Teachers are accountable for the progress and development of all pupils in their classes, including those who access additional support, according to the SEND Code of Practice.

This is a big responsibility that many teachers can feel underprepared for. After all, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is not an area that can be covered in a day’s training, and the myriad specialist terms and acronyms leave many feeling a little out of their depth.

An A to Z of SEND terminology

Here is an A to Z of some important SEND terminology:

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

The term used to describe the trauma experienced by young people before the age of 18, which can have lifelong emotional and physical impacts.

Behavioural difficulties

Some children and young people struggle to identify or communicate how they are feeling. Persistent challenging behaviour, like defiance or withdrawal, could be their way of telling others that something isn’t right.

Cognitive load

When extraneous demands are placed on the learner, their cognitive load increases, making it harder to process information. Teachers can help to reduce cognitive load by providing students with support such as writing frames and learning aids.

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

A  significant, persistent difficulty in understanding or using spoken language.

Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP)

These are put in place for children and young people who need more regular support than is available through regular SEN Support. EHCPs offer statutory protection for individuals aged from 0 to 25, as long as they are in education (excluding higher education).

Fight, flight or freeze

This is a subconscious stress response to danger. Young people who experience elevated levels of stress may have this response triggered more easily and frequently than their peers.

Graduated approach

The graduated approach is also known as the assess-plan-do-review cycle. Students on the SEND register are guided through this four-part cycle, allowing professionals to assess their needs and refine provision.

Hyperlexia

When a child can read at levels exceeding those expected for their age; they will probably be able to decode or sound out words quickly, but not necessarily comprehend what they are reading.

Individual Education Plan (IEP)

IEPs are a way for Sendcos to distill key information about a student with additional needs. They sometimes go by other names, such as pupil passports, individual learning plans or pupil profiles.

Joint Council of Qualifications (JCQ)

Schools need to apply via the JCQ in order to secure examination access arrangements, such as extra time, for their students.

Kinaesthetic learning

Kinaesthetic learning involves students learning through multi-sensory or physical activities. This approach can be particularly useful for some dyslexic learners.

Local offer

A local offer gives children/young people and parents/carers information about available support services in their area. Every local authority is required to provide one and make it available for all.

Moderate learning difficulties (MLD)

Children with MLD learn at a slower pace than their peers, even with appropriate differentiated work. MLD is not a diagnosis and a young person with MLD may have other learning barriers.

Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity encompasses a range of neurological differences, including ADHD, autism, specific learning difficulties and developmental language disorder.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

Indications of ODD include being unusually angry, arguing with authority figures, refusing to follow rules or blaming others for mistakes.

Pathological demand avoidance (PDA)

PDA describes those on the autistic spectrum whose main characteristic is to avoid everyday demands. Key features of PDA include a need for control and using strategies like making excuses or procrastinating to avoid demands.

Quality-first teaching (QFT)

The SEND Code of Practice recognises high-quality teaching as being personalised and states that special educational provision is underpinned by QFT. Key characteristics of QFT are well-planned lessons, high levels of teacher-student engagement and regular encouragement.

Receptive language

Receptive language is the ability to understand spoken language. Young people with receptive language difficulties may struggle to accurately follow instructions (particularly if they involve multiple steps) and therefore appear to ignore or defy the person giving them instructions.

Selective mutism

Selective mutism is a severe anxiety disorder, where a person is unable to speak in certain situations. Someone with selective mutism is not refusing to speak, they are unable to do so in particular situations. There is no connection between selective mutism and autism.

Threat perception

Young people who have had adverse childhood experiences are more likely to be hypervigilant to any potential threats - seemingly aware of every sound, movement or smell. For such children, something that may appear trivial could trigger a disproportionate emotional response.

Umbrella term

Umbrella term is a phrase used to cover a number of different but related concepts. For example, speech, language and communication Needs (SLCN) and neurodiversity are umbrella terms.

Vestibular system

Our vestibular system provides our sense of balance and movement, as well as the direction and speed at which we are travelling. Children who have either an overactive or under-responsive vestibular system can appear lazy, hyperactive, clumsy, inattentive, impulsive or anxious.

Working memory

Working memory describes a person’s ability to hold and use new information over a short period of time. It plays an important role in learning activities, like solving mathematical problems, following instructions or remembering an unfamiliar word.

Fragile X Syndrome (FRAX)

Fragile X Syndrome is an inherited learning disability. Many people with FRAX display behaviours commonly associated with autism, such as difficulties with social interactions, struggling with changes to routine, avoiding eye contact and hand-flapping.

Young person

In the SEND Code of Practice, a young person is aged over 16 and under 25 years old.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The ZPD is the difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with help. Using ZPD means that as a learner becomes more competent and confident, levels of support are reduced until they can complete the task unaided.

Gemma Corby is a Sendco in a school in Merseyside and a freelance writer. She tweets @corby_gemma