Dear Secretary of State,

I am the Founder of the Aphantasia Academy, a specialist training provider focused on invisible cognitive differences such as aphantasia, anendophasia, and severely deficient autobiographical memory. I am writing in response to the government’s SEND reform agenda and the Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper.

I have already submitted a formal response to the SEND consultation, but I wanted to write to you separately because I believe there is an important blind spot within the current reform conversation.

There is a significant group of children and young people whose barriers to learning, emotional wellbeing, participation, and school engagement may be missed because they do not fit neatly within more familiar categories of need. Some children cannot form mental images. Some do not experience an inner verbal monologue in the way education and support services often assume. Some have severely limited autobiographical recall and may struggle to reflect on past experiences in the way teachers, pastoral staff, and therapeutic interventions often expect.

These differences are easy to overlook because they are largely invisible. A child may appear articulate, capable, and outwardly engaged, while still being unable to access tasks and support that rely on visualisation, inner speech, or autobiographical memory. In practice, this can lead to misunderstanding, inappropriate support, frustration, disengagement, and in some cases difficulties with attendance and emotional wellbeing.

I welcome the direction of the reforms, particularly the emphasis on earlier support, inclusion, and better identification of barriers. My concern is that unless invisible cognitive differences are more clearly recognised, some children will remain unsupported not because their needs are minor, but because they are conceptually invisible.

Inclusion is not only about what a child can do outwardly. It is also about what schools assume a child can do inwardly.

I would be very happy to contribute to any future discussion, stakeholder engagement, or guidance development in this area should that be helpful. I believe there is a real opportunity here to strengthen the reform programme so that children whose inner experience falls outside the norm are not overlooked.

Thank you for your time and for the work being undertaken to improve support for children and young people.

Kind regards,

Sassy Smith MIoL