Disabled Person’s Trusts: When making a will is not enough
Before you have children, we have a reasonable expectation that they will grow up, leave home and live their own lives. But when your child has a disability that means their …
Category: Guest Posts
The secrets and lies of special needs and disability
A secret: Confidential, untold, not to be made public. In other words something to be hidden. A lie: To speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly. Again, to hide something. Why do we …
Finding support for raising girls on the autistic spectrum
We’ve written before about girls on the autistic spectrum a few times before and, of course, I am one myself (an old girl!), so it’s a subject close to my …
Book review: How to raise a happy autistic child
There are a plethora of books about autism, written by academics or by parents telling their personal story in the hope that it may help others. But often it’s hard …
How do expectations influence disabled young people’s educational attainment?
The statistics speak for themselves:17% of all adults with a learning disability in England are in paid work. There will be many reasons for this figure, but one that’s just …
70% of children with Pathological Demand Avoidance missing out on education
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), a profile of the autistic spectrum, has been increasingly recognised in the medical profession in recent years. However, the same can’t be said for how it …
“Forget the Health and Care and just call them Education Plans”: SENCOs’ perspectives on EHCPs
New research from the Centre for Research in Autism and Education has explored what SENCOs think about Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, The full research article by Laura Crane, Deputy …
Struggling for work-life balance as a mum with a disabled child – and a career I love
Working and parenthood is the biggest balancing act for so many families. That goes double when your child has a disability. And if you’re a single parent, the challenge is …
My autistic son is desperate for a friend, but other kids won’t accept his differences
If, like me, you were a bit ‘different’ at school, you’ll know the loneliness of being the last one picked, the shame of people talking about you unkindly or the …
How to use the law to fight local SEND cuts: ACT NOW!
Tania: On Monday, we published a post asking you to send us your evidence for cuts to SEND where you live. You’ve been doing that, thank you, but if you …
Hidden isolation: When autism can make leaving the house impossible
How do you feel when your train or bus is suddenly diverted, delayed or cancelled? For most people, it’s incredibly frustrating or even aggravating. But for autistic people, unexpected change …
Moving on from #Bercow10: What next for Speech and Language Therapy?
Recently, a review was published by the children’s communications charity, I CAN and Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists to see what improvements had been made a decade after the …
SEN Support in schools: Finding out what works in practice
Tania’s note: We concentrate a lot on EHCPs on this blog, but far more children are on lower levels of SEN help in schools, now called SEN Support. But how …
One parent’s seven steps to success for her autistic son’s EHCP
We have another useful post for you today. Many parents find it difficult to navigate the SEND system and we hope that this site can help. One parent, Fiona Jones, …
Abigail’s rare childhood disease that she won’t outgrow
It’s Rare Disease Day this week and evey year we like to highlight the day, on 28th February, by telling you some stories of children and their families who are …
Special educational needs reforms in Wales: All change for ALN
England isn’t the only country in the UK to be going through reforms in special educational needs. As Cardiff-based SEN specialist solicitor, Ed Duff, of HCB solicitors wrote here a …
Legal grey zone lets health body strip vital funding from disabled children
Dominic is 11 and now in his final year at a mainstream primary school. He is very happy there and despite very complex medical issues and relying on a powered …
NHS liaison: The Designated Clinical /Medical Officer for SEND
As some of you may know, I have been doing my bit to help improve local SEND where I live in Surrey – right now I’m running their new Local …
Is there meaningful accountability for illegal exclusions?
Over the years Special Needs Jungle has frequently highlighted the unacceptable practice of illegally excluding children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) from school. You can see just how …
Post-Rochford, will primary SEND really improve?
The best thing about going to SEND conferences isn’t just having the opportunity to make sure that parent carer and children and young people’s expertise and experience is given a …
