As an undiagnosed neurodivergent kid, I really struggled in school. The kid who loved reading and obsessed over writing stories and attempting to harness my intense imagination was soon crushed by the machine of secondary school. I missed two years of secondary school due to refusing to attend (sensory overloaded and emotional overwhelm) and never fitting in caused massive detrimental effects on my education- my grammar, maths and foreign languages were appalling, exam grades were shocking, and my teenage mental health was awful. (The beginnings of a life on prescription meds, in and out of mental health services ahead of me). It wasn’t until I was 40 and with the support of Access Support and funding at Brighton University that I finally found a place in education, thriving, loving learning, fitting in (just) and graduating with a first-class degree with distinction. But thoughts still of life chances lost, what might have been haunting me. To see a Labour government actively considering reducing what little support there is out there for ND kids and the SEND system is both shocking and saddening. I had always believed that my life as an undiagnosed kid and those difficult school days were okay, that now things were getting better for those ND souls who came after me. It looks like Labour is trying to prove me wrong. For the sake of all of those accessing SEND to ensure equal access to education, get ready for the fight. Kids just like me are going to need us.

READ: After disability benefits, is Labour really about to target the educational rights of special needs children? by John Harris

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