24/09/2025
Behaviour Awareness Week is an annual campaign launched by Great Minds Together - a specialist service for neurodivergent individuals with complex mental health and their families.
It’s purpose is to highlight the importance of understanding children and young people’s behaviour. The week aims to challenge systems that rely on punishments and sanctions, encouraging instead a therapeutic approach that recognises behaviour as a form of communication.
This is especially important for children with SEND - Special Educational Needs and Disabilities - a term used for those who have learning difficulties, physical or sensory disabilities, neurodivergent needs such as autism or ADHD, or medical conditions that make it harder for them to learn or access education in the same way as their peers.
By promoting empathy, understanding, and proactive support, Behaviour Awareness Week champions environments where all children can feel understood, supported, and able to thrive.
With this in mind, we spoke to Dawn Hockey. She had just returned home from Leeds Children’s Hospital, where she had spent the day with her 12-year-old son George, who is still awaiting a diagnosis for a complex endocrine condition. Their train home had been delayed and she was exhausted, yet the moment she got back she called me. “I was desperate for the opportunity to shine a light on SEND” she said. It’s a determination that drives both her personal journey and her work as Chair of Connect, a parent-led support group supporting families of children with SEND in Glossop and the High Peak.
A PARENT'S FIGHT FOR SEND AWARENESS
When you speak to Dawn, her warmth and determination shine through immediately. A mother of three neurodivergent boys - William (17), Alex (15) and George (12) - each with different medical conditions too, Dawn has faced more than her share of battles. From overcoming breast cancer while pregnant, to then discovering that she had a hole in her heart, to navigating a world that all too often misunderstands her children’s needs, Dawn is no stranger to resilience.
But her personal story is only part of a bigger fight. As Chair of Connect, a parent-led support group for families of children with SEND in Glossop and the High Peak, Dawn works tirelessly to make sure no family feels as lost as she once did. “Parents of children with SEND are often isolated” Dawn explains. “It can feel like you’re on your own with these difficulties - especially if you’re butting heads with schools, fighting for support, or struggling through the maze of assessments and financial help.”
That’s where Connect steps in. What began over eight years ago via the local Children’s Centre is now an independent thriving, volunteer-run network. With around 500 followers on its public page and 200 active members in its private group, Connect offers practical advice, peer support and a safe space for parents to share the highs and lows of SEND life.
“All of our committee members have lived experience” Dawn says. “That’s the most important thing - being able to say, ‘I’ve been there, I get it’. We can match people up who can help one another and that reduces the sense of isolation.”
The group runs weekly drop-ins at The Pico Lounge in Glossop, ‘Stay and Play’ sessions at Gamesley Community Centre, and summer holiday activities for SEND children and their siblings - recently providing 30 funded places for an outdoor adventure day. However, because everything is volunteer-led, capacity depends on the very parents already stretched thin by their own caring responsibilities. “We’re desperate for more volunteers” Dawn admits. “But they need to fully understand the complex needs of the children we support. That’s essential.”
ALL BEHAVIOUR IS COMMUNICATION
With Behaviour Awareness Week shining a spotlight, Dawn is clear on the message schools and policymakers need to hear: behaviour isn’t ‘bad’ or ‘good’ - it’s all communication.
“Every single thing that a child does and says is a way of communicating what their needs are” she says. “They might not do it very well, but that’s because they’re children. It’s about us adults interpreting and understanding those behaviours.”
She quotes autism expert Dr Luke Beardon: Autism plus Environment equals Outcome. “If you create the right environment - sensory friendly, supportive, flexible - you will get the best outcome. And those types of adaptations don’t just help SEND children, they benefit all children.”
Sadly, for Dawn’s boys, the mainstream school system has failed to provide that environment. Today, none of them attend school. William and Alex are supported through Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) packages, while George is electively home educated.
The reasons are complex, but in Dawn’s opinion they boil down to one truth: the system isn’t designed with neurodivergent children in mind. “Schools expect 100% attendance - what adult manages that in life?” Dawn asks. “Children are told to keep going no matter what, even if they’re struggling. If they’re masking all day at school, pretending everything is ok, they then come home and completely fall apart. But because teachers don’t see it, parents are told there’s nothing wrong.”
She recalls her eldest at primary school: “William needed to know what was going on and for things to be how they should be. We asked for a visual timetable to manage his day - showing where he would be, who he would be with etc, but school said no. If anything out of the ordinary happened, such as a different PE class, he’d put all his effort into continuing to be fine at school, but then have a complete meltdown at home. He struggled under the radar for years, like many children do.”
Rigid rules only add to the pressure. “Not being allowed to take off a blazer when you’re hot, or to go to the toilet when you need - it all creates stress. It’s a simple thing, but if children could just wear comfortable clothes in the classroom, they’d be more relaxed and would learn better.”
The impact on families is enormous. Dawn recalls her son Alex in Year One, devastated at the realisation that he could never win an attendance award. “In Year Four he’d had so many medical appointments, his attendance was around 30%. Shockingly, even with proof of appointments and letters from consultants, parents can still be fined for poor attendance. The system just piles more stress onto already stressed families.”
The stress extends far beyond school gates. Between endless medical appointments, fighting for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), and the constant worry of being misunderstood by authorities, families like Dawn’s live under pressure most can’t imagine.
“There’s research showing parents of SEND children experience trauma levels similar to someone returning from a warzone,” Dawn says. “It’s a constant battle.”
FIGHTING THE SYSTEM
Part of Connect’s role is helping families navigate that battle. From advising on the correct referral pathways, to helping parents challenge misinformation from schools or GPs, the group empowers families with knowledge. “The law is actually sufficient,” Dawn explains. “But the practice and implementation are not. That’s why hundreds of families end up at tribunals - and 97% of the time, they win. But by then, a child’s life has been put on hold.”
For her own family, persistence has been crucial. William’s autism diagnosis came at 13 - nearly a decade after his parents first raised concerns. Referrals were lost, misdirected and delayed and the family were confused and weary. “By that point he was a very poorly boy” Dawn says. “He wasn’t able to leave the house, or even his bed, some days. The system massively let him down.”
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
For Dawn, the solutions are clear - if only the system would listen:
1) Take it back to basics. “Countries like Finland and Sweden focus on learning through play, and they have better outcomes and happier adults. Why are we pushing five-year-olds in the classroom to sit still in rows and face the front?”
2) Create sensory-friendly environments. “These benefit every child, not just those with SEND.”
3) Let children be children. “How can children learn to regulate their emotions if they aren’t allowed to express them honestly in a safe place, due to fear of being told it is bad behaviour?”
4) Support teachers properly. “Often SEND coordinators are being asked to do the impossible - overseeing a huge caseload of kids whilst also teaching. It’s no wonder many are leaving the profession.”
Despite the challenges, Dawn’s pride in her children is palpable. “They are brilliant kids - absolutely incredible. Kids with SEND are probably some of the most resilient people you will ever meet due to how they have to navigate the world.”
Her work with Connect reflects that same resilience. What began as a handful of parents supporting each other is now a lifeline for hundreds of families across Glossop and beyond.
And her message for Behaviour Awareness Week is simple but profound: “All behaviour is communication. If we listen, if we are prepared to adapt, if we make environments work for children instead of forcing them to fit into rigid systems - the outcomes will be better for everyone.”
You can email Connect at: [email protected]
