Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the words that come up when you are getting help for your child, and of the words we use in our own reports. Written for parents, not for professionals.
Every definition here is written in plain English and cites where it comes from, usually the NHS or gov.uk. Most have not yet been read by our clinicians, so if something looks wrong to you, it might be, and we would like to know.
Conditions and diagnoses
What the words on an assessment report or a diagnosis letter actually mean.
- ADD (attention deficit disorder) ADD was an older name, used when a child had attention difficulties without being hyperactive. Today that is diagnosed as ADHD, mainly inattentive type.
- ADHD Also called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ICD-11 6A05) ADHD is a difference in the way a child's brain works. It affects how they pay attention, how much energy they have, and how easily they act on impulse.
- Anxiety in children Strong or lasting worry that starts to get in the way of everyday life. It is common in children, and very common alongside autism and ADHD.
- ARFID Also called Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder An eating disorder where a child eats a very narrow range of food, or very little. It is not about weight or body image, and it is not fussy eating a child will just grow out of.
- Asperger's syndrome Asperger's syndrome was a diagnosis that doctors used to give. It is now part of the autism diagnosis, and a diagnosis given at the time was a real diagnosis.
- Autism Also called autism spectrum disorder (ICD-11 6A02) Autism is a difference in how the brain develops. It shapes how an autistic child sees and experiences the world, how they communicate, and how they respond to things like noise, light and touch.
- Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Also called developmental language disorder (ICD-11 6A01.2) Developmental Language Disorder, or DLD, means a child finds it hard to understand or use spoken language, and there is no other clear reason for it. It is common: on average about two children in every class of 30.
- Dyscalculia Also called developmental learning disorder with impairment in mathematics (ICD-11 6A03.2) Dyscalculia is a learning difference that affects working with numbers. A child with dyscalculia may find it hard to judge quantities, put numbers in order, or hold on to number facts.
- Dyslexia Also called developmental learning disorder with impairment in reading (ICD-11 6A03.0); 'specific learning difficulty' in UK education paperwork Dyslexia is a common learning difference that mainly affects reading and spelling. It does not affect how clever a child is.
- Dyspraxia Also called developmental coordination disorder, DCD (NHS); developmental motor coordination disorder (ICD-11 6A04) Dyspraxia is a difference in how the brain plans and coordinates movement. A child with dyspraxia may find things like handwriting, getting dressed, catching a ball or riding a bike harder than other children their age.
- Epilepsy Also called epilepsy Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and causes seizures. A seizure usually lasts a few seconds or minutes and stops by itself.
- Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) Also called Oppositional defiant disorder A diagnosis given when a child is often angry and defiant with adults, over a long time. It describes what the child does, not why they do it.
- PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified) PDD-NOS was a diagnosis given when a child was clearly autistic but did not fit the older categories exactly. It is now part of the autism diagnosis.
- Selective mutism An anxiety condition where a child can talk freely in some places, often at home, but cannot speak in others, such as school. It is not shyness, and it is not a choice.
- Sensory processing disorder (SPD) Sensory processing disorder is not a formal diagnosis in the UK, though the difficulties it describes are very real. Services usually call them sensory processing differences.
- Soiling (encopresis) Also called Encopresis When a child keeps pooing in their pants past the age of toilet training. It can be a sign of constipation, not naughtiness, and constipation can be treated.
- Specific language impairment (SLI) SLI was the older name for what is now called developmental language disorder. Experts changed the name in 2017 so that more children could get help.
- Tic disorders and Tourette syndrome Also called primary tics or tic disorders (ICD-11 8A05.0), including Tourette syndrome (ICD-11 8A05.00) Tics are sudden movements or sounds a child does not choose and cannot easily control. They are fairly common in childhood, often come and go, and for many children they get better over time.
Processes and assessments
The steps, referrals and reviews you will be asked to go through.
- 15 day response window You get at least 15 days to comment on a draft EHC plan. In that time you can also ask for a school to be named, and ask for a meeting.
- 20 week timescale The legal time limit in England for the whole EHC plan process. It runs from your request for an assessment to the final plan: 20 weeks in all.
- Access arrangements Extra help a child can have in public exams, such as extra time, a separate room, a reader or a scribe. The school puts them in place, following exam board rules.
- ADOS-2 Also called Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition A play and conversation session used as part of an autism assessment. It is one piece of the picture, and it cannot rule autism in or out on its own.
- Adult Disability Payment A Scottish benefit for disabled people aged 16 and over. In Scotland, young people move to this instead of PIP.
- Alternative provision Education arranged outside your child's own school when they cannot attend it. The council must still make sure your child gets a suitable education.
- Amend, maintain or cease The choice a council must make after each yearly review of an EHC plan. The appeal clock starts from this decision, not from a new plan.
- Annual review The yearly check of an EHC plan, with a meeting you are part of. The review itself does not change the plan: the council must decide that afterwards.
