COVID-19 has affected people across the world. The current study examined anxiety and worries during the first UK national lockdown in March 2020. Parents (n = 402) reported on their own anxiety and worries as well as that of their son/daughter with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and typically developing (TD) child (n = 186) at three time points. Although both groups showed increased anxiety across the three time points, levels of anxiety in the SEND group, but not the TD siblings, were predicted by awareness about COVID-19. In addition, worries differed between the groups showing that COVID-19 impacts the wellbeing of those with SEND differently to that of their TD siblings.

The relationships are explored between language and literacy and academic success at 16 years in an English sample of 62 young people with a history of specific language impairment identified at 8 years. Data were available from national assessments at 16 and 14; in addition the pupils had completed a range of standardized tests to examine language, literacy and non-verbal ability at 10 years and 8 months and at 16 years. Concurrent measures of literacy had the highest correlations with academic performance. However, analysis revealed a complex model identifying relationships between academic performance at 16 and previous academic attainments in secondary school (national assessments at 14) and a measure of language (listening to paragraphs, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals 3 or CELF-R UK ; Peers et al., 1999). Standardized measures of literacy, non-verbal ability and listening to paragraphs (CELF-R UK ) taken at age 11 accounted for over 50% of the variance in performance on Key Stage 3 (KS3) assessments at 14 in English, maths and science. Current gaps in our understanding of the factors that support successful school performance are discussed.

Background Although parental stress is higher for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs), it is unclear how this stress compares to more common NDs. The current study compared stress in parents of children with Williams syndrome (WS), Down syndrome (DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The impact of individual and contextual factors was also explored. Method Parents of children with WS (n = 107), DS (n = 79) and ASD (n = 79) completed a background questionnaire, a parental stress questionnaire and a satisfaction with life questionnaire. Results Although all groups displayed similar levels of parental stress, the factors that influenced this stress differed between the groups. There were also differences for life satisfaction and relationships between parental stress and individual and contextual factors. Conclusions Although parents of children with NDs are not at an increased risk of parental stress, the results suggest that interventions should be syndrome‐specific.

The current study has demonstrated that young people with a history of SLI have an awareness of their difficulties and of the impact that these needs have on different aspects of their lives. They were also able to provide valuable views of service provision, both in terms of evaluating the support they received and suggesting ways of improving it. Ascertaining the views of younger children with SLI and including them in decision-making about their education and lives should be an important aspect of the role of those professionals working with this group of children. The study supports the importance of gaining the views of young people with SLI not only as a matter of rights, but also for the practical benefits that can ensue.