Children’s Disorders
Where to start
Start with the concern, without having to choose a diagnostic category.
I have noticed a difficulty
Describe a particular occasion: the task, what happened, what your child said and what helped. The whole-picture guide shows how to keep several questions open.
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Reading, spelling, handwriting, numbers, attention, communication, relationships or daily activities: what specifically needs investigating?
Managing, but at what cost?
Alongside an adequate result, record time, effort, assistance and your child’s experience. You do not need to establish exceptional intelligence to discuss a difficulty. See ability, performance and support.
I am preparing for an appointment
Use the preparation sheet for dated examples and questions. Keep it within your family and share it only with the people you choose. There is no upload here.
The explanation I have is incomplete
Ask what has been assessed and what remains unexplained. If your concerns are being dismissed, use the discussion prompts.
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What has been assessed, and what remains unresolved?
How can I document the question and request a reasoned response?
What is it intended to achieve, how is progress judged, and who is responsible for reviewing it?
Family life is under pressure
Time, work, isolation and siblings belong in the conversation. See family life.
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Where can we find help, and what should the family no longer have to carry alone?
I need Greek routes or policy detail
The resource map explains the roles of Greek bodies without assuming that an overseas entitlement applies here. Our proposals distinguish objectives from established findings.
I am part of the child's life.
Listen to the child, and let what they say change what you do. Examine what remains unexplained and what help lies behind apparent success. Seek appropriate support and clear responsibility for delivering it.
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Doctors, psychologists, occupational therapists, educators and coaches must examine their own approach as well as the child’s behaviour. Ask what you may have misunderstood, what needs adapting and how you will check the result. Professional expertise brings responsibility to revise an explanation when it fails.
What can I understand and do as a relative, teacher, coach, specialist or another child's parent?
A child is bullied, excluded or harmed
For a child who is bullied or excluded, use the bullying and exclusion guide: protection and school action must not wait for a meeting or report. When a child repeatedly crosses another child’s boundaries, use the boundary-crossing guide. It covers immediate protection, separate accounts, changes adults must make and a plan that is checked, including where a neurodivergent child does not fully understand the effect on another child.
When other children are affected, understanding the difficulties must accompany protection, support and action to address harm. One child's needs do not cancel another's.
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Responsibility extends to services, schools and institutions. Combined or less recognisable needs must not disappear between specialisms, services and support criteria. Where rules exclude necessary support, the rules need to change. Where support is provided for but not delivered, implementation, resources and accountability are needed. Families cannot fill these gaps indefinitely.
Protect the child affected, understand what is happening and change the conditions that allow it to continue.
Sharing information feels risky
Fear of blame or exclusion can make it harder to seek assessment, discuss needs or tell the people who could help. Read stigma, disclosure and trust for a purposeful sharing plan and the responsibilities of those receiving the information.
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Stigma, blame and disclosure: who needs to know what, and what must change in the response?
I need practical instructions for my role
Use guides and responsibilities for teachers, classroom support staff, families, clinicians, leaders, activity instructors and peers’ parents. The classroom overwhelm guide answers when to step back, how to arrange a break and how to support return.
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When the concern includes bullying or exclusion, use the practical guide: look before the visible reaction, protect the child and assign actions to the adults responsible.
A child is becoming overwhelmed. What should I do?
Early support, space, breaks and return to class, with instructions for the adults responsible.
Could family history, IVF or pregnancy matter?
Heredity, conception and environment: what the evidence can tell us, what to record and what to ask a clinician.