Author: PDA Parenting
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All I want for Christmas
There’s only so many times you can say in one day, “Santa can’t bring you a dog for Christmas.” Try explaining this to a child who uses their own cognitive reasoning skills to that of the entire human race. She’s a born negotiator, an elementary lawyer so to speak, pretty baffling when you try to…
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Mummy can’t fly
When I was a child my greatest dream was to fly. Somehow I had to settle with crawling and then walking and finally running. Sadly, I never did learn to fly. But I did keep moving forwards. I guess I had to alter my expectations as to what I could achieve within the limits of…
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How can we reduce anger?
Many parents will be able to relate to this topic as we all experience it at some level. How can we reduce anger? This is not inclusive to parents with a child with PDA, or to those with an identifiable additional need, but can be relatable for any parent in general. Our kids get angry.…
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PDA and a new transition
We have lift off. As I sit on a train to meet some friends, my thoughts return to another journey that is set to begin – my PDA child will start at a new school. I woke up this morning and could feel my fingertips pressing into the palms of my hands. I feel overwhelmed.…
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Autism/ADHD: Is it in the genes?
One of the things that really intrigues me is whether Autism/ADHD may be hereditary. Since I started this journey of discovery a few years back, I really began to notice a bit of a pattern. Meeting other parents with children on the spectrum I started to find that conversations would often turn (particularly as…
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Relight my school run!
Last week, the dreaded letter arrived. It had been a long wait of ten statutory days to find out the decision from the governors – would they act upon the advice they had been given at the review? It was news I had been waiting for – they had followed the direction and decided to…
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Friends, Glorious, Friends!
Friends, glorious, friends! What is there more handsome? I have something very much in common with my PDA daughter and that is I am a social butterfly. We feed from the same flower nectar and rely on the same stimuli. I was about to say that with her presentation, she sabotages those relationships by her…
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They tried to make her go to rehab
She needed help and fast. I was left no choice but to take her to A & E – even though it meant she could be taken away from me I knew I had to put her needs first. A decision no parent should have to face. It feels so bitter for me; this time…
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Has justice been done?
Today was a monumental day in our personal #SEN journey. Last week I took our case to an Independent Review Panel (IRP) to hear evidence which aimed to highlight the unfair trial I felt my daughter had received. Back in July, I took the appeal to the governors committee (the GDC) as I felt that…
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Do exclusions assist or hinder the education system?
One day, in the future, I am certain we will look back at our education system and cringe. Just like we do now when we think about how they used to discipline in the not-so-old times. Every parent or grandparent can tell you a barbaric tale about themselves or someone they knew who got the…