06/10/2025
Tonight's BBC Panorama couldn't be more timely. As a child clinical psychologist, I see first hand what happens when our education system fails children with additional needs – and the impossible weight this places on their parents.
If you're parenting a child with additional needs, I want you to know: I see you. ❤️
I see you fighting battles that never end. Advocating in meetings where you feel you're the only one who truly understands and is fighting for your child. Staying up late writing yet another email. Making another phone call. Explaining again your child's needs. Communicating why your child needs what they need.
I see you navigating the judgement – the looks in the playground, the comments from other parents who simply don't understand. The isolation of feeling like you're the only one struggling, when really, you're the only one whose child isn't getting what they're legally entitled to.
And perhaps most painfully, I see you being treated as "the problem" – by the very professionals who should be supporting you. Too often, parents are made to feel they're overreacting, anxious, being difficult, or not parenting "right," when actually they're doing something extraordinary: they're compensating for a system that's failing their child.
The toll is real. Careers put on hold or abandoned when children can no longer get into school. Mental and physical health suffering. Relationships strained or breakdown. The constant state of high alert, always fighting, never resting. The exhaustion isn't just tiredness – it's the weight of carrying a system that should be carrying your child.
You're not asking for special treatment. You're asking for your child to access education. And you shouldn't have to fight this hard for something so fundamental.
I hope tonight's programme shines a light on a major issue that cannot continue to be ignored. These stories need to be heard.
To every parent in this position: you're not alone, you're not too much, and you're not the problem. The system is broken, and you're doing your absolute best in an impossible situation.
