Who we are
Why I built it
I’m Leon, and I’m a SEND parent. I didn’t set out to build an app.
Like a lot of parents, I was carrying it all in my head: what happened before the last meltdown, how many bad nights there had been, what finally helped, and when. Then someone in a meeting would ask for examples, and I’d be trying to remember last Tuesday.
I tried notebooks, notes on my phone, photos taken as proof. The apps I found were mostly built for therapists, or for planning the day rather than understanding my child. None of them felt like they had been made by someone who had lived the nights, the long wait, or the meeting where you explain everything again to someone new.
So I built what I needed: somewhere quick to put the day down, that reads it back plainly, has help ready for the hardest moments, and has it all there when someone finally asks.
SEN Patterns is still small, and it’s still being shaped by parents. If something in it doesn’t work for your family, I’d really like to hear about it.
Leon, founder
We see you.
We see the notebook by the bed with years of scribbled patterns in it. The phone full of photos of the same behaviour, taken as proof. The meeting where you explained everything, again, to someone new. The 4am, the long wait, the form that asks you to list everything your child can’t do.
We see the good days too. The breakthrough nobody else noticed. The thing that finally worked.
SEN Patterns exists because that shouldn’t all have to live in your head.
Log the day in seconds. Find out what actually helps your child. Get support in the moment it gets hard, not three months from now. And walk into every meeting with it all written down.
No diagnosis. No judgement. No pretending it’s easy.
Just a calmer path, and someone in your corner.
What we believe
Five things we hold to when deciding what goes in, and what stays out.
- Calm is a feature, not a mood
- Fewer fields, fewer decisions, fewer notifications. If something adds noise or one more thing to remember, it does not go in.
- You are the expert on your child
- We never tell you what your child is. We reflect back what you have noticed, and it is your call whether it fits.
- Real data only
- Everything the app says about your child comes from what you have logged. No made-up averages, and no comparison with a “typical” child.
- Strengths first, but honest
- We lead with what is working and what helped. We do not pretend the hard days are not hard.
- Dignity by default
- As little information as we need, private by default, and every word about your child written as if they will read it one day. Because one day they might.
What SEN Patterns is not
Saying it plainly, so nobody is left wondering.
Not a diagnosis
It never assesses, scores or labels your child, and never suggests a treatment.
Not therapy
It does not run programmes or interventions. It helps you see what you already know.
Not an app for children
Your child is who it is about, not who uses it. Children never have an account.
Not a social network
There is no feed, and nothing you log is ever shown to other families.
Not about changing your child
It is about understanding your child as they are, and making the days a little easier for both of you.
For advice about SEND law, an EHCP or an appeal, the experts are IPSEA and your local SENDIASS. Both are free.
Get in touch
A question, an idea, or something that isn’t working: email hello@senpatterns.com. We reply within five working days.