have reduced sons anxiety, but emails always get ignored from us and now it seems the LA. They adnit son is being bullied but use the bully's complex problems to justify little action

  • Have you tried calling a meeting with them to discuss your son? Sometimes you do have to be a pushy parent. With an annual review they have an agenda for the meeting. But if you request a meeting then they have to follow your agenda.

  • Thanks yes I think that's the next step hence interested in members view of any other suitable schools  thanks for your replys

  • Only other thing I can think of is getting onto your LA and saying the school aren't meeting your child's needs.

Reply Children