SEND, inclusion and (my) initial teacher education
Written by: Will Berard
4 min read
WILL BERARD, DOCTORAL STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON, UK
At the age of 38, when I trained to teach computing in 2021, I started becoming aware of my ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), this thanks to the emphasis put on SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) in both my PGCE (postgraduate certificate in education) programme (at the University of Roehampton) and my placement school, as well as the assignments that were part of the PGCE, the demands of which threw my struggles into sharp relief. Paradoxically, it was a blessing to have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2015, as it allowed me to access support via a doctor’s note, with executive dysfunction being one of the many possible symptoms of MS. For a long time, I had ascribed my emotional lability, forgetfulness, difficulties concentrating, etc. to MS. During training, I learned more about the variety in ADHD’s presentation, and the symptoms below the surface (Zeigler Dendy and Ziegler
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