Rebekah's Journey
Rebekah Herbert is a specialist in Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Law, holding Higher Distinction in Levels 1, 2 and 3. She combines over 15 years’ lived experience as a parent of neurodiverse young people with more than a decade of professional work alongside vulnerable children and families.
Her work is rooted in inclusive education, with a focus on:
-
Making inclusion effective in schools and alternative settings.
-
Overcoming medical and social barriers and supporting reintegration into full-time education.
-
Addressing social, emotional and communication needs within classrooms and across whole-school communities.
-
Strengthening learning through play, especially in early childhood education.
Rebekah’s expertise includes:
-
Makaton signing and supporting children with speech and language disorders (Elkan).
-
Strategies for sensory processing and integration difficulties.
-
Specialist insight into Autism, including the unique challenges faced by girls on the spectrum.
-
Training in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), undertaken as part of the recognised diagnostic process for Autism Spectrum Disorders.
-
Understanding genetic syndromes such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) type 3, which are often overlooked due to their invisible nature, and the impact these can have on education and attendance.
-
Supporting children with speech apraxia, phonological speech disorder, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), and wider communication needs.
-
Guidance around mental health in children and young people, including conditions such as anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and other complex presentations.
-
Working with adoptive families, where children’s complex needs can be misunderstood and parents are too often blamed. Rebekah advocates for approaches that recognise the importance of a therapeutic environment, low-demand parenting styles, and the realities of conditions such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which are frequently misinterpreted in educational and social care contexts.
Advocacy rooted in trust, care, and getting it right — lawfully
Advocacy is not just what I do — it’s who I am.
I work alongside parents and carers, holding space for them to feel safe, heard, and supported at a time when systems can feel overwhelming, adversarial, or impossible to navigate. Many families come to me feeling exhausted, dismissed, or unsure how to move forward. My role is to listen first — without judgement — and help bring clarity, confidence, and calm.
I also bring a clear, practical focus: securing the best possible, lawful EHCP and helping ensure that the right provision is written in properly and put in place. Too often plans are vague, watered down, or missing what a child genuinely needs. I support parents to understand what the law requires, what “specific and quantified” provision looks like, and how to challenge anything that isn’t lawful or isn’t working.
My approach is step-by-step, because learning the process takes time — and families shouldn’t feel overwhelmed or rushed. I break it down into manageable stages, explaining what matters, what to ignore, and what to do next, so parents feel informed and empowered rather than flooded.
I work in a relational, collaborative way — helping families bridge the gap between home, school, and the local authority. I mediate conversations, reduce misunderstandings, and break down barriers, always re-centering everything with the child in mind. Progress happens best when trust is rebuilt, language is human, and everyone is working toward the same shared goal.
At the heart of my work is the belief that neurodivergent children thrive when the adults around them work together with empathy, transparency, and purpose — and when support is not just promised on paper, but delivered in real life.
If you’re looking for calm, grounded advocacy that values relationship over conflict and results rooted in the law, you are welcome here.