As a parent navigating the complex world of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), I know firsthand the struggles caused by delayed assessments and referrals. My children, alongside many others, faces waits of over three years for critical diagnoses including autism and ADHD — made worse by long delays in NHS Community Paediatric services.

We also face fundamental unfairness: children showing clear signs of ADHD often have to wait until they are 6 years old or older just to receive a formal assessment and diagnosis, leaving them without understanding or help during their most important early years.

Worst of all: children showing clear signs of seizures alongside ADHD traits are frequently dismissed by hospitals and clinicians, who attribute everything to ADHD without carrying out full, proper assessments to rule out serious medical conditions. This puts children at risk and stops them getting life-changing care.

These delays and misjudgements create a cascading crisis:

• Securing an EHCP has become unnecessarily difficult and drawn out;

• Medical conditions are taking far longer to identify and diagnose properly;

• Too many children are being placed in mainstream settings that are simply not suitable for their needs, because we lack the evidence to secure the right provision.

This unsuitable placement causes further harm: it slows children’s progress, holds back their development, and keeps them from getting the targeted support they need to thrive. Families already under immense pressure feel abandoned and unsupported by the system that should be our backbone — the NHS. Even urgent referrals for conditions like epilepsy are delayed, adding further stress and uncertainty.

National data confirms waiting times for SEND assessments can stretch beyond 36 months. This is simply unacceptable. The NHS must make cutting these delays an urgent priority. This means reviewing resources, investing in assessment services, employing more specialist staff, and ensuring no child’s symptoms are dismissed without full, specialist investigation.

Other countries have successfully reduced waits using early help in communities and working with trusted partners to deliver timely care. The UK can and should learn from these approaches to give families the support we need.

Our children deserve timely care to grow and thrive. We need a system that listens, values them, and acts without delay — so no child is left in the wrong place, waiting for the help that should already be theirs. Please sign to call on the NHS and leaders to make these changes happen now.