SEND & Neurodivergent Online Safety
Strength-based guidance for autistic children, ADHD, learning disabilities, speech and language needs, looked-after and kinship-care families.
Most child online-safety advice assumes a child who reads social cues easily, tolerates being asked to stop, and can spot when something feels wrong by instinct. Many SEND and neurodivergent children process the world differently — and online-safety rules that ignore that simply do not work.
This hub starts from your child’s strengths. Pattern recognition, deep loyalty to communities of interest, careful attention to fairness, and a preference for predictable interfaces can all become part of how a young person stays safe online. Where there is genuinely raised risk — for instance increased grooming vulnerability or literal interpretation of scam messages — we name it clearly and give you practical, non-judgmental steps.
These pages are written for parents and carers in the UK but are useful for foster carers, kinship carers, special schools, mainstream school SENCOs, social workers, and anyone supporting a young person with additional needs. If your child is in immediate danger, call 999.
For parents
Autistic children
A strength-based guide to supporting autistic children online — pattern recognition, special interests, and the small adjustments that make a big difference.
ADHD
Helping ADHD children build online safety habits that work with their brains, not against them — impulsivity, hyperfocus, and dopamine-aware design.
Learning disabilities
Online safety that works at your child's reading and reasoning level — easy-read rules, real-life rehearsal, and supportive structure.
Speech & language needs
Online safety for children with DLD, language disorders, or communication delay — visual rules, AAC-aware scripts, and ways to ask for help.
Grooming risk for SEND children
Honest, non-graphic guidance on why neurodivergent and SEND children are targeted more often online — and concrete steps that lower risk without blame.
Literal thinking & scams
How literal thinking patterns interact with scams, phishing, and manipulative messages — and concrete rules that work.
Gaming & regulation
Helpful structure around gaming for children with ADHD, autism, and other regulation needs — alternatives to bans that actually work.
Sensory & screen time
When screens are regulating and when they are overwhelming — a sensory-aware approach to screen-time decisions.
Visual safety rules
Picture-based online safety rules for non-readers and emerging readers — printable cards, AAC-compatible symbols, and how to use them well.
Easy-read safety
Plain-language, easy-read summaries of the core online safety rules — for children, young people, and adults with learning disabilities.
For carers, foster, and kinship
Looked-after children
For foster carers, kinship carers, and social workers supporting children in care online — contact, identity, and trauma-aware approaches.
Kinship care
For grandparents and family carers raising a relative's child — practical online safety when the placement and the family ties are intertwined.
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.