- Appeal A formal challenge to the SEND Tribunal about a council's EHC decision. It is free to bring, and you do not need a lawyer.
- Care (Education) and Treatment Review A meeting to check on a child who is in a mental health hospital, or at risk of going into one. You and your child take part, and you can ask for one.
- Care Act transition assessment An assessment of the care and support a young person will need as an adult. It can happen well before they turn 18, so support does not simply stop.
- Carer's Allowance A benefit paid to you as a carer, not to your child. You may be able to claim it if you care for your child for at least 35 hours a week.
- Carer's assessment A free assessment of your own needs as the person caring for your child. It looks at what would make life easier for you, separately from your child's needs.
- Ceasing to maintain an EHC plan Also called Ceasing to maintain an Education, Health and Care plan The legal name for a local authority ending a child's EHC plan. You can appeal, and the plan must stay in force until the appeal is finished.
- Child Disability Payment Money to help with the extra costs of a disabled child in Scotland. It has taken the place of DLA for children there.
- Child protection The steps professionals must follow when they are worried a child may be at risk of serious harm. An enquiry is a check on whether a child is safe, not a verdict on you.
- Continuing care Also called Children and young people's continuing care An NHS package of care for a child whose health needs cannot be met by the usual services. It can include care at home.
- Detained under the Mental Health Act When someone is kept in hospital for mental health care without agreeing to it. Many people call this being sectioned.
- Developmental history A long conversation about your child's early years, from pregnancy and birth to first words and first steps. It is a normal part of most assessments.
- Diagnostic assessment The appointments where specialists work out whether your child meets the criteria for a diagnosis, such as autism or ADHD. It is the step that can end with a diagnosis.
- Diagnostic panel A meeting where a team of professionals discusses a child's assessment and agrees the outcome. Parents are not usually in the room.
- Disability Living Allowance for children Also called Disability Living Allowance A benefit that helps when your child needs much more care, or watching over, than other children the same age. Your child does not need a diagnosis to get it.
- Disability Living Allowance in Scotland Also called Disability Living Allowance for children In Scotland, children cannot make a new claim for DLA. They get Child Disability Payment instead.
- Disabled child element of Universal Credit Extra money in your Universal Credit when your child gets DLA or CDP. It is not added for you: you must report the award.
- Discharge When a service stops working with your child and closes their case. It is often an administrative step, not a judgement that your child is fine.
- DLA Also called Disability Living Allowance for children A benefit that helps with the extra costs of looking after a disabled child under 16. In Scotland it is called Child Disability Payment instead.
- DRBI Also called Developmental Relationship-Based Intervention A way of helping a child grow through play and everyday moments with the people they love. Our at-home ideas are built on this approach.
- Dynamic support register A list kept by local NHS services of people at risk of going into a mental health hospital, so extra support can be put in place first. Your child can only be added with consent.
- Early help Extra support from the council for a family, offered before things reach crisis point. You do not need a diagnosis to ask for it.
- Education for children with health needs who cannot attend school If your child is too unwell to attend school, the council must still make sure they get a proper education. Mental health counts as a health need.
- EHC needs assessment Also called Education, health and care needs assessment The process, in England, where the local authority looks in detail at your child's needs and decides whether to write an EHCP. You can ask for one yourself.
- Elective home education Teaching your child at home instead of sending them to school. It is your choice to make, and no school can push you into it.
- EOTAS Also called Education otherwise than at school Education the council arranges and pays for, outside any school. It is used when the council agrees that school is not the right place for a child.
- Exam access arrangements Changes to how your child sits exams, such as extra time, rest breaks or a reader. The school must apply, and they must match how your child normally works.
- Fabricated or induced illness (FII) and perplexing presentations (PP) Also called Fabricated or induced illness and perplexing presentations Words used when professionals worry that an adult is making a child seem more ill than they are, or making them ill. This is rare, and asking for help or a second opinion is not the same thing.
- Five stages of the SEN Code (Northern Ireland) Northern Ireland's ladder of school support, from Stage 1 to Stage 5. Stages 1 to 3 happen in school, Stage 4 is a formal assessment, and Stage 5 is a statement.
- Information from school Reports and questionnaires the clinic asks your child's school to fill in before an assessment. You can ask the school whether they have been sent back.
- Managed move A move to a different school, offered instead of exclusion. It only happens if you agree to it.
- Mandatory reconsideration Asking the benefits office to look again at a decision, such as a DLA refusal. You must do it before you can appeal, and you only have one month.
- Mediation A meeting where an independent person helps you and the council try to agree. You must think about it before most SEND appeals, but you do not have to go.
- Mental health crisis line An urgent phone line for a mental health crisis. In England and Wales, call 111 and choose the mental health option; call 999 if a life is at risk.
- Neurodevelopmental pathway The local NHS route for assessing children for autism, ADHD and similar differences. The name and the way it works change from area to area.
