Explaining special needs to children

SEN consultant, trainer and author of SEN: A Parent’s Guide, Vicki Dawson, says that it is very important that parents teach their children that differences are a positive part of life. “If children ask questions about why other children are different it is important to acknowledge that we are all different,” explains Vicki. “Parents have an important role to play in teaching their children that differences can be a positive.”

Emphasise to your child that we all have different talents, and that some children may have trouble learning some things, but that they may be very good at other things. 

If children are being treated differently in the classroom Vicki Dawson advises that a parent should explain that the teacher is in control and is doing their best for every child. “Reiterate that the teacher is very clever and knows how to handle all the children in that class differently to teach them to behave nicely,” says Vicki.

Also, Vicki says that answering children’s questions, no matter how difficult they may be, is essential to promoting acceptance of their peers.

Parents of a child with special educational needs may also find that they are the subject of questions from their child’s classmates. Forum member and mum JacquiL explains her son’s ‘differences’ by saying that his brain works in a unique way. “I always tell children that his brain is 'wired' differently to theirs, so that while they can learn things like reading, his brain won't let him do that as it would rather he climbed a tree!”