Support after a diagnosis
A diagnosis can land as relief, grief and vindication, often all three in the same afternoon. Your child is exactly the same person they were the day before. What's changed is that their needs now have a name, and in the UK system a name can open doors. Here's what to do with it.
What to do, step by step
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Give it time to settle
There's no deadline on processing a diagnosis, for you, your child, or the rest of the family. Grandparents may need the most convincing; your child may have their own questions. The charities below have good age-appropriate guides on talking about a diagnosis when you're ready.
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Get the report and make sure you understand it
After the assessment you should receive a written report saying what the team found, including what your child is good at, what they might need help with, and whether any other conditions were identified. Ask the team to explain anything unclear, what they recommend, and whether there's a follow-up appointment. Keep the original safe and share copies.
Worth gathering
- The full written report: original kept safe, copies for sharing
- Any care plan or written recommendations
- Contact details for follow-up questions
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Take it to school
Share the report with the SENCO SENCO 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. Read the full definition of SENCO and ask for your child's support to be reviewed against its recommendations. Push for the concrete: which adjustments 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. Read the full definition of Reasonable adjustments will be made, in which lessons, reviewed when. A diagnosis often changes how school interprets behaviour they've already seen: that shift alone can be worth the meeting.
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Check whether an EHC plan is the right next step
A diagnosis doesn't automatically bring extra help: support is based on needs. But if your child needs more than their school can provide, you can ask your local authority for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, and the report is strong evidence. The local authority must tell you within 16 weeks whether a plan will be made, and has 20 weeks 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. Read the full definition of 20 week timescale from the request to issue the final plan.
Up to 20 weeks from request to final EHC plan.
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Explore what your family may be entitled to
Disability Living Allowance Disability Living Allowance for children 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. Read the full definition of Disability Living Allowance for children (DLA DLA 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. Read the full definition of DLA ) for children can apply where a child under 16 needs more looking after than a child of the same age without a disability. The decision is about care needs, and the diagnosis and report help evidence them. Also look up your local authority's Local Offer, which lists the SEND support available in your area.
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Build the day-to-day toolkit
A diagnosis explains; it doesn't instruct. The daily work (meltdowns 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. Read the full definition of Meltdown , mornings, homework, sleep) still needs strategies tuned to your child specifically, not to the label in general. That's where a detailed picture of their strengths and needs earns its keep, and where parents a few years ahead of you are gold.
Common questions
Does the diagnosis mean school must give my child extra help?
Support at school is based on your child's needs rather than the label alone, but the report is strong evidence of those needs. Use it to make the support plan specific: what, when, reviewed how often.
Should we tell our child about the diagnosis?
You know your child best, and there's no single right way. Many families find age-appropriate honesty helps: children often already know they find some things harder, and a good explanation can replace 'I'm bad' with 'my brain works differently'. The charities above have guides for different ages.
What if I disagree with parts of the report?
Raise it with the assessment team first and ask them to talk their reasoning through. If you still disagree, you can ask the GP or the team about being referred elsewhere for a second opinion.
What is the Local Offer?
Every local authority in England publishes a 'Local Offer': a directory of the support available locally for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Search your council's name plus 'Local Offer'.
Where next on the journey
Waiting on another referral?
Waiting for an assessment
Many children are assessed for more than one thing: how to handle the next wait.
Read the guideNoticing something in another child?
Thinking about getting help for your child
Where to start when you have concerns about a sibling.
Read the guideThe diagnosis names it. Now map it.
Build a free profile of your child's strengths and needs across 8 dimensions, and turn the report in your hand into a plan for every day.
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