- NHS complaints procedure The formal way to complain when an NHS service gets things wrong or will not act. Every service has a complaints process you can use, and each UK nation runs its own system.
- Opt-in appointment A letter asking you to reply by a deadline to keep your child's place on a waiting list. If you miss it, contact the service straight away and ask to be seen again.
- Panel A meeting where professionals decide things like funding or a place on a waiting list. Parents are not in the room, but you can still ask how a decision was made.
- Parent carer needs assessment An assessment of what you need as the parent of a disabled child, separate from your child's own support. The council must do one if you ask.
- Parental preference When an EHC plan is being written, you can ask for a school by name. The council must name that school unless the law gives it a narrow reason not to.
- Parenting programme referral An offer of a parenting course, such as Triple P or Incredible Years. It can genuinely help, but it is not the same thing as an assessment of your child.
- Part-time timetable When a school asks your child to come in for fewer hours than everyone else. It should be rare, short term, reviewed often, and it needs your written agreement.
- Penalty notice for absence Also called Penalty notice for unauthorised school absence A fine a council can issue when a child has too much absence the school has not authorised. It can happen even when the real cause is anxiety or unmet needs at school.
- Permanent exclusion When a headteacher decides a child cannot return to the school at all. Strict legal steps apply, and you have the right to challenge the decision.
- Personal health budget NHS money that you help plan and decide how to spend on your child's health needs. Children getting NHS continuing care have a legal right to one, and other families can ask.
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Also called Personal Independence Payment A benefit for people aged 16 and over who need extra help with daily life or getting around. When your child turns 16, their DLA ends and they are invited to claim PIP instead.
- Phase transfer When a child with an EHC plan moves to a new stage of school, like primary to secondary. The plan must name the next school by a set date, usually 15 February.
- Pre-referral information gathering The forms and reports a service collects before it accepts a referral. Most teams want to hear about your child from more than one place, usually home and school.
- Private assessment An assessment you pay for outside the NHS, often because the waiting list is long. Before booking, check how the report would be treated by your NHS services and school.
- re-referral Also called Referral made again after a decline, discharge or no-diagnosis outcome Asking for your child to be referred again, later, when things have changed or new evidence has built up. A no now is not a no forever.
- Reasonable adjustments Changes a school or service must make so a disabled child is not put at a big disadvantage. The duty applies now, and it does not wait for a diagnosis.
- referral Also called Referral to a specialist service When a professional passes your child on to a specialist team for assessment or treatment. A GP, school or health visitor can usually make one.
- Referral criteria The rules a service uses to decide which referrals it will accept. You can ask to see them, and answer them point by point if you need to refer again.
- Referral to children's social care When worries about a child are passed to the council's children's services. It is not only a safety check: it can also be a way for a family to get help.
- Request for an EHC needs assessment A letter you can send your local council asking it to assess your child's education needs. You do not need the school's permission, and the council must decide within six weeks.
- Right to Choose Also called Legal right to choose your provider at NHS referral (England) In England, when your GP refers you, you can usually choose which NHS provider you go to. Some families use it to find a shorter wait for an autism or ADHD assessment.
- Screening A short set of questions that shows whether a fuller assessment is worth doing. A screening score is not a diagnosis.
- second opinion Also called Second opinion from another clinician or team Asking to have your child seen by a different team when you do not agree with the outcome of an assessment. You can ask, and asking is normal.
- Section 17 Also called Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 The part of the Children Act 1989 that says councils must support children in need. A social worker may name it as the legal basis for help your family is offered.
- Section 19 duty Also called Duty to make arrangements for suitable education, Education Act 1996, section 19 If your child cannot go to school because they are ill or have been excluded, the council must still make sure they get a proper education. That duty has a name: section 19.
- Section 47 enquiry Also called Enquiry under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 A section 47 enquiry is when social workers check whether a child may be at risk of serious harm. It is a formal step, not a decision that anything is wrong.
- SEN support Also called Special educational needs support The everyday help a school in England puts in place for a child with special educational needs. It is based on what your child needs, not on having a diagnosis.
- SEND Tribunal Also called First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) If the council says no, you can appeal to the SEND Tribunal. It is separate from the council, and it can order them to assess your child or to change an EHC plan.
- Short breaks Short breaks give your disabled child time doing something they enjoy with another trusted person, and give the rest of the family a rest. You can ask your council what is on offer where you live.
- Single point of access Also called Single point of access (SPA) A single point of access is the one phone number or online form that all referrals to a local service go through. Every area runs its own, and the name varies.
- Statutory assessment (Northern Ireland) A close look at what help your child needs at school, done by the Education Authority in Northern Ireland. It can lead to a statement.
- Strategy meeting and initial child protection conference These meetings decide what should happen when someone is worried about a child's safety. You can be part of the conference, and you can bring someone with you.
