Glossary: words explained clearly

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A neurodevelopmental condition that can make holding attention, staying still and pausing before acting harder for a brain. It is not naughtiness and has nothing to do with intelligence. More in Chapter 26.

Treating a child like an adult before they are one: assuming they are older, tougher and less in need of protection. Research shows it happens disproportionately to Black children, and it can be challenged.

Having someone speak up with you, or for you, so your voice is heard in meetings and decisions. Systems can feel overwhelming, and an advocate helps make sure your views count. Free advice services are listed in Chapter 19 and the directory in Chapter 17.

A neurodevelopmental difference in how a person experiences and interacts with the world. Communication, social situations and sensory information may work differently, and every autistic person is different. More in Chapter 26.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: the NHS service for children and young people’s mental health. Waiting lists can be long, which is why support that does not depend on CAMHS matters. More in Chapter 19.

The council team that supports children and families and keeps children safe. Contact with them is not proof that anyone has done something wrong, and it does not automatically mean a child will be removed from their family. Plain words on referrals are in Chapter 5.

The named person in a school responsible for child safety. If something has to be passed on in a school, it goes to them.

A specific learning difficulty that makes numbers unusually hard: telling the time, remembering number facts, handling money. More in Chapter 26.

A specific learning difficulty that makes reading, spelling and writing harder, even when someone is bright and trying hard. More in Chapter 26.

A difference affecting physical coordination: handwriting, catching, organising yourself. Also called developmental coordination disorder. More in Chapter 26.

Support offered to a child or family as soon as difficulties appear, before they grow. Getting help early often keeps a small problem small. You can ask your council’s early-help team for advice. Routes to support are in Chapter 17.

The council’s assessment of whether a child needs an EHC plan. Any parent can request one in writing, and no diagnosis is needed to ask. A template letter is in Chapter 21.

A legal document setting out a child or young person’s needs and the support they are to receive. It is for children who need more support than SEN support provides. More in Chapter 21.

A family-led meeting where families, supporters and professionals make a plan together for a child’s safety and wellbeing, with the family’s voice at the centre. More in Chapter 12.

When responsibility for supporting a young person passes from one adult or service to another. A good handover includes what happens next, who is responsible and when the family will hear. More in Chapter 12.

One named person who holds a child’s story across services, so the family has a single reliable point of contact. The toolkit asks for one for every child in Chapter 15.

The Local Authority Designated Officer: the person to contact if there is a concern about an adult who works with children.

The person who coordinates support when several services are involved with a child or family, so the family does not have to hold everything together themselves.

Hiding or copying to fit in: holding difficulties inside so they are not visible to others. A young person who seems fine at school may be struggling underneath. Girls’ needs are often missed this way. More in Chapter 26.

Mental Health Support Team: NHS staff working inside some schools on milder mental health difficulties. Ask the school whether it has one. More in Chapter 19.

The idea that brains work in different ways, and that this is a normal part of being human. More in Chapter 26.

Obsessive compulsive disorder: unwanted thoughts that cause anxiety, and routines a person feels driven to repeat to ease it. It is a mental health condition, not a preference for neatness. More in Chapter 26.

A type of alternative provision: education arranged outside a mainstream school, often after exclusion. Quality varies, so visit before agreeing and ask about the plan back into mainstream.

Changes a school or service makes so a disabled child can take part fairly: movement breaks, quiet spaces, extra time. Schools have a legal duty to consider them, and no diagnosis is needed to ask.

When someone shares a concern with a service so a child or family can get support. It is not a finding, charge or judgement. Your rights around referrals are in Chapter 21.

Repairing relationships after something goes wrong, rather than only punishing. It asks what happened, who was affected and how things can be put right. More in Chapter 9.

Keeping children safe from harm. Every school and organisation working with children has safeguarding duties and a policy. Plain words on how it works are in Chapter 5.

Help a school provides once it recognises a need, without any diagnosis or council approval: adjustments, small-group work, check-ins. It runs through the Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle.

The Special Educational Needs Coordinator: the teacher who organises support for pupils with additional needs. Usually the first person to ask for SEN support.

Special educational needs and disabilities: the umbrella term schools and councils use for children who need extra support to learn.

The free, impartial information, advice and support service every local authority provides for children and young people with SEND and their families. Search online for your borough’s SENDIASS.

When everyday sound, light, touch, smell or busyness feels much stronger or weaker than it does for others. A noisy corridor can be genuinely overwhelming. More in Chapter 26.

When a health worker connects someone to community support for their wellbeing: groups, activities, advice. It treats connection as part of health.

A condition where a person makes movements or sounds they cannot easily control, called tics. They are not deliberate or attention-seeking. More in Chapter 26.

Working in a way that remembers many people carry deep hurt you cannot see, and letting that shape how you respond: with safety, trust and choice rather than judgement.

Voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations: charities, community groups and youth organisations. Often the adults who know a young person best. The directory in Chapter 17 lists them borough by borough.

Raising a concern about how your own organisation is behaving, using its whistleblowing policy, so problems can be fixed rather than hidden.