Social, Emotional and Mental Health

Cognition and Learning

Children and young people with learning difficulties may learn at a slower pace than others of the same age - even when learning tasks are changed to support them. Learning difficulties can cover a wide range of needs, including:

• Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)
• Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)
• Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD)
• Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) 

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), can affect one or more specific aspects of learning. This covers a range of conditions such as:

• Dyslexia
• Dyscalculia, and
• Dyspraxia

Communication and Interaction

Children and young people with Communication and Interaction difficulties may have difficulty:

• saying what they want,
• understanding what is being said,
• understanding or using social rules of communication, making it harder to build relationships with others, and
• using language and may shy away from talking.  

Communication and Interaction conditions may include children and young people with:

• Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
• Autism  

Every child and young person has a different profile, and their needs may change over time. Children and young people may have difficulty with one, some or all areas at different points of their lives.

Sensory and/or Physical Needs

Children and young people with physical and/or sensory needs may have a disability, such as:

• Physical Disability (PD)

Children and young people with a Physical Disability requires additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their children and young people of their age.  

• Visually Impairment (VI)

A visual impairment is when a child or young person has less than perfect sight. This can affect distance, near, fields of vision or all 3. It most commonly affects the ability to see clearly – this is called acuity. 

• Hearing Impairment (HI)

A Hearing Impairment may be temporary or permanent and range from a mild to profound loss.  

• Sensory Processing Difficulty

For some children and young people, their sensory processing is delayed. This is the way our brain sorts out our sensory information so we can:

• Understand the world.
• Manage our everyday life.
• Learn and interact with our environment.

Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Children and young people with SEMH may:

• be withdrawn or isolated,
• be hyperactive and lack concentration,
• have immature social skills,
• be frustrated and struggle with school routines, and
• show challenging behaviour such as verbal and/or physical aggression.  

Other mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression can lead to self-harm, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical/psychosomatic symptoms that are medically unexplained. 

Some children and young people may receive diagnoses such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or attachment disorder.