---
title: "School Experience: Disability Support | School Attendance Challenges"
description: "65% of respondent children were professionally assessed for special or exceptional needs."
url: https://ymhc.ngo/resources/school-attendance-challenges/survey/disability-support/
---

National Survey· 6 of 11

# School Experience: Disability Support

![A student hunched over a desk writing alone at the front of an empty classroom](https://ymhc.ngo/_astro/Stressed-Student-scaled-600x389.DA5zA06a_ZjVVvi.webp)

Photo Credit: @jeswinthomas

**Significant findings:**

-   65% of respondent children were professionally assessed for special or exceptional needs.
-   13% of schools have special needs documentation for children who were not professionally diagnosed.
-   16% of schools have trained staff for mental health or school attendance challenges.
-   More than half of respondents were blamed or criticized when their child was having difficulty attending school.

## Response from parents about children with special needs

![Grouped bar chart of parents’ yes and no answers about children with special needs: professional assessments 335 yes; staff trained in mental health and school attendance challenges 86 yes, 427 no; judged for inability to attend 347 yes; diagnosed with special needs 352 yes; parents blamed 260 yes, 253 no; documentation for diagnosed children 289 yes; documentation for undiagnosed children 21 yes, 140 no](https://ymhc.ngo/_astro/Special-Need-General-Response-1080x500.scXf-M0f_ZyPdMB.webp)

-   335 (of 519) students had professional assessments
-   427 (of 519) students were in schools with staff that were not familiar with or trained in mental health and school attendance challenges
-   347 (of 519) students were judged for their inability to attend school
-   352 (of 519) were diagnosed with special needs
-   260 respondents (parents) were blamed for their child’s difficulties in attending school
-   289 (of 519) students had special needs documents

## Have you had your child assessed for academic or psychological challenges?

![Two donut charts: 352 children (68.62%) are diagnosed with special needs and 161 (31.38%) are not; 335 (65.3%) have professional assessments and 178 (34.7%) do not](https://ymhc.ngo/_astro/Diagnose-1080x337.Ctcr8mby_Z2gonSr.webp)

Sixty-nine percent of respondents had children who were diagnosed with special needs.

Sixty-five percent of respondents had professional assessments.

## Is there documentation in the school about your child’s special needs? (for example, an Individual Education Plan, a designation for special needs through the IPRC – Identification and Placement Review Committee)?

![Two donut charts: 289 schools (82.1%) have special needs documentation for diagnosed children and 63 (17.9%) do not; only 21 (13.04%) have documentation for undiagnosed children and 140 (86.96%) do not](https://ymhc.ngo/_astro/Documents-1080x332.CiMEEqow_GTnTo.webp)

Most respondents had special needs documentation. Most respondents indicated that their child’s school did not have special needs documentation for undiagnosed students.

## Does your child have school staff who are familiar with and trained in mental health and school attendance challenges?

Only 16.76% of respondents indicated that their child’s school staff was familiar with and trained in mental health and school attendance challenges.

![Donut chart: does the child have school staff familiar with and trained in mental health and school attendance challenges; 86 yes (16.76%), 427 no (83.24%)](https://ymhc.ngo/_astro/Staff-Training-500x344.BlbjwRKG_Z2kfYWB.webp)