SEND Education For All is sponsoring the 2026 PDA Space Summit!
You can register to watch the Summit and get your backpocket pass HERE.

"Your child has an EHCP." For many families, those six words are not reassuring. Instead, they mark the beginning of a battle. A battle to secure an assessment. A battle to obtain a plan. A battle to get the provision written into that plan delivered. Then, somehow, a battle to enforce the very document that was supposed to bring the fighting to an end. Welcome to the reality of the SEND system in 2026. The uncomfortable truth is that the system is not struggling because ther

There are certain truths about the SEND system that rarely make it into official guidance, policy discussions, social media debates, or even conversations between professionals. Families are often told about procedures, timescales, reforms, consultations, and legal processes. They are given advice about what they should do next, what might happen in the future, and what changes may be coming. Yet very little is said about the reality that families live every single day while

Do you ever wonder when families like ours will stop having to fight for the most basic support our children need? For us, it feels like a battle that has lasted a lifetime. Our son, W, will be 13 this year, and for as long as we can remember, we've been advocating, chasing answers, attending appointments, completing forms, and explaining the same things over and over again. The exhausting part isn't just the fight itself. It's what that fight has done to him. After years of

We're thrilled to announce that Harvey the Hedgehog: Why Don't I Feel Safe? by Lyndsay Critchlow is officially out now!. This beautifully written children's story provides a gentle introduction to the experiences of children with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), a profile within the autism spectrum characterised by an anxiety-driven need to avoid everyday demands and expectations. Harvey the Hedgehog likes knowing exactly what will happen next. So when a new path, a new

There is a phrase I keep hearing at the moment. "Maybe it's worth waiting until we know what's happening with SEND reform." Or worse: "There's no point challenging it now because everything is going to change anyway." Every time I hear those words, my heart sinks. Because while adults debate policy, write reports, hold consultations, and discuss the future of SEND, there are children sitting in classrooms right now who are struggling. Children who wake up every morning with a

I have recently come across some rather shocking statements made regarding pathological demand avoidance (PDA), a term that is often...

I am pretty much struggling recently with a massive avoidance that seems to permeate various aspects of my daily life. This feeling of being overwhelmed has led me to seek refuge in different distractions, and my very recent avoidance tactic has been to embrace my ADHD side quests. These side quests often manifest as spontaneous interests or projects that capture my attention, pulling me away from the tasks I know I should be focusing on. Instead of tackling my responsibiliti