By Jess Camburn Rahmani, CEO, Cerebra
Last week, we shared a review and giveaway of a new book from Professor Luke Clements and Dr Ana Laura Aiello about parent blame. Today, a new report has been published by Cerebra, written by Prof Clements and Dr Aiello calling for action to help stamp it out.
Cerebra’s report reveals a widespread pattern of ‘Systems-Generated Trauma’. It’s calling for urgent action to redesign public services that are meant to support, not break, the most vulnerable families. Cerebra CEO Jess Camburn Rahmani explains:
The systems-generated trauma caused by suspicion, blame, bureaucracy, and indifference. By Jess Camburn Rahmani, CEO, Cerebra
There are moments in our work that stop us in our tracks. This report is one of them. It is a painful truth that many disabled children and their families are being traumatised—not by illness, not by accident, but by the very public services that are meant to be their lifeline.
This is not a fringe issue. It is not rare. It is not acceptable. Yet it’s happening every day, in every corner of our society, and it is breaking people. We call it Systems Generated Trauma (SGT). And once you see it, you cannot unsee it.
For too long, the narrative around the challenges faced by families of disabled children has focused on the child’s condition or the family’s resilience. Our new research flips this perspective, demanding that we look critically at the institutions designed to help. Based on responses from over 1,200 parents, our findings reveal a consistent, devastating pattern of public policies and practices—especially in health, social care, and education—that are excessively complicated, dysfunctional, and result in profound distress and serious harm.
What is Systems-Generated Trauma?
Systems-generated trauma is the harm caused by the policies and practices of the public services that families are forced to navigate. While often unintentional, this harm stems from deep-rooted problems that turn the act of seeking help into an ordeal.
The parents we spoke to told us this type of trauma—the relentless, hostile, and bureaucratic fight for basic support—is often more distressing than other significant traumatic events they have experienced, such as adverse childhood experiences, domestic violence, or mental health difficulties.
Instead of receiving help, families face disbelief, repeated assessments, and processes that leave them feeling blamed or broken. The failures within these systems are not isolated mistakes; they are widespread and built into official guidelines and working culture.
How Dysfunctional Systems Create Trauma
Our work with families identified several systemic problems that consistently cause SGT:
- Different parts of the system work separately, fail to communicate, and are incredibly difficult for families to navigate.
- Parents are frequently met with suspicion and made to feel blamed for their child’s needs. Their expertise as parent carers is not valued, and their requests are often viewed through a lens of suspicion or entitlement.
- We found clear evidence that public bodies consistently fail to take action to reduce known harm, even when simple solutions are available. This failure to change, despite clear evidence of trauma, is described in the report as a form of professional indifference—a deep-seated reluctance to act that escalates distress instead of providing support.
- The system too often focuses on saving money rather than genuinely supporting families, turning support applications into combative legal processes.
The Devastating Human Cost
The reality laid bare in this report is one shaped by suspicion, blame, bureaucracy, and, tragically, indifference. Families are left exhausted, isolated, and afraid.
The harm caused to families is extensive, affecting their physical and mental health, causing significant financial hardship, disrupting education, and damaging family relationships. Shockingly, some parents reported that the relentless pressure had led to suicidal thoughts.
Among the most disturbing findings are the specific ways this trauma manifests:
- Suspicion and blame: When parents seek support for their disabled child they’re often met with suspicion and treated as if they are abusive or neglectful. Intrusive visits from officials leave them feeling humiliated and blamed for their child’s needs.
- False accusations: A disturbing number of parents are falsely accused of “Fabricated or Induced Illness” (a very rare condition where parents make up or cause their child’s illness). These baseless accusations remain on a family’s record even after they’ve been proven false, causing lasting trauma.
- School-related punishments: Parents of disabled children are prosecuted or threatened with prosecution because their child is ‘school refusing’. Children with special educational needs are far more likely to be excluded from school.
“Life is challenging enough with an autistic child without gaslighting and judgement from school,” one mother told us. “I put a lot of work into getting support for my daughter—all I wanted to do was help her, but the judgement and shaming from the school really broke me.”
Parent Carer
The net effect is chronic, escalating trauma. As one parent summarises:
“We go to services because our children need help, but instead of being supported, we’re often traumatised and re-traumatised.”
Another shared the lifelong impact:
“It’s caused lifelong trauma for all of us, especially my autistic son, who as an adult is now afraid to seek help he needs.”
A Call for Accountability
This report is a call to action. It demands accountability. It demands change.
We urgently demand that:
- Public services recognise their systems cause trauma to many disabled children and their families. This recognition is the fundamental first step to transforming how public services work and building real partnerships, trust, and accountability.
- More research is essential to understand how policies and practices unintentionally traumatise families and to build services that truly support rather than harm. We call on charities, universities, research funders, and policymakers to join us in investigating this phenomenon:
- To understand its scale and impact.
- To further identify how systems unintentionally traumatise families.
- To develop evidence-based solutions that prevent harm while improving outcomes.
“What’s needed is simple: to be supported, not watched. To be heard, not questioned. To be seen as a person—not a problem. That’s all we ever asked for. And yet, it’s everything the system still seems unable to give.”
To every family who shared their story: thank you. Your courage is the foundation of this work. We see you. We believe you. We stand with you.
To policymakers, practitioners, and leaders: this is your moment. Read this report. Let it move you. Let it challenge you. And then, let it change you.
We know that change is possible. We know that solutions exist. But we must be brave enough to confront the truth, and bold enough to act.
Asking for help should never cause harm—it’s time to put a stop to Systems Generated Trauma.
The full report: ‘Systems Generated Trauma: How disabled children and their families are traumatised by dysfunctional public services when they ask for support’ can be downloaded here.
A report brief can be downloaded here:
Report authors: Professor Luke Clements and Dr Ana Laura Aiello
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Also read:
- Understanding Parent Blame: Stories of institutional failure and complex trauma BOOK GIVEAWAY!
- Begging to differ with the Baroness—a new legal framework for disabled children’s social care really is needed
- Research finds unfounded FII accusations cause “devastating and often life-long impact on children and families” and over 80% of allegations dropped
- The privacy dangers for children and their families in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
- Chris Coghlan MP: LAs’ “lawbreaking, gaslighting and lying” is wrecking thousands of children’s lives
- “It’s not a compliance issue—it’s a design failure” Psychologists call for action on mental health and “harmful” school policies
- Challenging SEND misinformation, one radio interview at a time
- The insidious tactics of forked tongues pretending to care, while pushing to dismantle SEND rights
- Let’s Consign Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) to the History Books
- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Protecting children or punishing parents?
- Shameful state of continence services leaves disabled children “robbed of fundamentally important experiences”
Also read:
- Beyond EHCPs: Why Inclusion Needs More Than a Document
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals
- When things go right: Shining a light on SEND Practitioners making a positive impact [Giveaway!]
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Unison voices major concerns over SEND reform health plans for sick and disabled children out of school in the EOTAS consultation
- Top Tips for the EOTAS & EHCP consultation: Protect your child’s rights to statutory SEND support
- Navigating constraints: Why a former PCF chair thinks the current model is missing the mark for families
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them”
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- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals - September 3, 2026
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children - August 28, 2026
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people - August 25, 2026
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