- Suspension Also called Suspension (formerly fixed-period exclusion) A suspension is when a school sends a pupil home for a set number of days. It used to be called a fixed-term exclusion, and you may still hear that name.
- Team around the family Also called Team Around the Family (TAF) A team around the family, or TAF, is a meeting where the people who work with your child agree a plan with you. You are part of the team, not its subject.
- Titration Also called Dose titration Titration means finding the right dose of a new medicine, one careful step at a time. It is a planned stage with regular check-ins, not trial and error.
- Transition to adult services Transition is when your child moves from children's services to adult services, usually in their late teens. Planning for it should start early, and you can ask when it will.
- Triage Triage is when a clinician reads your child's referral and decides what should happen next. It usually happens on paper, before anyone has met your child.
- Watchful waiting Watchful waiting is when a professional suggests a set period of watching how things go before making a referral. It is a named step with an end point, not a no.
- WISC-V Also called Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition The WISC-V is a test that looks at how a child thinks and learns, used from about age 6 to 16. Its scores often turn up in reports about support at school.
Documents and plans
The paperwork, what it is for, and what it commits anyone to.
- Assessment report The written report you get at the end of an assessment. You are entitled to your own copy, and you can ask for factual mistakes to be put right.
- Child protection plan A plan drawn up when a meeting decides a child needs protecting from harm. It says what must change, who will do what, and when it will be checked.
- Child's Plan In Scotland, a plan for a child who needs extra support from more than one service. It is not set out in law, so it does not carry the enforceable rights some other plans do.
- Conners rating scales A set of question forms used when a child is being assessed for ADHD. You fill one in, and your child's teacher usually fills one in too.
- Coordinated Support Plan (CSP) Also called Co-ordinated support plan A legal support plan in Scotland, for children whose help comes from education plus at least one other service. It is rare, and most children with extra support needs will not have one.
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995 In Northern Ireland, this is the law that protects disabled people. The rest of the UK swapped it for the Equality Act in 2010.
- Draft EHC plan Also called Draft Education, Health and Care plan The first version of an EHC plan, sent to you to check before it is made final. You get at least 15 days to comment and to ask for the school you want.
- EHCP Also called Education, Health and Care plan A legal document, used in England, that sets out a child's needs and the support they must get. It is for children who need more help than their school can give on its own.
- Equality Act 2010 The law that protects disabled children from unfair treatment in England, Wales and Scotland. Your child does not need a diagnosis to be covered.
- Final EHC plan Also called Final Education, Health and Care plan The finished version of an EHC plan. Once it is issued, the support in it is legally binding, and your right of appeal starts.
- Formulation A written way of making sense of what your child is finding hard and why. Some services offer it instead of a diagnosis, and some offer it as well as one.
- Individual Development Plan (IDP) Also called Individual development plan The plan a child in Wales gets if they need extra help with learning. It is a legal document, and it is the only statutory plan Wales uses.
- Local Offer Also called SEN and disability local offer A list, published by every council in England, of the support available locally for children with special educational needs or a disability. It is free to look at and you do not need a referral.
- Mediation certificate A piece of paper you get after contacting a mediation adviser. You usually need it before you can appeal about an EHC plan.
- NICE guidelines Also called National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance Expert advice that tells the NHS how to assess and treat health conditions. It is used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland.
- Safety plan A written plan for keeping your child safe when things feel at their worst. It says what to watch for, what helps, and exactly who to call, day or night.
- SCQ Also called Social Communication Questionnaire A short form with 40 yes or no questions about how your child talks and connects with people. It is often used to decide whether a full autism assessment goes ahead.
- Section B of an EHC plan The part of an EHC plan that lists every one of your child's special educational needs. If a need is not written here, the plan does not have to meet it.
- Section F of an EHC plan The part of an EHC plan that sets out the support your child must get. It is the part the council is legally required to provide.
- Section I of an EHC plan The part of an EHC plan that names the school, or type of school, your child will go to. A school named here must admit your child.
- Shared care agreement This lets your GP take over repeat prescriptions once your child's dose is stable. A GP does not have to agree, and some say no.
- Statement of SEN in Northern Ireland Also called Statement of special educational needs The legal paper in Northern Ireland that sets out a child's help at school. England ended statements, but they still run in Northern Ireland.
- Statement of special educational needs A statement was the legal document that set out a child's support in England before EHC plans. Statements were replaced from September 2014. In Northern Ireland statements are still used today.
- Statement of special educational needs (Northern Ireland) The legal document in Northern Ireland that sets out a child's needs and the help they should have. It is current there, even though England and Wales no longer use statements.
People you will meet
Who does what, and who to ask for.
- Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo) Also called Additional learning needs co-ordinator The ALNCo is the person in every school in Wales who looks after support for children with additional learning needs. If you are worried, this is who you ask for by name.
