Special Educational Needs

Special educational needs introduction

Need help?

Perhaps you suspect your child has some learning difficulty and you would like advice on what you should do. Or perhaps it is becoming clear that your child's current school is not working for him or her, and you need help to find a mainstream school which has better SEN provision, or to find a special school which will best cater for your child's area of need. Our SEN consultancy team advises on both special schools, and the mainstream schools with good SEN support, from reception through to the specialist colleges for 19+.

Special Educational Needs Index

Help and Advice

• Apps for autism

  We select the best apps which can help autistic children with exploring feelings, coping with stress, gaining greater independence, and painting without getting their hands dirty. 

• Apps for dyslexia and dyspraxia

  Apps can be a handy way to encourage struggling readers and to help children with writing difficulties. But which to choose? We highlight some of the best on the market for dyslexia and dyspraxia.

• Apps for mental health

  Apps can be a useful tool for children to deal with bullying or anxiety, or to disclose their concerns when they are unable to do so face-to-face. We look at what's available.

• Autism in girls

  Girls typically present with more subtle traits of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), less associated with the traditional asocial model, but still presenting challenges to their development and interaction. 

• Autism interventions

  From ABA to Zones of Regulation, therapy programmes for autistic children can be confusing. It is important to understand the approach and to check that the programme you are being sold is based on scientifically proved evidence.

• Bullying and children with special needs

  Research by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) has shown that children with special educational needs or disability (SEND) are more than three times more likely to be bully-victims than their non-disabled peers.

• Clothing for special needs

  Getting dressed can be a battleground when your child has special needs. But the good news is that retailers are waking up to this, with growing numbers of innovative options.

• Clubs and activities for children with SEN

  Finding something they love to do after school or in the holidays, can help children with special needs to see that we’re all good at different things and that we all have weaknesses.

• Developing friendship skills

  No-one wants to play with me. Words we dread as a parent. How can we teach friendship skills to children who struggle with appropriate social skills and self-esteem?

• Emotional wellbeing in children: When to seek help

  You suspect that all is not well with your child's mental health, but how can you distinguish between a transient phase and something more serious, and how do you get help?

• Fear of needles

  Injections are a necessary part of life for children but needlephobia is far more common in children with learning disabilities, especially Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

• Flying with children with special needs

  Travel with a special needs child can be fraught and stressful. And airports can be guaranteed to set your holiday off on the wrong foot. We've asked the UK's airports to tell us how they can help families with SEN and disabled children.

• Gaming and autism

  Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are typically strongly drawn to gaming. But while the majority of young people enjoy computer games, there are particular concerns for children with ASD.

• Getting an educational psychologist assessment

  An assessment by an educational psychologist will help a school understand how best they can help a child with special educational needs. The EP may also recommend a referral to other professionals such as a speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, optometrist or a paediatrician, as well as sources of help such as the child and family consultation services.

• Global learning difficulties

  Children with learning difficulties find it more difficult to learn things than most others of their age. Specific learning difficulties may mean a child of average or above average intelligence has trouble with learning to read, perhaps, or with maths. Global learning difficulties are more generalised and are not caused by a specific neural problem.

• Handwriting difficulties

  The best way to work on handwriting at home is not to do regular handwriting practice, says our expert.  Read our tips on how to recognise when a child has difficulties with handwriting, and what parents can do to help.

• Holiday resorts for children with special needs

  From Cornwall to the Caribbean, we've found the resorts where you and your special needs child will be welcomed, and special equipment and support can be provided.

• Holidays with an SEN child

  Our tips on everything from pre-holiday planning to days on the beach, which make the experience less stressful.

• How to identify Special Educational Needs in your child

  Some special needs are easy to spot, others are only determined once a child has experienced personal difficulties or academic problems.

• How to prevent your child from getting an eating disorder

  Once youngsters hit adolescence, they become particularly susceptible to eating disorders. So what can parents do to help stop it from happening to their kids? And are there danger signs to be mindful of?

• Identifying and dealing with PDA

  The signs of PDA, and strategies for dealing with it at home and at school.

• Just diagnosed? Carrie Grant's advice

  When a child is first diagnosed with a special need, many parents find they are pushed out to contend with it with just a leaflet in their hand. Broadcaster Carrie Grant, who has four children with SEN, gives the benefit of her experience to those with a new diagnosis.

• Learning Centres

  Learning Centres can be an ideal halfway house for children struggling with maths or literacy. They can offer intensive help for part of the day, whilst enabling children to spend the rest of the time in their mainstream school. 

