Statistics in Europe suggest that at least of the school population have a special educational need which is defined thus ‘A child or young person has Special Educational Needs (SEN) if he or she has learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for him or her to learn than most other children and young people of about the same age’.

Barriers to learning range from Severe and Complex learning difficulties at the low end of the spectrum to Giftedness at the high end of the spectrum. Between these two extremes will be a range of more specific learning difficulties which include Dyslexia, Dyspraxia (DCD), Dyscalculia, ADD and ADHD; conditions nowadays common in our homes and classrooms.

Many children and young people will have special educational needs of some kind during their education. Early years settings, schools, colleges and other organisations, as well as parents, can help most children and young people overcome their difficulties by increasing their awareness and understanding of the most common difficulties encountered and learning how to identify and support the remediation of these difficulties as early as possible.

This course is aimed at all those professionals and paraprofessionals who wish to gain a greater understanding of the most common specific learning difficulties, how these can be identified, formally diagnosed and ultimately supported in a positive and effective way for all.