- ADHD or neurodivergence coach A coach helps with practical everyday strategies: routines, organisation, motivation, confidence. Many families find coaching genuinely useful. Coaching is not a regulated profession, so the qualifications vary a lot.
- Advocacy An advocate is someone who is on your side in meetings and helps you say what you want to say. Some advocacy services are free, and in some situations there is a legal right to one.
- Assistant psychologist An assistant psychologist is a psychology graduate who is not yet a qualified psychologist. They do parts of an assessment and run sessions, always supervised by a qualified psychologist.
- Clinical psychologist A clinical psychologist helps with feelings, behaviour and mental health. They do not prescribe medicine. They work out what is going on for your child and offer talking therapy or a plan for you to use at home.
- Crisis team Also called Crisis resolution and home treatment team (CRHT) A crisis team is the NHS team that steps in when a mental health problem becomes an emergency. They aim to help your child fast, often at home rather than in hospital.
- Education Authority (Northern Ireland) The body that runs school support across Northern Ireland. Parents ask the EA to assess a child who needs extra help at school.
- Education Tribunal for Wales A panel in Wales, separate from the council, that hears appeals about school support. If a decision about your child's support seems wrong, you can appeal here for free.
- Educational psychologist A psychologist who looks at how a child learns and copes at school. They advise the school on changes that would help your child.
- Enquire Scotland's free national advice service for parents about extra support at school. Their advisers explain your child's rights and what to ask for.
- First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Health and Education Chamber) A Scottish panel that settles disputes about a child's school support. Parents use it when the council refuses a support plan or gets one wrong.
- GP Also called General practitioner Your family doctor. For many families the GP is the first person to talk to, and the person who refers your child on to a specialist.
- Health visitor Also called Specialist community public health nurse (health visiting) A health visitor is a nurse or midwife with extra training who works with families from pregnancy until a child turns five. They do the development reviews and you can contact them directly.
- Integrated care board The NHS body that plans and pays for health services in your part of England. It decides which services are funded in your area, and which waits you face.
- Local authority Your local council. In England, Wales and Scotland, this is the body you ask to assess what extra help your child needs.
- Multi-disciplinary team Not one person, but a group of different professionals who assess your child together and agree the outcome between them. NHS neurodevelopmental assessments are done this way.
- NHS 111 A free NHS phone and online service for urgent medical help. Call 111 or use the NHS 111 website when you need help now and it is not a 999 emergency.
- Occupational therapist An occupational therapist helps with the practical everyday things a child needs to do: dressing, handwriting, using cutlery, coping at school. They work on the activity and the environment, not just the child.
- Paediatrician A paediatrician is a doctor for babies, children and young people. A community paediatrician is the one you are most likely to meet for development, behaviour and disability.
- PALS Also called Patient Advice and Liaison Service A free, confidential service in NHS hospitals in England. If you are stuck chasing a referral, PALS helps you sort it out.
- Prescriber Someone with the legal power to prescribe medicine, such as a doctor or a specially trained nurse. The person who diagnosed your child may not be one.
- Psychiatrist Also called Child and adolescent psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a doctor who specialises in mental health. A child and adolescent psychiatrist sees children and young people up to 18. They can prescribe medicine.
- SENAC Also called Special Educational Needs Advice Centre A charity that gives parents in Northern Ireland free advice when a child needs extra help at school. They help with statements and appeals.
- SENCO Also called Special educational needs co-ordinator The teacher in your child's school who leads support for children with special educational needs. They are usually the quickest person for a parent to reach.
- SENDIASS Also called Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service A free advice service for parents in every council area in England. Its advisers are on no one's side, and they help you work out what to do next.
- Sensory-integration trained occupational therapist An occupational therapist who has done extra postgraduate training in sensory integration. They look at how your child takes in sound, touch, movement and light, and how that affects daily life.
- SNAP Cymru A Welsh charity that gives families free advice when a child needs extra help to learn. They can help with school meetings, plans and disputes.
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (Northern Ireland) A panel in Northern Ireland that is separate from the EA. Parents appeal to it when they disagree with the EA about their child's support at school.
- Specialist nurse A nurse with extra training in child mental health or neurodevelopment. They often run the appointments in between the doctor's ones, and are usually the easiest person in the team to reach.
- Speech and language therapist A speech and language therapist helps children who find it hard to understand others or to get their own message across. They also help with eating, drinking and swallowing.
Where you are in the process
Words for the stage you have reached.
- Additional learning needs The term used in Wales when a child needs extra support to learn. It replaced the term special educational needs for children and young people in Wales.
- Additional support needs The term used in Scotland when a child needs extra support to get the most from school. A disability counts, but so do things like bereavement or being a young carer.
- Child in need Also called Child in need (Children Act 1989, section 17) A legal label councils use when a child needs extra help to grow and do well, or when a child is disabled. It is about unlocking support, and it is not a mark against you as a parent.