• Makaton

  Makaton is a unique sign language using symbols, signs and speech. It helps develop essential communication skills including attention and listening, comprehension, memory, recall and organisation of language and expression.

• Managing autism - lessons I've learned

  Rosie White gives a personal account of the strategies she has learned and adopted from autism courses, which she says have made her family's home life a much happier one.

• Mental health problems in adolescents

  If you are worried about your teenager's mental health you won't be in the minority. One in ten adolescents suffers from a recognised mental health issue, and one in three reports feeling sad or down more than once a week. What can you and the school do to help?

• Music lessons for SEN children

  Music can tickle the intellect, engage the emotions and involve all the senses. But music making for children with learning needs comes with a fair few pitfalls.

• Puberty: How to prepare girls with special needs

  How do you teach a girl with special needs about puberty, and how to manage periods when she is at school?

• Revision tips for children with ADHD

  The key to helping teenagers with ADHD to revise for their GCSE exams is to understand how their very special brains work. Once you know this, you can help them with strategies.

• SEN professionals

  A number of key personnel can advise, assess and treat your child, as well as give them the best possible chances to realise their potential

• Siblings of special needs children

  Professionals agree that siblings of disabled children can suffer emotional, psychological and social impacts but anecdotal evidence suggests it’s not all negative.

• Sleep training

  Is night-time the stuff of nightmares for your family? We look at sleep training strategies to enable parents to manage the bedtime routine without meltdowns, and ensure a better night's sleep for the whole family.

• Social Stories

  Everyday events such as haircuts and trips to the dentist can be terrifying for a child with special needs. How can you use social stories to prepare children and prevent meltdowns and anxiety? 

• Toilet training children with autism

  Trying to toilet train a child with autism or other SEN can be immensely stressful, and it can take much longer than usual. We look at the impact of sensory and social communication difficulties, and offer some practical tips.

• University for students with special needs

  University admission departments are keen to encourage applications from pupils with special needs and disabilities, and have well-established systems for putting support in place. We look at how to find the university which will work best for you, and what financial and other support you can expect.

• What is an IEP?

  An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a plan or programme designed for children with SEN to help them to get the most out of their education.

Schools and SEN

• Adoption and schools

  Adopted children are much more likely than other children to have experienced abuse and neglect, and the impact of this difficult start in life does not disappear when children join loving permanent families.

• Choosing a residential special school

  When your child is going to a residential school, the educational establishment is only half of the equation. You need to pay great attention also to the home they will be living in while at school.

• Choosing a school for special needs

  How do you choose a school for a child with special educational needs? What should you look for in mainstream schools, and how do you get funding for independent specialist schools for children with complex needs?

• Classroom help for children with SEN

  Children with SEN may need additional help in the classroom. So what help are you entitled to, how can you make sure you get it and is there anything else you can do?

• Dyslexia: how your school can help

  Most specialists will not test children for dyslexia before the age of 7, so it is likely that your child will already be at a mainstream school when they receive the diagnosis.

• Dyspraxia: Top tips for the school day

  Schools and parents can help dyspraxic children to identify and incorporate positive (rather than negative/avoidance) strategies to maximise engagement and self-esteem, whilst minimising fatigue.

• Mainstream schools for special needs

  Many parents of children with special needs want their child to remain in the mainstream system. So how can you make sure it’s the best school for them and that it delivers on any extra provision required?

• Nurseries for special needs

  The first day at nursery is a milestone for any child, but even more so for those with SEN whose parents are often more anxious and wobbly than the child.

• Residential trips for your SEN child

  School trips can be valuable extracurricular experiences. But the sudden change in routine and unfamiliar surroundings can be daunting for children with SEN.

• Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo)

  A SENCo, or Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, is the school teacher who is responsible for assessing, planning and monitoring the progress of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

• Special schools

  What matters to your child with special needs or learning difficulties is finding the school that best suits them as an individual and will give them the best chances in life.

• Starting a new school: When your child has SEN

  Starting a new school is a big deal for all children, but for children with special needs – and their parents - it can be more frightening than exciting.

• Surviving the summer holidays with your SEN child

  No school, different routines and round-the-clock care. Parents of children with special needs are faced with their biggest challenge of the year when it comes to the six long weeks of summer.

• Teaching Assistants

  Most primary or junior schools have teaching assistants (TAs) who work alongside teachers to help with the whole class. Some TAs support individual children with special educational needs.

