Curriculum differentiation for SEN yr2

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Can anyone give me ideas as to how school can effectively differentiate for my ds. He has Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) so cannot cope with following instructions and meeting expectations, however, he is bright and loves to learn as long as it is on his own terms!
For example, he says he likes science but does not want to learn about boring materials, he wants to do chemistry. He likes writing but doesn't want to write what he is told to, he wants to write a proper book.
He complains that school is boring because he already knows everything he is being told about (that is most likely true as he has a really impressive general knowledge and often tells me facts that I don't know myself, he reads an awful lot of books!)
What he really needs is self directed learning but when he is 'forced' to learn about something then he will disengage, distract other children and generally be a problem.
How can school adapt the curriculum to allow for this? What are their obligations as far as the national curriculum goes? What allowances can be made for SEN and above average ability?

I don't know much about PDA myself but here are a couple of links which look good:
www.pdacontact.org.uk/noframes/guidelines.shtml
www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/related-conditions/pda-pathological-demand-avoidance-syndrome.aspx

I'd also definitely suggest a meeting with your school's SENCO and probably head too (if you haven't already), and ask them the questions you've posted here. They will have statutory obligations but they may be able to adapt his tasks perhaps so that he does research on a given area?? And I'd also guess lots of praise and support will be needed too. If all else fails you are also legally entitled to home school him yourself, which would obviously allow far more flexibility - but that's last ditch stuff, try the school first as they should be able to help. Best of luck!

Thank you. School are already on board I think they just need some inspiration on how to be more flexible within the constraints of the system.
I'm assuming there's relatively little content children need to learn at this age, more skills based stuff surely. Therefore it shouldn't matter if he does write his book rather than what he's told to write, he is writing and that's all that matters?

With regard to writing, they will be following the curriculum which specifies teaching all different text types. I honestly don't know what their legal position would be on allowing a child to write something completely different, since it would effectively be cutting him off from developing some crucial skills - such as writing letters, for example. If they're on board though that's a great start, as it sounds like they'll be happy to work with you on this.

Skills vs content - it's more skills-based from Reception to Y2, but from Y3-6 content becomes more the emphasis. I wonder if they might be able to give him a broad topic that they are covering, and allow him to decide how he will present and research said topic, so it's a lot more open-ended for him? (I'd imagine their worry with allowing him to do "flexible" learning will be about disadvantaging him for secondary and also for tests.)

How did you learn he had PDA? Did you have an Educational Psychologist report done? If not I'd definitely recommend one as they should include tips on how best to support your son, which the school will need. They'll no doubt be keen to help your son get the best possible education and also to help him learn to manage - obviously they'll also be thinking longer term and the wider world (as no doubt you are too!) Might you be able to contact some of the charities who can offer support? They'd probably be the best people to offer constructive short and long term advice and could probably help both you and the school. (I have taught for ten years, covering a range of special needs, yet never had a child with PDA - I'd guess the school will need external and specialist advice in order to be most supportive.)

Hope very much you'll be able to get the help you need for your son. Someone somewhere will know how best to advise you, and I think that will make all the difference. Sorry I can't be of more help!

We have had an LEA ed psych report, she 'doesn't really know much about PDA' but she has written it up saying how he has issues with doing as he's told as well as controlling others, lack of empathy, emotional volatility, sensory issues and low self esteem- all consistent with PDA. We have an appt with tertiary services to confirm our suspicions in May.
There is no guidance on how to support him in the report. But to be honest we know exactly what to do just lack the knowledge of how school operates to see how it can be used in school to the best effect.
The reality is that the traditional ways of teaching are exactly the things that prevent ds from learning. He has a unquenchable thirst for knowledge, but as I say he already knows almost everything he is being 'taught' in school as far as facts go, there are many, many skills he lacks though.

It must be very hard on all of you, especially your son - I do really sympathise. Traditional teaching does indeed have its weaknesses, and I've heard many parents say similar things. I suppose the trouble is that it's aimed "at the masses" (well, about 30!) which doesn't always suit individual needs. I'm sorry to hear you had no guidance from the EdPsych, but it's great that you already know how he needs to be supported. Hopefully the tertiary services will be able to also give more guidance on fitting that in with the way school works.

I've just re-read that link I suggested earlier (www.pdacontact.org.uk/noframes/guidelines.shtml#Handling) which was the site suggested by the Autism Society. It seems to be saying that the key isn't so much differentiation of work as different handling of the child by a trusted key worker. If the school haven't seen it, I'd print it off and give it to them, since it offers some useful tips on how they can get the best from a child with PDA. (Which they will need, since the site is saying the opposite of how you'd usually handle behavioural issues.) The same site also offers training to schools - maybe suggest that to them? Since it sounds like the key difficulty is that they aren't sure what to do (despite being happy to help). I know if I was teaching a child and lacked the experience of his particular need, I'd want to know as much as possible.

With that in mind, I'd suggest that you personally are also a very useful resource to the school. If you tell them ways in which he can be supported, perhaps they can respond with suggestions and you can then explain whether that would work or not? If you put your knowledge of your son and PDA together with their knowledge of school/curriculum, they should be able to come up with something.

In the meantime, I'd guess (and it is a guess as I lack experience here) that they could help him by putting more choice into his tasks, because one of the key things about school is it tends to be highly directed activities, which as you say won't suit his learning style. So, for example - give him three worksheets and let him pick which one he likes. Put work in different places around the room and let him choose where he wants to work. Offer challenges and puzzles to inspire him ("Can you help me here? This work on materials does seem a bit boring doesn't it - can you find some more interesting facts about it?" He could then make those into a mini book). Set more open-ended tasks, such as "can you show me what you know about xxx?" Give him projects to work on which capture that thirst for knowledge. Offer him various ways to present his work, for example it could be a picture, or writing, or he could make a collage. Let him choose which books he would like to read. This way they can hopefully include him in both content and learning of skills, but allow him some control.

I really hope that's of some help - I saw the PDA contact site also has a parent forum, so perhaps you could ask other parents what their schools have done to help? And I wish you and your family the very very best of luck!