- Did not attend Also called Did not attend (DNA) The code a clinic records when an appointment is missed without the clinic being told first. You might hear staff say an appointment was a DNA, or that someone DNA'd.
- Disabled under the Equality Act Also called Disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, section 6 A legal test, not a medical one. If what your child finds hard is long term and affects daily life, the law may count them as disabled, even with no diagnosis.
- Meets criteria Words you will see in the letter after an assessment. Meets criteria means the pattern the team found matched the checklist for a diagnosis, and does not meet criteria means it did not.
- Not accepted for assessment A referral can be turned down before your child is ever seen. The service reads the referral letter, decides it does not fit their rules, and sends it back.
- Refusal to assess Also called Decision not to carry out an EHC needs assessment In England, the letter saying the local authority will not carry out an EHC needs assessment for your child. You can appeal this decision.
- Refusal to issue a plan Also called Decision not to issue an education, health and care plan Sometimes the local authority assesses a child and then decides not to write an EHC plan. You can appeal that too.
- Sub-threshold An assessment can find real difficulties, yet still not enough to meet the line for a diagnosis. Sub-threshold means close to that line, not fine.
Other words you will meet
Ideas that come up across services, schools and reports.
- "High functioning" and "low functioning" These are not diagnoses and never were. They try to sum up a whole person in one word, so we describe what a child finds hard and what helps instead.
- "Mild" and "severe" autism Autism is not measured on a line from mild to severe. The same child can look fine at school and be overwhelmed at home, so a single word cannot describe them.
- "Special needs" "Special needs" is how most people describe extra help, and it is still the legal wording in "special educational needs". We avoid it as a description of a child.
- "Suffers from" "Suffers from" is a phrase people reach for when they want to be taken seriously. We use "has" or "is" instead, because being autistic or having ADHD is not an illness.
- Age equivalent Some reports turn a test score into an age, like 'working at the level of a 6 year old'. That number is far less exact than it sounds, so try not to let it sink in too deep.
- Anxious parent A label some parents find in letters, where a child's needs are put down to the parent's worry. It is not a diagnosis, and worrying about your child does not make you wrong.
- Attachment difficulties Difficulties said to come from a child's earliest bonds and care. The term is real, but it is sometimes reached for before autism or ADHD have been properly looked at.
- Attention seeking A phrase some people use when a child is upset or acting out. It often hides a real need, such as comfort, safety or help.
- Autistic burnout Deep exhaustion that can build up when an autistic person has been coping and masking for a long time. A child in burnout may lose skills they had and stop managing school.
- CAMHS Also called Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services NHS teams that support children and young people with mental health difficulties. Referrals usually come from a GP, school or another professional.
- Centile A number that shows where your child sits among 100 children of the same age. The 9th centile does not mean 9 out of 100 in a test, it means about 9 in 100 children score lower.
- Challenging behaviour A phrase schools and services use for behaviour that is hard to be around. It describes the behaviour, not the child, and it is not a diagnosis.
- Clinical range A band some questionnaires use to flag scores higher than most children get. Each test draws its bands in its own place, so words like 'elevated' do not mean the same thing in every report.
- Co-occurring When a child has more than one condition or difficulty at the same time. This is common: for example, ADHD is more common in autistic people.
- Confidence interval A range printed after a test score, like 84 (79 to 91). It is the test's honest way of saying the single number is an estimate, and the true score most likely sits inside that range.
- Cut-off A line drawn through a range of scores. On one side a service may offer an assessment or support, on the other side it may not.
- Demand avoidance When small everyday requests, like putting shoes on, set off panic or a flat no. It comes from anxiety and a need to feel safe, not from being naughty.
- Descriptive range The words a report uses to sum up a score, like 'average' or 'extremely low'. Tests draw these bands in their own places, so the same word can mean different scores.
- Diagnostic overshadowing When new symptoms are wrongly put down to a diagnosis a child already has, so illness or distress gets missed. If you are told 'it is just their autism', this is the word for what may be happening.
- diagnostic threshold Also called Diagnostic threshold The point at which an assessment team decides a child's difficulties match a recognised set of criteria. Being below it does not mean the difficulties are not real.
- Dysregulation A word professionals use when a child's feelings or actions have gone beyond what they can control right now. It describes a state, not a diagnosis, and it is not a judgement of your child or you.
- Emotional dysregulation Feelings that arrive fast, hit hard and take a long time to fade. It is a big part of ADHD for many families, even though it is not on the official checklist.
- Emotionally based school avoidance When anxiety or distress stops a child getting into school, however much they want to. It is not truancy, and this name opens the door to support instead of fines.
- Executive function The brain skills we use to plan, start and finish a task, remember steps, and stop and think first. A child can be very bright and still find these skills hard.
- Full Scale IQ Also called Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) One overall number from an IQ test. If a child's skills are very uneven, that single number can hide more than it shows.
