SEND for the paediatrician: children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities

Disabled children and young people, including those with special educational needs, have rights to the same high-quality health care as anyone else would expect to receive. Whilst policies and practices vary over time and across jurisdictions, maintaining a structured approach and broad vision should ensure that each and every need of all children and young people is identified, accurately described using clearly understandable terms, documented and communicated to all who need to know in the child or young person’s wider team. Visible needs are more likely to be addressed in the health care plan and services for visible needs are more likely to be intelligently designed and delivered. Paediatricians can equip themselves to better assess the acute and ongoing needs of disabled children and young people, using freely available resources and by networking with the multidisciplinary team with expertise in the field. This short review provides some helpful definitions and gives a structure for how to proceed. It also offers signposting to some useful resources and advice to paediatricians and healthcare professionals working with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).