Youre literally youre broken. Hes starting to suffer now, his Mental Health deteriorating. Ifeel like im begging. Its made out to be a monster and all these things. And thats not the case. Hes just a little boy with Additional Needs that needs help and support. Its that simple. You think, you know, where its coming from . You know, what else are you going to get . Its like hitting your head against a brick wall. I feel like im failing my children because i dont even know what im asking for any more. Ijust want somebody to help me. I dont eat. I take medication. You eat, sleep, breathe, live, special needs. This is about getting the right school for children with special Educational Needs and disabilities and the families that need help. Her dress now. Its the same battle every morning for mum charlotte. Six year old harper is at a mainstream primary, but shes refusing to go. I dont have my boots on she is predominantly a tiptoe walker. So she likes to walk on a tours. Ive got to find h
she feels and how she normally acts, that she s actually not learning at the level that she should be able to learn at. and that s difficult to watch. this family has had to spend thousands of pounds getting harper privately assessed by an educational psychologist to get her a diagnosis of autism. i brought harper in care. oh, thank you. but they re worried. there are fewer than ten spare specialist places across the whole of sheffield. we re kind of in a battle. we get nothing from them. the bbc has learnt that more than half of special educational needs schools in england are full. there are 32,000 more children in the uk attending specialist schools than there were five years ago. stevie s daughter emmy hasn t attended her mainstream school for six months. she s autistic, has adhd and is struggling to cope. like an increasing number of parents across the country,
we say our prayers, and then he says, i love you. that gave me a list of about ten things that you wouldn t be able to do. and he s done every single one of them and so much more. leigh set up sparkle sheffield, a charity which gives many children with special educational needs the chance to socialise, especially if they re not at school. should i bring it for you? yes. i ll go and bring it for you in a bit. 0kay? yes. with kisses, then. see you later. with the help of jayden daughter, angel and volunteers, leash has organised some outdoor adventure. but you re also going to be thinking about where to build your shelter because you have to survive the night. i love being with the kids. i love this. this is what it s all about, to be honest. but you know what? it s it s watching them use their skills. there s a lot of scouts and guides, groups and different things going on. but our children find it really difficult to get involved in all those groups. so we re going to have our own vers
the charity has grown with more families wanting to join in with events like this, but leash is worried about funding. it s very worrying for our volunteers and for us and for our children. this could end. and or if all this ends, then what happens? charlotte and harper have come along to join in the fun. it s a chance to meet with other parents who understand the pressures. they really enjoyed it for girls. if the kids have a moment or there s anything going on. we re all in similar boats, so you don t get weird looks and you don t get people kind of frowning and and making judgement. and that s it s a community that we need. charlotte s next step is a tribunal in november, where she ll try and convince the council that harper needs an education and health care plan. and for stevie, it s a day to celebrate after the turmoil of going through a tribunal, she s got the decision she wanted.
out things that should not happen to anybody. sheffield city council says there was nothing they could have shared with the family prior to the tribunal. i don t know how this is going to go. i really, really don t. i can keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best, but i don t know which way it s going to go. i can keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best, but i don t know which way it s going to go. of course, we had often covered a normal conversation with a person since it started. it s always been about what i ve got going on with this, and i don t think i know how to have a normal conversation any more. but when you do now you have to have some lessons. what can i say to get back in? now, for stevie, it s a case of waiting and hoping. what are you putting on there now? which one are you putting a leash to? suzy knows all too well what families can go through when they have a child with special educational needs. her son, jayden, is autistic. he s now 18. when we were first