Introducing nonSENse: Rosie Sully’s New Novel Inspired by Real SEND Stories

Summary

Rosie began writing the novel after years of hearing the same stories echoed across parent groups, school meetings and waiting rooms, stories of resilience, frustration, humour and hope. She wanted to create something that felt honest and accessible, a book that could both comfort families and demystify the processes that often feel overwhelming.

Every day at SEND Tutoring, we meet families who are doing everything they can to support their children while navigating a system that is overstretched, inconsistent and emotionally draining. Rosie Sully’s new novel, nonSENse, captures that reality with honesty, warmth and a deep understanding that can only come from lived experience.

This new novel is classed as fiction, but it speaks the truth many families know all too well.

About the Author: Rosie Sully

Rosie Sully is a writer, advocate and SEN parent whose work is shaped by more than a decade of navigating the SEND system firsthand. As a mother whose daughter has ADHD and autism, Rosie has experienced the long waits, the refusals, the panels, the paperwork and the emotional toll that so many families know too well.

Her lived experience is the foundation of nonSENse. Rosie began writing the novel after years of hearing the same stories echoed across parent groups, school meetings and waiting rooms, stories of resilience, frustration, humour and hope. She wanted to create something that felt honest and accessible, a book that could both comfort families and demystify the processes that often feel overwhelming.

Rosie explains:

“I’m an SEN mum myself… Over the years, we’ve faced so many of the same frustrations other parents talk about every day: needs assessments being refused, the struggle to find a suitable special school place, long waits for diagnosis, and that familiar feeling of being passed from one faceless panel to another with no one picking up the phone. The pressure on the system has only grown, and although it feels broken, I don’t believe that’s down to any one group, schools, professionals, or even the Local Authority. Everyone is trying their best within a structure that simply isn’t fit for purpose. That’s what led me to write nonSENse. It’s fiction, but rooted in the realities so many families face.”

Her writing blends fiction with the realities of SEND life, giving families a space to feel seen and understood. Through her characters, Rosie shines a light not only on the challenges families face but also on the strength, humour and solidarity that carry them through.

A Story Written From the Inside

Rosie Sully isn’t observing the SEND world from a distance. She’s lived it:

“My daughter is autistic and has ADHD, and we’ve been navigating the system since the days of Statements”

Her perspective shapes every page of nonSENse. Rosie highlights a system under pressure, and the families who keep pushing forward despite it.

Seven Families. One Support Group. Shared Determination.

At the heart of the novel is a weekly support group where seven families come together to share updates, frustrations and small victories. Each family faces a different challenge:

• Amy, whose son Mason’s SEMH needs have intensified since starting secondary school.
• Marsha, mum to autistic twins, one of whom needs a resource base that the LA is struggling to secure.
• Julia is weighing up secondary school options for her son Theo, who has ADHD.
• Sean and Aisling are preparing for a tribunal after their daughter, Roisin, who has optic nerve hypoplasia, was denied an assessment.
• Angela, mum to Sienna, who has Global Developmental Delay. Sienna has been in the same special school for years, but Angela has heard worrying whispers from a former TA about the culture there.
• Paul, whose daughter Poppy is a young carer. She’s on an EOTAS package after becoming Emotionally Based School Avoidant (EBSA) when her mum developed Multiple Sclerosis.
• Amarita, whose son Vihaan is about to leave college, and she’s unsure what adulthood will look like for him.

In their weekly meetings, they catch up, offload, and support one another. As Rosie puts it: 

“Through fiction, I’ve tried to demystify things like mediation and tribunal by weaving them into the story in a factual, grounded way, so families know what to expect without feeling overwhelmed.”

The book builds towards a parent‑only weekend away in the seaside town of Saltmere, a reminder of how vital respite is, and how easily SEND parents lose and then rediscover themselves.

nonSENse is her debut novel and the first in a planned series. The sequel, Let’s Talk Some SENse, will continue following the support‑group families as they navigate new stages, new challenges and new beginnings, with some new faces introduced along the way.

A Reflection From SEND Tutoring’s Director, Ione Inness

After reading nonSENse, our Director, Ione Inness, shared her thoughts on why the novel feels so powerful and so necessary.

“NonSENse tells the story of a group of families all at different stages of fighting for Education, Health and Care Plan support for their children. The parents come from different backgrounds, their children have different diagnoses, and they are navigating different ages and developmental stages. Yet what binds them together is the exhausting and emotional journey of trying to secure the educational support their children are legally entitled to.

At the heart of the book is the simple but powerful idea of strangers coming together in a support group, sharing knowledge, advice and emotional support while facing the same system Some of the stories are deeply moving. One family is fighting for a three-year-old child with severe optic nerve damage who can only see objects at very close range. Their struggle is simply to secure an assessment and specialist support within a mainstream classroom. Another story follows a 14-year-old girl who is also a young carer for her mother, who has MS. The pressure she carries leads to crippling anxiety that leaves her unable to leave the house or see the point of continuing with school. What makes the book remarkable is the way the group lifts one another up. Through shared experience and persistence, progress is eventually made:

• The three-year-old secures an EHCP and specialist support
• The young carer is given a mentor who helps her offload some of her worries and re-engage with learning

Reading these stories resonates strongly with the work we see every day. Families are often navigating local authorities, school systems, and complex administrative processes while also advocating for their children’s basic rights to education and support. The process of securing an EHCP can be long, difficult and emotionally draining. Many parents are forced to reduce their working hours or leave their jobs entirely to fight these battles. Even when an EHCP is finally secured, there is still no guarantee that the provision written in the plan will actually be delivered.

This reality is one of the reasons I set up SEND Tutoring — to support the children and young people who fall through the gaps in the system. It is also why the reputation we build must always be one that families can trust. NonSENse is an important and powerful book that will resonate with many families navigating the SEND system. At a time when the future of EHCPs is increasingly debated, the message of the book feels more relevant than ever: families and professionals must continue to stand together, share knowledge and advocate for what is right for children — not simply what is cheapest or most convenient for the system.”

Where Rosie’s Story Meets Ours

What Rosie captures in nonSENse, the determination, the fatigue, the small triumphs that keep families going, is the same reality we meet every day in our work. Her characters fight for clarity, consistency and understanding; our commitment is to offer exactly that in real life.

Where her support group becomes a lifeline, our role is to be a steady, reliable presence for families who are tired of being passed from one service to another. Where her story shows the emotional cost of navigating the system, our mission is to ease that burden by giving children the tailored support they deserve and parents a team they can trust.

Rosie gives these experiences a voice on the page.

We stand beside the families living them.

That’s where her story meets ours, in the shared belief that every child deserves to be seen, supported and understood, and that no family should have to fight alone. 

If you want to experience the world she’s captured so honestly, you can find nonSENse on Amazon and major booksellers; it’s well worth the read.

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Ella Jones

If you’re looking for support for a child or young person with special educational needs or a disability, book a free call with us today and find out how we can help.