• The special, special schools

  All special schools do things differently in order to reach pupils who are less engaged by standard teaching. But some are pioneering. Here’s our pick of the best of them

• When is it best to go specialist for SpLD?

  If your child has specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia or dyspraxia it can be a dilemma whether to place your child in mainstream or specialist education. How do you decide which is the best type of school for your child?

Types of SEN

• ADHD and ADD in girls

  ADHD occurs up to four times more in boys than girls but there is an increasing concern that the condition is picked up so much later in the female population.

• Anxiety in girls with autism

  High levels of anxiety are commonly seen in autistic people, but it manifests in a different way in girls to boys. Eating disorders, self-harming, and depression can be some of the effects. How can parents recognise and deal with anxiety in an autistic daughter?

• ASD - autism spectrum disorder

  Autism, or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) - is a lifelong condition affecting how people communicate and interact with others and how they relate to the world about them.

• Attachment disorder

  Attachment Disorder (AD) arises when an infant or child under the age of five suffers an early life trauma and then fails to form normal loving relationships with their primary carers.

• Attention defecit (hyperactivity) disorders (ADHD)

  ADHD is a behavioural disorder characterised by inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. It may occur without the hyperactive element and is then described as ADD.

• Auditory processing difficulties

  Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a condition in which the brain does not process sounds in the normal way. APD can affect people of all ages, but often starts in childhood.

• Avoidant food intake disorder

  Previously known as Selective Eating Disorder, Avoidant food intake disorder (Arfid) occurs typically, although not exclusively, in children with autism and is gaining increasing recognition.

• Behavioural disorders

  A behaviour disorder is characterised as a clinically significant pattern of behaviour associated with distress or impairment in an important area of functioning. 

• Challenging behaviour

  Challenging behaviour is conduct that is either a challenge for others to manage and/or puts the young person at risk.

• Conduct disorder

  Conduct Disorder (CD) is the name given to a mental health condition, which is fairly common in children and adolescence, and which causes defiant behaviour.

• Dual or multiple exceptionality (DME)

  Dual or Multiple Exceptionality (DME) occurs when a child experiences high learning potential alongside a special educational need because of a learning difficulty or disability.

• Dyscalculia

  Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty affecting the normal acquisition of arithmetic skills. It usually co-occurs with other specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia or dyspraxia.

• Dysgraphia

  Dysgraphia is a common name given to Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties affecting writing. Unlike dyspraxia which can affect either gross motor or fine motor skills, it affects fine motor skills.

• Dyslexia

  Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling. It is a Specific Learning Difficulty and there are recognised overlaps with these

• Dyspraxia

  Is your child's room a nightmare? Are you always buying plasters? Do you have trouble deciphering what they’ve written? Your child may have a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) known as Development Co-ordination Difficulty (DCD), often referred to as dyspraxia.

• Eating disorders

  For some children and young adults, it is not the lesson times that cause most anxiety at school, but the lunch. When your child has an eating disorder, learning comes second place to battling with food.

• Epilepsy

  Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which affects the brain and is marked by the tendency to have recurrent seizures.

• Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

  Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the umbrella term for a range of defects thought to be a direct result of the mother drinking alcohol while pregnant.

• Fragile X

  Children with Fragile X may be developmentally delayed and experience learning and behavioural difficulties. Fragile X is the second most commonly occurring inherited condition after Down’s syndrome.

• Gender dysphoria

  Gender dysphoria is a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity. The prefix ‘trans’ is often applied to people who have acted on their gender dysphoria and have taken steps to live as a member of the opposite sex. Most such people prefer the prefix to be kept separate from the noun, eg “trans woman”.

• Genetic disorders

  A look at genetic disorders: Down's syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Williams syndrome, Rett syndrome. Down’s syndrome is a chromosomal disorder. About 600 babies with the condition are born in the UK each year. Diagnosis is confirmed via a blood test called a chromosomal karyotype.

• Mild learning difficulties

  A child with a mild learning difficulty is usually able to hold a conversation and communicate most of their needs and wishes. But they may need additional support in some areas.

• Moderate learning difficulties

  Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) is a term applied to children who have difficulties resulting in school attainments below expected levels in many areas of the curriculum, despite academic support and differentiation.

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

  A person with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) experiences obsessive recurrent thoughts or images which disturb them and make them anxious. To relieve these unpleasant feelings, they may feel obliged to carry out repetitive behaviours.

• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

  All children disagree with their parents or teachers from time to time, but ODD isn’t a temporary phase. It involves extreme long-lasting, aggressive and defiant behaviour, often to people in authority.

• Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

  Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is characterised by an extreme avoidance of everyday demands and an anxiety-driven need to be in control. PDA is recognised as a sub-type of autism by the National Autistic Society and is sometimes known as Extreme Demand Avoidance.

• Profound and multiple learning disability (PMLD)

  Children with profound and multiple learning disability (PMLD) have difficulties in more than one area, including severe learning disability, combined with other significant problems and complex needs. Many are lifelong wheelchair users.

• Reading difficulties

  Learning to read can be a challenge for some children. Some will simply take longer to master it, but it can be a symptom of dyslexia, vision problems, or emotional difficulties.

• Selective mutism

  The term selective mutism describes the behaviour of children who are able to speak but remain silent with certain people or in certain settings. It is a form of social anxiety.

• Self-harm

  Self-harm is when somebody intentionally damages or injures their body. It's usually a way of coping with or expressing overwhelming emotional distress. Self-harm is particularly prevalent among young people with SEN.

• Sensory processing difficulties

  Sensory Processing Difficulties (SPD) happen when a person’s brain has trouble receiving and interpreting messages from their senses.

• Severe learning difficulties

  The term Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD), or Severe Learning Disorder, is applied to a child who finds it difficult to understand, learn and remember new skills and has trouble adapting their skills to daily life.

• Social skills difficulties

  Children with social skills difficulties – otherwise known as pragmatic needs - find it challenging to interact and communicate with others, particularly in relation to following expectations around social norms, unspoken rules and inference.

• Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs)

  Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) is a name given to a range of conditions including dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia and can be linked to other conditions such as speech and language disorders and ADHD.

• Speech and language difficulties (Sp&LD)

  When a child is noticeably behind their peers in acquiring speech and/or language skills, communication is considered delayed. This is referred to as Speech and Language Difficulties (Sp&LD) or Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN).

• Tourette syndrome

  Tourette syndrome (TS) usually starts in childhood, around the age of 7. Symptoms of Tourette syndrome are usually facial tics such as rapid blinking or twitches of the mouth, but TS may start with sounds such as throat clearing and sniffing, or even with multiple tics of movement and sounds.

• Visual Impairment (VI) and Hearing Impairment (HI)

  Visual Impairment (VI) and Hearing Impairment (HI) in childhood include sight and hearing difficulties and sometimes a combination of both (known as multi-sensory impairments).

Your rights

• Adjustments for pupils with SEN: What is reasonable?

  Under the Equality Act, schools are required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ so that all children can access their facilities and services. Yet parents often find themselves faced with an additional bill for such provision.

• Annual reviews

  By law, Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) should be reviewed at least once a year in an annual review. However, parents often have no idea how important the annual review is, or how to manage it.

• Children with SEN but no Statement or EHCP

  Children with special education needs (SEN) who don't have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) should have provision made for them in school through ‘SEN Support'

• Education Health and Care Plans: What should a good one look like?

  There are many tales of local authorities confusing or rushing the EHCP process, and inadequate Plans written as a result. What does a good Plan look like, and why is it important that provision is written under a particular section?

• Exam access arrangements

  Exam Access Arrangements (EAAs) are the reasonable adjustments that can be made for an exam candidate and might include things like extra time to complete an exam paper, permission to use assistive technology, or provision of rest breaks.

• Flexible working - your rights

  If your child has special needs, you are likely to need more time off work than others. The good news is you have the right to request flexible working.

• Getting SEN funding for an independent mainstream school

  In order to get a placement for their child at an independent mainstream school funded by a local authority (LA), parents have to get an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

• Post-19: New education rights under EHC Plans

  Young people with SEN can now be funded to stay in education up to the age of 25, under the EHCP system. How do you get an EHC Plan beyond 19, and what rights does it give?

• Refusal to assess for an EHCP

  Local authorities are routinely turning down parents' requests for an EHCP assessment, but do not be deterred. You have a 90% chance of winning an appeal against their decision.

• School admissions: SEN children without an EHCP

  What's the position on school admissions for children with special needs who don't have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)? And how do you overcome any related obstacles?

• School exclusions: pupils with special educational needs/disabilities

  Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are disproportionately likely to be excluded from school; they account for almost two-thirds of all exclusions. What are your rights?

• Why you need an EHCP

  ‘You need an EHCP.’ If these words aren’t music to your ears when you have a child with special educational needs, you may need a rethink.