Connected - Parent's Support Group for Autistic Teenagers

05/03/2026

Carry autism alert cards for peace of mind. The durable plastic cards and fobs discreetly convey important information about your condition.

05/03/2026

Sunflower Extra is now available.

🌻 More control over the support you receive.
🌻 More privacy when sharing your needs.
🌻 More confidence in everyday interactions.


With a simple tap on a phone, Sunflower Extra instantly shares your personalised support details - no explanations needed.


🌐 📖 Get yours today and find out more by visiting Sunflower Extra - Shop ➡️ https://bit.ly/3DE6guj

Alt: A graphic promoting "Sunflower Extra" with a white background. The dark and light green text reads, "Sunflower Extra is here!" A contactless card with the "Hidden Disabilities Sunflower" logo and Sunflower design is shown at an angle. On the left, there’s a pink contactless signal icon, with a green lanyard decorated with yellow Sunflowers.

05/03/2026

Better support for autistic adults in Warwickshire! 👥

We’re bringing together social care professionals and people who have experience of adult social care to a free online event to share insight into how we can better support autistic adults in Warwickshire.

Join us to hear live speakers share personal stories, and through interactive activities help increase understanding of autism and challenge misconceptions!

Thursday 19 March
12pm–1.30pm
Online

Your perspective can help make a real difference; everyone is welcome.

Book your place here:

https://orlo.uk/Experience_Exchange_isTtT

24/02/2026

There’s a lot to take in from the Schools White Paper – and much that we are concerned about.

The Government has described the proposals as a “radical expansion of rights”, but it is difficult to see how that description is consistent with elements of the reforms which appear to weaken existing legal protections.

We’re still analysing the proposals in full and looking at the implications these will have for children, young people and their families. We’ll be publishing a full response shortly. For now, here are some of our early observations.

🔸The proposed changes to future Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans raise significant questions - both about the threshold for entitlement, the nature of the provision children and young people will actually receive, enforcement and the power to seek changes.
🔹The proposed new “Individual Support Plans” represent a significant change, and there appear minimal rights about the content and creation of these for parents.
🔸Placement rights appear fundamentally changed and weakened, and the Tribunal’s powers to order an appropriate placement would be removed.
🔹The matters which can be appealed and the orders the Tribunal can make also appear to be fundamentally changed.

At IPSEA, we remain committed to defending every child and young person’s right to an education that meets their individual needs. We will continue to analyse the detail and share further thoughts as soon as we can.

23/02/2026

Some highlights from the White paper.

All schools will have to create an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) that clearly set out the help a child will receive, the government has announced today. The support will follow a national framework and be tailored by teachers and...

23/02/2026

Govt White paper is finally here.

Generational reforms to transform outcomes for children with SEND and end one size fits all approach.

07/02/2026

Important information about submitting an EHCP in Warwickshire.

We have heard from a few parents that they were told by their child's school that Warwickshire County Council are no longer accepting requests for EHCPs - this is false (and would be unlawful).

The update below explains the information that was sent to schools. The project was trying to automate the process so that information from schools and families went straight into the database rather than it being on separate documents - this has caused challenges (mainly with the save and complete later function) so the process is reverting to word documents for school requests after half term.

The parent request form is staying online but the save and return function wil be removed and there will be a separate document that explains the questions you will be asked so you can have the information you need together before starting the process.

We tried to use one form for both the parent request and the family views but this has been confusing with SENDAR sometimes ending up with two requests for the same child / young person so these are now going to be separate with the family views for school requests going back to a word document - the school should work with you to do this document as part of the submission but you can send in your views separately if you would prefer.

05/02/2026

Words fail me at this shocking display of ignorance ! Shame on you Amanda Spielman. 😡

Conservative peer and former Ofsted chair Baroness Spielman talks to Sienna Rodgers about the SEND crisis, her time at the regulator and why some p...

02/02/2026

And how many of us have been told otherwise?

Extract from The Essential EHCP Guide for Parents and Carers by Dr Abigail Fisher and Eliza Fricker book out now.

31/01/2026

Join us on Tuesday 10 February for our FREE webinar, 'Appealing to the SEND Tribunal - practical hints and tips'. We'll be explaining the key aspects, including

🔶Submitting the appeal
🔷Local authority response
🔶Further submissions, including the Tribunal’s new Practice Directions
🔷Completing the case review form, including witnesses
🔶Working Documents
🔷Preparing for the hearing, what happens in the hearing, and after the hearing

This training will be interpreted live in British Sign Language (BSL).

Thanks to a donation from the John Horniman's Children's Trust, we are pleased to have a grant to offer this free webinar to parents, carers and young people.

Spaces are limited, so book your place: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/join-our-free-webinar-appealing-to-the-send-tribunal-practical-hints-and-tips-for-parents-and-carers

If you can't attend on the day, you can also request a copy of the webinar recording via the link ⬆️

25/01/2026

Pushing for school at all costs is not the answer. Dr Naomi Fisher has excellent advice - see her upcoming webinar.

When a teenager stops going to school, everyone tends to panic. It can feel like time is running out. What about GCSEs? other adults say. What if they get behind? Surely everyone needs to keep up with the school timetable, and take their GCSEs at 16 and then onto college? What alternative is there?

It all makes it very hard to see the wood for the trees. It makes it hard to give teenagers the time they need to recover from their school experiences, and start to plan a road ahead for themselves. The temptation is to try and enrol them on online courses, or sign them up for tutor groups. The temptation is to keep pushing them, for fear of what might happen if you stopped.

That’s what I’m talking about in this course. Helping Your Neurodivergent Teen Recover from School. It’s about how learning can start again, and what teens need to see a life beyond school. School isn’t the only way to learn, and our teens need to know that.

Half price until Sunday with coupon code HALFPRICEJAN

https://courses.naomifisher.co.uk/

23/01/2026

This is a good comprehensive summary of what Autistic burnout can look like. Autistic burnout is serious and can last months even years so it’s best to take preventative steps to try and avoid it. Thank you Littlepuddins.ie x