- Getting It Right For Every Child Scotland's way of making sure children get the right help at the right time. Schools, health and social work all use its language to talk about your child's wellbeing.
- Identity-first language Saying autistic child rather than child with autism. Many autistic people prefer it: being autistic is part of who they are.
- Impairment The word services use for how much something gets in the way of daily life. A diagnosis usually needs proof of this, not just a list of traits.
- Inattentive presentation Also called predominantly inattentive presentation (DSM-5) The kind of ADHD where the main struggle is attention, not being on the go. These children daydream, drift and lose things, and they are often missed for years.
- Informal exclusion When a school sends a child home over behaviour without recording it. Schools are not allowed to do this: any suspension must be formal and in writing.
- Informant report The forms and reports each adult fills in about your child during an assessment, from you and from school. Teams compare them, so it matters when home and school tell different stories.
- Internalised presentation of autism Autism that a child holds in rather than shows, so teachers may see a quiet, coping child. Common in girls, but boys can present this way too.
- Learning difficulty The legal phrase schools use when learning is much harder for a child than for most children their age. It does not mean low ability, and it is not the same as a learning disability.
- Learning difficulty versus learning disability Schools and health teams use these two phrases to mean different things, and it is easy to mix them up. This entry explains which is which.
- Learning disability A health term for finding it much harder to learn and to manage everyday tasks, starting in childhood. It is not the same as a learning difficulty at school.
- Masking Hiding or holding in the signs of being autistic to fit in, often without meaning to. It is a big reason a child can seem fine at school and fall apart at home.
- Masking at school, meltdown at home When a child holds it all in at school, so teachers see no problems, then lets it out at home where they feel safe. Some people call this the Coke bottle effect: shaken up all day, opened at home.
- Meltdown A full loss of control that happens when a child is completely overwhelmed. It is not naughtiness and it is not a tantrum: the child is not choosing it.
- Mental capacity and best interests From 16, the law treats most choices as the young person's own. Mental capacity is the legal test of whether they can make a choice for themselves.
- Needs-led Starting from what a child needs help with now, rather than waiting for a diagnosis first. School support can begin without any diagnosis.
- Needs-led assessment Working out what a child needs and putting help in place, without waiting for a diagnosis. The rules back this, but many services still ask for a diagnosis first.
- Neurodevelopmental A medical word for how the brain grows from childhood. Teams use it to name the assessment that looks at things like autism and ADHD.
- Neurodivergent Neurodivergent means a brain that works in its own way, not the way most people expect. Autistic people, and people with ADHD or dyslexia, are all neurodivergent.
- Non-speaking A non-speaking person does not use spoken words, or only uses a few. It says nothing about how much they understand.
- Off-rolling Off-rolling is when a school gets a child taken off its register in a way that suits the school, not the child. It is not allowed.
- Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) Also called Pathological demand avoidance PDA describes a child who fights everyday requests very hard, even things they want to do. UK experts do not agree on it, and it is not a diagnosis on its own.
- Reading age A reading age says your child read a test the way an average child of that age would. It is a rough guide, not a full picture.
- Regression Regression means a child losing skills they used to have, such as words they used to say. It is always worth telling a doctor about, whatever the cause turns out to be.
- Scaled score A scaled score is a test result placed on a fixed scale so it can be compared. Two very different scales share this name, so check which one you have.
- School Action and School Action Plus These were the two levels of extra help a school could give before 2014. They were replaced by one thing, called SEN support.
- School refusal An older phrase for a child who cannot face going to school. Many people now say school avoidance instead, because the cause is usually anxiety, not choice.
- SEBD, EBD and BESD Also called Social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD); emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD); behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) Old labels for emotional and behaviour needs on school papers. In England the label is now SEMH.
- Section 42 duty Section 42 is the law that says the local authority must provide the support written in an EHC plan. Must means must: it is not optional.
- SEND Also called Special educational needs and disabilities SEND is England's word for children who need extra help to learn. The rest of the UK uses other words, and other rules.
- Sensory overload Sensory overload is when sound, light, touch and busyness add up until a child's brain cannot take any more. It can end in a meltdown, a shutdown, or tears that seem to come from nowhere.
- Sensory processing differences Some children take in sound, touch, taste, light and movement in their own way. They can feel some things far too much and others hardly at all.
- Severe learning difficulties (SLD) Also called Severe learning difficulties SLD is one of the need types English schools record for a child who needs support across most or all of their learning. It sits alongside MLD (moderate) and PMLD (profound and multiple).
- Shutdown A shutdown is when an overwhelmed child goes quiet and still instead of exploding. It is the same overload as a meltdown, turned inwards.
- Social communication differences This phrase covers the ways a child talks with, understands and responds to other people. It shows up on almost every referral form and report.
- Social cues Social cues are the silent signals people send: tone of voice, faces, body language, pauses. Reports often say a child misses them.
- Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) Also called Social, emotional and mental health SEMH is one of the four broad areas of need in England's SEND system. It is the category a school records when a child's main need is seen as emotional wellbeing or behaviour.
- Specific learning difficulty An SpLD means one skill, such as reading or maths, is much harder for a child than the rest. Dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia all sit under this heading.
- Standardised score A test result turned into a number you can compare with other children of the same age. On most tests 100 is the middle, and 85 to 115 is the typical range.
- Stimming Repeated movements or sounds, like rocking, flapping hands or humming. It often helps a child feel calm or cope with a busy place.
- Stimulant medication Medicines that are often offered when ADHD makes daily life very hard. Only a specialist doctor can start them and keep an eye on them.
- Symptoms across two or more settings For an ADHD diagnosis, the difficulties must show up in more than one part of a child's life, such as home and school. They can still look very different in each place.
- Tantrum A word often used when a child kicks off to get something. A meltdown is different: it is a loss of control, not a choice.
- Threshold The level of need a family must show before a service will step in. Most local areas set out their thresholds in a document you can ask to see.
- Traits Ways of thinking or behaving that are often seen with a condition, like autism or ADHD. Saying a child shows traits is not the same as a diagnosis.
- Transitions A change from one thing to another. Schools use this one word for small changes, like moving between lessons, and big ones, like moving to secondary school.
- waiting list Also called NHS waiting list for assessment The queue for a specialist assessment once your referral has been accepted. Waits for autism and ADHD assessments are long in much of the UK.
- Within normal limits A report phrase that means a test score fell in the average range. It describes one test on one day, not how your child copes in everyday life.
Words we use in Assembly
Names we invented for parts of Assembly, so you will only meet these here. Nobody else can define them, which is why they are written down.
- Assembly Dimensions Our name for the eight areas of everyday life we ask you about. Together they build a rounded picture of what your child finds easy and what they find hard.
- Assessed but below clinical diagnosis One of the seven options we offer when we ask where you are in the diagnosis journey. Pick it if your child was assessed and the team decided the result was below the line for a diagnosis.
- Attention & Organisation One of the eight Assembly Dimensions. It covers how your child focuses, remembers things, plans ahead and finishes what they start.
- Based on your answers A green tag on a key finding. It means the finding points at something you actually wrote or rated, rather than something we worked out from a pattern.
- Development area One of four labels we put on each dimension. It means your answers in that area came out from the middle of the scale upwards, so it is somewhere targeted support would help.
- Diagnosis journey Our name for the path a family travels from first wondering about a child's development to getting answers. We ask where you are on it because your answer changes what your child's report is allowed to say.
- Emotional & Physical Wellbeing One of the eight Assembly Dimensions. It covers how your child feels about themselves, and how they are doing physically, including sleep and eating.
- Emotional Regulation One of the eight Assembly Dimensions. It covers how your child handles big feelings, copes with things going wrong, and shows what they are feeling.
- Flexibility & Routines One of the eight Assembly Dimensions. It covers how your child copes with change, and how they like to learn and solve problems.
- Impulsivity & Hyperactivity One of the eight Assembly Dimensions. It covers how your child manages impulses, waiting and self-control, and how much they need to move.
- Inferred from profile An amber tag on a key finding. It means we spotted a pattern across your answers, but you did not describe this particular thing yourself.
- Motor Skills One of the eight Assembly Dimensions. It covers your child's physical skills: big movements like running and balance, and small ones like writing and doing up buttons.
- No or low concern area One of four labels we put on each dimension. It means your answers in that area came out at the low end overall, so this is probably not where to focus right now.
- Opportunity area One of four labels we put on each dimension. It means your answers in that area came out in the lower middle of the scale. Some things came up, but not strongly.
- Priority area One of four labels we put on each dimension. It means your answers in that area came out at the high end overall, so it is the place we would start looking for support.
- Risk indicators A heading in the report summary. It is meant to gather answers to the small number of questions we treat as safety-related, so they are not lost among the rest.
- Risk of harm A sub-heading under Risk indicators. It is meant to cover answers about your child getting hurt, hurting someone else, or doing something risky without thinking first.
- Risk of mental health problems or burnout A sub-heading under Risk indicators. It is meant to cover answers about your child being unhappy, feeling bad about themselves, or being worn down by things like bullying.
- Sensory Needs One of the eight Assembly Dimensions. It covers how your child takes in sound, touch, taste, smell and movement, and how they react to it.
- Social Interaction & Communication One of the eight Assembly Dimensions. It covers how your child gets on with other people, and how they say and understand things.
- This might look like A heading inside a key finding. What follows is examples of how this pattern could show up on an ordinary day, not things we know happened.
- What you told us A heading inside a key finding. What follows should be your own words, or a close version of them, taken from what you wrote while filling in the profiler.
Your child doesn't need a diagnosis to get support
Start with a profile of your child. See what we find. Go from there.