A Suffolk charity says needs of neurodiverse parents are overlooked in SEND support
Last updated 26th Feb 2026
Support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) must also take into account the needs of their parents, according to a Suffolk-based neurodiversity organisation.
Annie Clements, founder and chief executive of Autism and ADHD, in Suffolk, says they're seeing more and more families coming to them for help, with the parents also struggling to navigate a system that they believe doesn't take into account their own neurodiversities.
Clements believes there needs to be an increased understanding of neurodiversity, with services understanding that many parents may also have additional needs
She said: “Statistically, if you have a child with an autism spectrum disorder, there is an 82% chance that one or both parents will also have autism. And if you have a child with ADHD, there is a 94% chance that one or both parents will be ADHD.”
Ms Clements said this should shape how organisations communicate and provide support.
“We now work on the basis of how we provide support, how we communicate, how we deliver training, that the adults that we work with are neurodivergent in their own right,” she said.
She added that while awareness of children’s needs had improved, more needed to be done to recognise the experiences of parents.
“I feel the awareness around the needs of our SEND children has grown systemically over the last three years and that is a good thing,” she said.
“We’ve now got to go up the next step of the ladder of awareness and realise that the vast majority of those SEND children will come with neurodivergent parents.”
What changes they would like to see
Annie Clements said many parents are expected to navigate complex systems that are not designed with their needs in mind, making already difficult situations more overwhelming. She explained that without basic considerations, such as clear communication or accessible meeting environments, parents can struggle to engage fully with schools and services, adding that “you have to invite that and give them permission to ask because they won’t… feel confident enough.”
She said these barriers can leave families feeling unsupported at a time when they are already managing the challenges of caring for a child with additional needs.
Ms Clements said practical changes in schools and services could make a difference, including how meetings are arranged and delivered.
“At the moment, does the school recognise that they have to think about how a parent is going to be able to come into the building?” she said.
“Do they need any accessibility within the meeting space?”
She said some improvements could be made quickly without major system changes.
“Some of this stuff isn’t, it’s a willingness more than anything else to actually want to make the change,” she said.
“It’s just about people recognising and caring enough to adapt how they work.”
Ms Clements added that adapting communication, including how staff speak to families, could improve accessibility.
“The language, the spoken language, it’s all to do with people changing how they do it,” she said.
Her comments come as discussions continue around reforms to the SEND system, with concerns raised by families and organisations about access to support.
Ms Clements said greater recognition of parents’ needs would be an important next step.
“We now need to ensure that we are also supporting them through this system in the same way that we need to change how we support their children,” she said.