Maths for Life – Book Review
A lot of children struggle to engage with maths taught in ‘traditional’ ways, especially those with additional needs. Karen McGuigan recognised this when she was working with her middle son …
Category: SEND Resources
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: What doctors and schools need to know
With Sandra Butcher, Chief Executive of The National Organisation for FASD and Brian Roberts, consultant and former Virtual School Head We assume that most women know that drinking alcohol in …
How to help our children: 10 top tips from parents for SEND Case Officers
Recently, I wrote an article based on positive things schools/teachers had done to help your child, based on parental contributions on our Facebook group, SNJ, let’s Talk about SEND. I …
The audiobook service that’s free for disabled people, with 3,000 books for children and young people
While children are always encouraged to read books, for many diving into a good story or even a school text book throws up huge challenges. Whether it’s a visual impairment, …
A free SEND legal advice clinic to guide you through the jungle
When you find yourself at the start – or even stuck in the middle – of trying to secure the support your child with special educational needs requires, it can …
Coming to terms with your child’s hidden Special Educational Needs.
Not all Special Educational Needs are immediately obvious. Some are initially hidden, such as dyslexia, autism or ADHD. When parents approach me about their child with SEN of this kind, …
SEN figures show 2.5% drop in children with special educational needs in England
Just as we agreed to go down to two posts a week over summer (with a week off in August), the Department for Education dropped the 2015 SEN figures. Sigh. …
SEND reforms, ready or not?
This morning, the BBC had a report on the SEND reforms and queried whether parents (or schools) were ready for them. The BBC report that in excess of 1.7million children will …
Top tips & simple, effective resources for supporting children with Visual Impairment
As you may know, my son J has a visual impairment. During the first few years of his life, I spent so many hours trying to find activities to do with …
Using One Page Profiles for your special needs child
In the draft new SEN Code of Practice, there is a brief reference to One Page Profiles and Person Centred Planning. Some organisations and parents already use these tools and …
Help for parents worried about their child’s development
It’s always a scary time when you realise your child isn’t developing at the same rate as the children of other parents you know. Sometimes it’s obvious, other times it’s …
It’s not ADHD, it’s Sluggish Cognitive Tempo
Have you heard of “Sluggish Cognitive Tempo” (SCT)? It’s apparently regarded by psychiatric professionals as a subtype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Until now, that is. Medscape has reported some research …
Win the SNJ Statementing Book + who won the TabToob?
Tabtoob: Last month, we ran a post about Tabtoob – a great way of protecting our precious iPads from a little rough and tumble. This lovely case has protected our …
Cerebra supports a seat enabling family activities for disabled children
Cerebra, the charity that works improve the lives of children with brain-related conditions is aiming to make supermarket trips and family outings with disabled children a little bit easier. Because …
Some SEN statementing questions answered
A period of great change is coming to special needs education. It’s quite probable that many parents of children with statements or those who are considering applying for one, are …
World Diabetes Day: How Type 1 affects children
Today marks World Diabetes Day and we are delighted to have a guest article by Fiona Faure from The Children With Diabetes Advocacy Group. Both of Fiona’s children have type 1 …
How to help manage your children’s pain
Following on from Monday’s post, when I briefly talked about child2 having Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and suffering from pain, there is help at hand for parents when their child is in …
Why online help is vital for people living with a rare disease you can only smell
We hear a lot about “invisible illness” and how young people with autism are judged or stared at because of their behavior. But what if your teenager’s illness meant they …
Brian Lamb’s Top 10 Tips for Engaging Parents
Since the publication of the Lamb Inquiry on Parental Confidence in Special Educational Needs, I am often asked what are the best ways of ensuring that parent’s confidence is increased …
Contact A Family extends free benefits helpline service
The brilliant charity, Contact a Family, is from today offering an extended helpline service. Contact a Family has long been a source of information about the benefits system for parents …