There has been a lot of discussion about the UK Government’s plans to reform special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision. For families, schools and professionals.

Many parents, carers, nursery staff, and teachers are noticing more challenging behaviour in young children. Behaviour is communication, and many children are growing up in conditions that make calm, flexible behaviour harder to learn.

Dysregulation in children with autism and ADHD means that, for a period of time, their nervous system is having difficulty managing their emotional, sensory, physical or behavioural state.

For a neurodivergent or SEND child, the start of a school year is often less about “preparing for school to learn” and more about making the environment predictable, accessible and emotionally safe enough for learning to happen.

Heavy Work is like giving the nervous system a "reset" through purposeful muscle activity. In the context of dysregulation, heavy work for SEN children refers to activities that require the muscles.

SEND lessons for England. There are many strengths in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system; however, many countries achieve better outcomes. England could adopt several successful practices.

School refusal is usually due to Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) or School Distress. These terms recognise that most children are not refusing school out of defiance

Learning Support Assistants (LSAs), also called teaching assistants or classroom support assistants in some schools, play an important role in supporting pupils with additional needs. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages to relying on them.

Supporting someone with alexithymia often involves helping them navigate emotions in ways that don't rely solely on emotional insight or emotional language.

NEET means “Not in Education, Employment, or Training.” This is used by governments, researchers, schools, and charities to describe young people between 16–24-year-olds.

Employment discrimination against individuals with autism and disability employment rights in the UK is a significant issue, despite legal protections and increasing awareness.

Art isn’t just about making something that looks nice—it’s about giving shape to things that are often hard to say out loud—allowing a person to express themselves.

Identifying emotions with the Zone of Regulation Zones of Regulation is a structured framework (often used in schools and with neurodivergent learners) that helps people identify and label their emotional state. This is an educational framework to create awareness of our emotions and build ways to manage them - self-regulate. This was developed by Occupational Therapist Leah Kuypers and introduced in 2011. It can be used in schools and at home. At its core, it breaks feelin

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic mental health condition marked by intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours or mental acts (compulsions) performed to relieve distress.

Feeling overwhelmed means you feel like too much is happening at once, and it’s more than you feel able to handle right now. It’s a mix of emotional, mental, and sometimes physical pressure.

Social anxiety is basically your nervous system going into overprotective mode in social situations. You’re not broken—your brain is just being a little too loud.

Tourette’s Syndrome (also called Tourette syndrome) is a neurological condition that causes people to have tics that they don’t do on purpose.

Save Our Children's Rights (SOCR) is a UK-based campaign coalition launched in 2025 that defends the legal rights of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

When a child struggles with speech and/or language, it can affect learning, friendships, behaviour and confidence. Early support is key to their success in education and life.