Hannah Adams is concerned at a growing trend in unmet mental health or neurodivergent needs, especially in girls.
It is surprising to me to write that I am the parent of three neurodivergent children. I based my decision to specialise in the area of SEND law on my experiences of parenting my first born, who was a medically complex, premature baby now diagnosed as autistic and with a specific learning disability. However, as I continue my parenting journey seventeen years in, it is apparent that ‘neurospicy’ is a strong element of our gene pool. My second born has ADHD and recently my nine-year-old daughter has been described as significantly neurodivergent and is experiencing high anxiety and Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA).
I have acted for families in SEND appeal proceedings and navigated the SEND system during a period that has seen many changes in the landscape. The introduction of the Children and Families Act 2014, the phasing out of Statements of SEN and the introduction of EHCPs, the impact of the Covid years and the rise in the number of children being diagnosed with a neurodivergence and increasing awareness among parents and society, of special educational needs and disability.
I want to comment on the current trend that seems to be creeping up—the tidal wave of often neurodivergent girls who are struggling with their mental health and falling out of, and behind, in schools. I am only just beginning to understand personally the extent of the differences in the way autism and ADHD can present in girls, and it is a steep learning curve despite the work I do every day. I have the benefit of knowing the SEND legal system, but I am increasingly helping families with their daughters, who often have no diagnosis and are struggling in mainstream schools. They may be suffering from crippling anxiety, or battling learning difficulties that have not been picked up. Sometimes these girls are socially excluded or bullied because of their differences. The common denominator with all of these cases? Identifying and obtaining evidence about the needs of neurodivergent girls can often be much harder. They mask, they often comply with rules, are eager to please, can flit on the outskirts of friendship groups and to all intents and purposes do not cause any difficulties to those teaching them. It means their difficulties often go unnoticed and increasingly are only detectable when their mental health begins to be affected and this starts to have an impact on their school attendance.
The growing trend is the battle in gaining recognition of these difficulties and obtaining EHCPs and specialist placements for girls who may be academically capable but may be unable to access mainstream education because of the resulting poor mental health, demand avoidance, sensory processing and complex social communication difficulties.
In my work, I have been seeing an influx of girls out of school for extended periods of time, often without any alternative provision being put in place under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. Section 19 sets out that it is the LA’s duty to arrange suitable, full-time alternative education for children of compulsory school age who cannot attend school due to illness, exclusion, or other reasons. What I’ve been seeing is that in a lot of these cases, there has been no EHCP issued, either because there has been a refusal to carry out the assessment itself, or, an assessment has been carried out, but did not result in a plan, even where a child has been unable to access mainstream education for years.
So, how do we build these cases and successfully win Tribunals? Our advice would often be to use independent expert assessments and thoroughly review the evidence. However, it is important to raise awareness of the difficulties of evidencing this type of profile of need and accessing support for girls, particularly when the first sign of difficulties can often be poor mental health. In our area of Hampshire CAMHS has now introduced the MHST—Mental Health Schools Team which can be directly referred to by the school and is a useful first tier level of support that can be requested by parents by the school’s SENCo. I typically advise parents to report these difficulties in mental health to their GP as you would for an adult, explore physical symptoms to rule out medical causes—stomach pains, sickness, diarrhoea, eating difficulties and be able to establish a deterioration in your child’s mental health presentation over time.
Of course a referral for neurodivergence assessments should be made to CAMHS, but it is also often necessary to request a psychiatric review. If your child is unable to access school over a period of time, this suggests a significant level of anxiety. SENCos can follow their Local Authority’s policy on Emotional Based School Avoidance and use EBSA pathways where appropriate. Involving the Local Authority’s Educational Psychologist should be actioned by the school as soon as possible, and parents can also make a request for this through the school. It is important that accurate records are maintained to keep track of any patterns of difficulties with attendance and to ensure that these girls’ difficulties are being acknowledged and recorded by the school as SEN, and to make sure they get put on the school’s SEN register, if they’re not already on it.
Reasonable adjustments should be put into place for these students by the school and these should be reviewed regularly. Schools need to ‘plan, do, review’ to ensure they are meeting students’ mental health needs whether these arise from neurodivergence or not. Parents can ask about accessing alternative provision from their child’s school if they can no longer access the classroom or school site. Months away from learning and peers will inevitably impact academic progress and mental health and can compound the difficulties.
Most importantly of all, if a referral is made to the LA attendance officer for unauthorised absences which may result from unmet mental health or neurodivergent needs, parents should seek legal advice from an experienced SEND solicitor as early as possible. We have a strong criminal defence team with whom we work on non-attendance prosecutions to ensure that the defence is built on evidencing the child’s SEN and the legally justifiable reason for non-attendance for mental health.
To all the parents, teachers, and professionals working closely with neurodivergent children, I see you, and I recognise the daily challenges of supporting these children, especially when it comes to helping anxious neurodivergent girls who are struggling to attend school. More recognition is needed to ensure their well-being, mental health, and ongoing access to education, starting as early as possible. Together, we can make a difference in protecting their futures.