Case Studies
Larry, 15 - Severe Learning Difficulties, Speech and communication disorders and challenging behaviour.
Larry’s statement describes him as having severe impairment in social interaction, severe speech and language difficulties, severe challenging and extremely aggressive and violent behaviour. In previous schools he had damaged furniture and on occasions, tore doors off their hinges. He attacked a member of staff with a chair. He also used pencils to stab others with, and scissors needed to be kept out of his reach. Larry was not allowed to have school meals because he could not be allowed to handle cutlery, nor was he allowed out at playtimes as, in the past he had attacked other children.’
Larry came to Pegasus School in 2006 and has a residential placement.
His programmes are highly structured and his social organisation is supported using symbol schedules. He lives in a small home area within the main school building and shares this area with five other male teenagers. A sense of belonging and place are important for Larry’s social understanding. He not only needs his own room in his home area, but his own territory in his other learning environments.
His class area is clearly organised into shared or group areas and personal zones for each member of the class group. Larry understands where he should be at all times in this learning area. He has an individual place, personal to him, as do his peers, but he also has to access shared areas and tolerate the proximity of others.
His ability to do this in structured learning sessions has been built up over his first year at the School.
Larry now eats with up to three peers each lunch time in a shared dining area using age appropriate metal cutlery. He also prepares his own meal twice each week, sharing a cooking area with a peer. Larry likes to cook and understands the behavioural boundaries that must exist in order for him to continue to access this type of ‘grown up’ activity.
Larry also helps to prepare vegetables for the school kitchen with a peer once each fortnight. This forms part of his work related learning and again involves the safe appropriate use of sharp tools and the maintenance of calm safe age appropriate behaviours. Larry accesses structured physical education and play sessions at least once everyday. He still needs prompts in order to turn take on more motivating equipment but through consistent management he has learnt that he will have a turn too if he is sensible.
Larry can still exhibit inappropriate behaviours, these however, tend to be brief and of less severity than those described above. More importantly, Larry is included in full school life and not excluded from activities which allow him a better quality of life. He accesses the community regularly and enjoys the company of some of his peers, and has formed basic friendships.
Larry accesses the broad balanced curriculum offered at Pegasus School and is not excluded from any class group activity. He has begun a basic work experience progamme within the school environment and has begun to achieve some basic qualifications through completing AQA modules and beginning work on ASDAN Transition Challenge.
Larry loves going out into the community and now uses symbol schedules to cope with changes to set routines and to support his access to new environments.
Pegasus School, Caldwell Hall, Main Street, Caldwell, Derbyshire DE12 6RS
Tel 01283 761312 |
