For many families, the journey into the world of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) begins with a feeling they can’t quite name, a quiet sense that something isn’t working, that their child is struggling, and that the systems designed to help can often feel impossible to navigate. Behind every assessment, meeting, and waiting list is a family trying to hold everything together while fighting to be heard.
In this guest blog, SEN mum and author of nonSENse shares a perspective rooted in lived experience. As Early Years educators and training providers, understanding these lived experiences matters. The early years are often where concerns are first noticed, relationships with families are built, and the foundations of support begin. Listening to the voices of parents and carers is not only valuable, but also essential.
Why I Wrote nonSENse: A Story Rooted in the Realities SEN Families Face
I’m an SEN mum myself. My daughter is autistic and has ADHD, and we’ve been navigating the system since the days of Statements. Like so many families, we’ve lived through the endless waits, the refusals, the panels, the phone calls that never come, and the feeling that you’re constantly pushing against a system that was never designed with your child in mind.
Over the years, we’ve faced the same frustrations parents talk about every single day:
· Needs assessments being refused.
· Long waits for diagnosis.
· Struggles to secure a suitable special school place.
· Being passed from one faceless panel to another.
And while the system feels broken, I don’t believe that’s the fault of any one group, not schools, not professionals, not even the Local Authority. Everyone is trying their best within a structure that simply isn’t fit for purpose.
That’s what led me to write nonSENse.
The Heart of the Story: The Support Group Families
nonSENse is fiction, but every thread is woven from the lived experiences of SEN families. At its heart is a weekly support group for parents of children with additional needs, a space where they catch up, offload, and hold one another up when the system wears them down.
There are seven families in the group:
- Amy and her son, Mason. Mason has social, emotional and mental health needs that have escalated since starting secondary school. The book opens with his needs assessment being declined.
- Marsha and her twins, Ava and Amara. Marsha is a mum to autistic twins, one of whom needs a resource base the LA is struggling to secure.
- Julia and her son, Theo. Theo has ADHD, and Julia is trying to make a crucial decision about his secondary school place.
- Sean, Aisling and their daughter, Roisin. Roisin has optic nerve hypoplasia. Her assessment has been declined, and they’re heading into tribunal.
- Angela and her daughter, Sienna. Sienna has Global Developmental Delay and has been in the same special school for years, but Angela has heard worrying whispers about the culture there.
- Paul and his daughter, Poppy. Poppy is a young carer. She’s on an EOTAS package after becoming EBSA when her mum developed Multiple Sclerosis.
- Amarita and her son, Vihaan. Vihaan is about to leave college, and Amarita is unsure what adulthood will look like for him.
Through their stories, I’ve tried to demystify things like mediation, tribunal, and the EHCP process by weaving them into the narrative in a grounded, accessible way. Families can see what to expect without feeling overwhelmed.
Connecting Fiction to SEND Policy and Reform
The timing of this series isn’t accidental. With the recent SEND white paper, ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’, families are once again being asked to trust in a system promising reform. The proposals include major changes to EHCPs, national standards, early intervention, and a shift toward more consistent support across England.
But alongside the promises, parents are understandably anxious. Analyses suggest that the impact of these reforms will vary widely depending on a child’s age, with many changes not taking effect until 2030.
Families are hopeful, but wary. And that’s exactly why stories like nonSENse matter right now. Fiction can hold space for the emotional truth behind policy, the exhaustion, the resilience, the humour, the community.
The Power of Respite and the Series Continuation
The book builds toward a parent-only weekend away in the seaside town of Saltmere. It’s a reminder of how vital respite is, how easily SEN parents lose themselves, and how powerful it can be to rediscover who you are outside the endless admin of caring.
nonSENse is the first in a planned series.
The next book, Let’s Talk Some SENse, will continue following the group and introduce new faces as their journeys evolve alongside the changing national landscape.
If you’d like to dive into the story, you can find the book here:
Rosie Sully
Author