Woman's Hour

In a live edition from the BBC Radio Theatre in London, Woman's Hour examines how children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, or SEND, as it is called in England, are supported in school. In Scotland the system is called ASN, Additional Support Needs; In Wales it's ALN, Additional Learning Needs; In Northern Ireland it is known as the SEN register, that is the Special Educational Needs Register. The programme is about children and young people who need extra support to learn, and the mothers trying to access it for them. The children may be autistic, have ADHD, or be a wheelchair user. Some may have learning disabilities, or be blind, deaf, or dyslexic. They all have a legal right to an education just like any other child. Woman's Hour had an overwhelming response from the mothers of these children to say that the system is beyond broken. That has led to a crisis in their, and their children's lives. Carolyn Atkinson, Woman’s Hour reporter, shares the results of a poll specially commissioned