Would PQA be good for my (possibly) autistic 10yo DD?

[thirdistheonewiththehairychest]

Hi,

DD is currently awaiting assessment for autism. She has said that she really wants to go to stage school, ever since we went to see Matilda in London.

I'm torn between thinking it would be great for her confidence and thinking it might be too much for her (busy loud environment, lots of people she doesn't know)... Does anyone have any experience of PQA for kids with additional needs?

I don’t have direct experience with these needs, but PQA will of course have different staff at each location. I would think you’d get the best info with specifics for the one you’re actually considering. Send them an email and ask for a phone chat or meeting so you can get a feel for the people running that particular space.

As to whether the general concept of stage school is great or not for kids with autism, some love it and find a whole new confidence while others find it entirely overwhelming and never want to hear of it again. All you can do is try and see! Most stage schools offer a trial lesson and more and more have autism-specific elements. I know of a few who give scholarships or help students prepare for the Autism’s Got Talent event, for example.

Have a chat with them and if they sound good to you, send your DD on a trial and then give her a couple days to process her experience before you confirm as a yes or no. Seems sensible! Maybe she will love it! And if not, no big deal. Hopefully we all try enough things in life to know what we don’t love as well as what we do!

Look around there are a whole variety of options beyond just the big names. Your local theatre quite likely has a smaller less 'loud' group that might be better. Various of the big names have associate programs where you can pick and choose classes rather than having to do everything.
I used to run a community children's MT group and as a smaller production focused group we had members we all kinds of special needs as we could accommodate them easily within our structure. A community group with the right professionals involved can give just as good a grounding as the bigger names.
If your daughter needs structure, rules and a disciplined environment then theatre/MT could be the right thing for her. It is hugely fun, but only works if everyone commits and pays attention.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the 'brands'. The teachers are less invested and the output is quite formulaic. If it's all that's nearby then by all means but we've avoided he PQA, Stagecoach, Razz etc - one of mine went to a Razz class with a friend and didn't like it nearly as much as hers at the local theatre. And they never stopped hounding me for her to join once she'd been to that free class with her friend!

I would look at your local theatre and see if they have their own stage school or workshops as a starting point. It's been the best thing I've done for mine - good luck!