ABSTRACT
This chapter is a starting point for information on the special educational needs most frequently occurring in the mainstream secondary school. Labels are, of course, fraught with danger. Teachers bandy about a term such as ADHD or dyslexic as verbal shorthand. The danger is that the label sticks: a child may not have ADHD but be troubled and insecure. Many children have been labelled ‘dyslexic’ when they are long sighted or have a degree of hearing loss which makes phonics a bit of a mystery.
