BBC - Health: Special Education Needs

Many health problems can disrupt a child's life at school and interfere with their education. But some have particularly profound effects on their ability to learn. This section looks at some of the more common conditions where a child may have special educational needs (SEN), which can cause particular problems for children at school

SEN conditions

Boy with Down's Syndrome (Picture courtesy of Down's Syndrome Association)

In addition, many of these conditions are very variable in their effect and while some children with them have major learning difficulties, others have no learning problems and a completely normal school life. This is by no means an inclusive list.

Autism and Asperger syndrome - part of a range of disorders that can cause difficulties with communication and social skills
Angelman syndrome - a rare condition characterised by severe learning difficulties
Blindness - only around 18 percent of blind people are totally blind
Cerebral palsy - it’s estimated that as many as one in every 400 children may have the condition
Cornelia de Lange Syndrome - this rare condition causes a range of mild to severe symptoms
Costello syndrome - a rare genetic disorder
Crouzon syndrome - a condition which distorts the shape of the skull
Deafness - around one in five people in the UK has hearing difficulties
DiGeorge syndrome - affecting about one in 4,000 births
Down's syndrome - is the most common inherited cause of learning disability
Epilepsy - affects around one in 200 school-age children
Fragile X - the main problem of this condition is intellectual impairment
Joubert syndrome - a rare inherited disorder in which there are involuntary movements and breathing problems in infancy
Kabuki syndrome - a rare and complex condition
Mucopolysaccharide diseases - a group of inherited diseases caused by a shortage of a particular enzyme
Oppositional defiant disorder - a psychiatric disorder in children that can be difficult to diagnose
Phenylketonuria - can cause progressive developmental delay and severe learning difficulties
Prader-Willi syndrome - behavioural problems are common symptoms in this chromosomal disorder
Spina bifida - is caused by defects to the spine and can cause mobility difficulties
Stammer - can cause real distress for children, however there are ways to improve speech and language
Synaesthesia - a neurological mixing of the senses
Treacher Collins syndrome - about one in every 10,000 babies is born with this genetic condition
Usher syndrome - is characterised by hearing loss, visual problems and problems with balance

Special education needs

SEN conditions

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Special education needs

SEN conditions

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