Special Educational Needs (SEN) has a language of its own. Anyone involved in this field soon discovers that there are many new words, acronyms and labels for things that don’t exist outside of the SEN conversation.

As a parent or carer getting to know about SEN, there are a few key acronyms that you are likely to come across quite quickly. We refer to these on this website.

We list these below for your reference.

• ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• AP – Alternative Provision
• ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder
• CYP – Child or Young Person
• EOTAS – Education Otherwise Than At School
• EHCNA – Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment
• EHCP – Education, Health and Care Plan
• EP – Educational Psychologist
• JR – Judicial Review
• LA – Local Authority
• OT – Occupational Therapist/Therapy
• PDA – Pathological Demand Avoidance
• SaLT – Speech and Language Therapist/Therapy
• SEMH – Social, Emotional and Mental Health
• SENDIST – Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal
• SpLD – Specific Learning Difficulty
• TA – Teaching Assistant