Advice & Articles

Practical guidance, resources, and lived experience to support your family through diagnosis, daily life, and beyond.

What is an EHCP?

A Parent’s Guide.

What is an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)?

This practical guide explains who it’s for, what it contains, how to apply, and how to use My Penelope to gather evidence.

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Autism

Spotting signs, assessments

& everyday support

Mobility, therapy

& equipment guidance

Cerebral Palsy icon for cerebral palsy section

Epilepsy

Seizure recognition, first aid

& tracking

Cerebral Palsy

Routines, patterns

& emotional wellbeing

EHCPs

Applications, evidence

& meetings explained

Sleep & Mood

How to gather evidence

& claim support

Mobility icon for DLA and Benefits section

DLA & Benefits

Why the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Raises Serious Concerns for Children With Additional Needs

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has been presented as a major reform to improve safeguarding, strengthen attendance, and enhance support for vulnerable pupils. However, for families of children with complex additional needs — including those with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, disabilities, chronic illnesses, or mental-health challenges — the Bill introduces provisions that could create significant new risks, barriers, and unintended harm. Based on a detail

Lucy

Daily activity tracker showing tasks and assistance levels.

How a Daily Activity Tracker Helps with EHCPs.

Calm, practical steps for parents when a child has a seizure — and what to record afterward to help clinicians. Emergency advice included.

Lucy

Epilepsy and Us.

What it looks like before you have a diagnosis, and why trusting your instincts matters. Before we had words for it We finally met with Penelope’s neurologist last week. Our pre-Christmas appointment had been cancelled due to sickness and rescheduled for January. Even the snow tried to stop us attending, but we insisted on a face-to-face appointment. It felt important — not just clinically, but personally — to meet the doctor who would be responsible for our daughter’s care.

Epilepsy

5 min read

Hear Her Voice: Parenting a Child With Epilepsy & Complex Needs.

Hear Her Voice: Reflections from me A couple of weeks ago I attended Hear Her Voice, an event hosted by Young Epilepsy for International Women’s Day. It brought together mothers, daughters, clinicians and young people to shine a light on what it truly means to live with epilepsy. For me, it hit differently. As our followers know, I’m a mum to a five-year-old with epilepsy, cerebral palsy and autism. Her seizures are uncontrolled — we typically track between 11 and 15 each wee

Epilepsy

6 min read

How Tracking Changes Appointments, EHCP Conversations, and Day-to-Day Support.

The problem nobody talks about: parents are expected to remember everything. If you are raising a child with additional needs, you already know this feeling. You walk into an appointment and someone asks: How has sleep been? How many seizures? How often are meltdowns happening? Is school affecting behaviour? Is medication helping? And you want to answer properly, because your child’s care depends on it. But your head is full. You are tired. You are juggling work, siblings, sc

EHCP'S

5 min read