Autism & school exclusion?

vickylonely

My son has been diagnosed with PDA on the autistic spectrum at age 11 - and has been permanently excluded from year 6 in primary school The local authority have not found him a place & have not supplied him with a tutor or work to be carried out at home? I've been informed that this is illegal? But every which way I turn, no1 will help us? Has anyone experienced anything like this before or know of where I can go for advice? We are at a loss & I feel like giving up the fight?! He also has an EHCP & an anxiety disorder. Thanks in advance.

[Deleted User]

Hey.  I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this.  How stressful for everyone involved.

Contact a family have a specialist SEN advice line, details at the bottom of this page: http://www.cafamily.org.uk/advice-and-support/education/

Also there's IPSEA: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/

I would imagine a convo with one or both of these organisations could yield some useful next steps.   

As I understood it, it's illegal to keep a child out of school/education so I can imagine that the local education officer at the council needs to pull their finger out and ensure you are able to access education for your son.   

The local parent partnership or SENDIAS service may also be able to provide support to you at this time.  

-B x

fisheralison2006

hello, I'm new here and I'm trying to raise awareness of PDA which is a sub profile sitting alongside ASD.  

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is now widely recognised as a distinct profile of autism. Individuals with a PDA profile will share similar difficulties to others on the autism spectrum in the following areas:

• Social Communication Difficulties
• ​Social Interaction Difficulties
• Restrictive and Repetitive patterns of behaviour (including sensory seeking or sensory avoiding behaviour)

More information can be found https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/what-is-PDA/about-pda

we are currently campaigning for more awareness - please take 2 seconds to sign our petition to ensure children and adults with asd PDA receive the correct support it is key to their success in life.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/202680

timoglock

Hi, have they formally excluded him? They cannot informally exclude him without recording it.  There are too many cases like this.