First Ripple: Earlier identification of UK children with SEND
Upstream SEND
UPSTREAM SEND
The Upstream Team
Research • Innovation • Collaboration
First Ripple SEND Support
SEND in England stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and early identification means finding and understanding these needs in babies and young children (from birth up to age five) as soon as possible. First Ripple SEND Support from The Upstream Team
The Dys-Code® Project is being developed through a UKRI/Innovate UK Contracts for Innovation award, as part of the Earlier identification of UK children with SEN competition. The competition is funding innovations that enable earlier, fairer and more reliable identification of special educational needs where existing market solutions underperform or do not operate. Dys-Code® is addressing this challenge by developing and evaluating an innovative approach to identifying children who may be at increased risk of dyslexia at age three, before they are taught to read.
Designed to include non-speaking children and children who speak little or no English, Dys-Code® aims to identify risk earlier, build a clearer understanding of individual strengths and needs, and enable appropriate support before children have to struggle at school. Earlier identification. Earlier understanding. Earlier support.
Our work has also been recognised through an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award, supporting the further development of MySpeekie®, our one-screen AAC technology for non-speaking children and adults. MySpeekie® is designed to enable communication without requiring the user to already know how to read or spell, with development extending access to people who communicate through eye pointing. Together, these award-supported innovations reflect our focus on developing inclusive technology that reaches people earlier and removes barriers created by existing approaches.
Earlier identification. Earlier understanding. Earlier support.