Social Communication Pathway

What is Social Communication?

Social communication refers to the use of verbal (spoken language) and nonverbal (eye gaze, facial expression, gestures) communication to connect with others. These skills help us express ourselves, understand others, and build meaningful relationships at home, nursery, school, college, and beyond.

How are Social Communication Differences Linked to Autism?

Sometimes, children and young people may experience differences in their social communication and interaction style. This might mean they find it harder to understand or use body language, take turns in conversation, or cope with changes in routine and social situations. These differences are often part of being autistic.

What is Autism?

Autism is a natural variation in how an autistic individual experiences and interacts with the world. It involves a different way of thinking, sensing, and communicating – not a deficit or something to be ‘fixed’. Because autism exists on a spectrum, every autistic person is unique, with their own strengths and challenges.

Autistic children and young people may:

  • Process social interactions differently, sometimes finding things like small talk or body language unclear, while often valuing direct and honest communication
  • Experience the world intensely; lights, sounds, textures, and emotions may feel overwhelming but also bring deep joy and focus
  • Prefer structure and predictability, which can provide comfort and reduce stress in an unpredictable world
  • Have passionate interests and deep curiosity, leading to remarkable knowledge and creativity
  • Use stimming behaviours (such as rocking, hand-flapping, or repeating words) as a natural way to regulate emotions and feel comfortable

What Might Differences in Social Communication and Interaction Styles Look Like?

Autistic children and young people, and people with differences in their social communication may show some of the following:

  • Delayed or lost language in early years
  • Use of vocalisations, echolalia (repeating words or phrases with the same intonation), or set phrases for self-regulation or enjoyment
  • Differences understanding or using gestures, facial expressions, and personal space
  • Difficulties using language to make requests, hold conversations, problem-solve, or understand idioms and figurative speech
  • Preference to not make eye contact
  • Differences interacting with peers and engaging in play; they might prefer to play alone
  • Preferences for routines, patterns, or sequences, and may experience dysregulation when routines, places or people are not suitably predictable
  • Deep, focused interests which bring joy and can engage with for long periods
  • Sensory differences, such as heightened or reduced sensitivity to sounds, textures, lights, or other inputs

Recognising these social communication differences as part of autism helps provide the right support for autistic children and young people, enabling them to develop their communication skills and confidently engage with their social world.

For more information on autism and the autism referral and assessment process, please visit the Barking & Dagenham, Havering, and Redbridge Children’s Autism Service website: https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/bhr-childrens-autism-service/ 

Early Years Social Communication

How may a Speech and Language Therapist help parents/carers develop their skills to support their Early Years child?

Our Speech and Language Therapy team supports and promotes children’s communication and language development in the Early Years (up to when a child goes to primary school). We assess, diagnose and develop packages of care, including training of the wider workforce and parents/carers to improve outcomes for children with social communication difficulties.

We currently offer the following packages of care:

  1. Play and Connect – a webinar which provides information on communication and strategies that parents/carers can use with their child to support the development of their communication skills.
  2. Copy and Connect – supports you to develop positive social interactions with your child, using principles from Intensive Interaction.
  3. Show and Share – supports you to develop your child’s shared attention, communication and social interaction skills through the use of visually based and highly motivating activities.
  4. Total Communication – introduces you to a variety of methods to support the development of your child’s communication and increase their reasons for communicating, including requesting, protesting, making comments and expressing their thoughts and preferences. These supports may include using gestures, signs, spoken language and/or a core vocabulary board.
  5. Watch, Wait, Communicate – uses principles of VERVE and Parent-Child Interaction (PCI) – support you to identify and understand your child’s communication skills and identify and enhance the ways you support your child with their progress.
  6. Gestalt Language Processors – supports you to learn and implement strategies which support your child’s communication development if they are learning language through intonation and repetition of heard phrases.

How do you refer to the Early Years Social Communication team?

We accept referrals from parents/carers, health professionals (such as Health Visitors and GP), and other professionals (such as nursery staff or portage workers). We ask that you complete an Early Years checklist so that we can identify the most appropriate care for each child.

Cut-off for Early Years Speech and Language Therapy referrals

For children who will be starting in Reception at primary school in September of any academic year, the last date an Early Years Speech and Language Therapy referral will be accepted is the preceding May half term. This will allow time for the child to be seen for their initial assessment and have a report written with targets and advice by the time they start school. This will greatly support the transition process as the school staff will receive clear recommendations on how to support the child in their new setting; this will also help ease parental anxiety during the transition phase. These referrals will be accepted in the usual way, with a completed SPA form and Early Years checklist.

If a child is not referred by May half term, they can be referred via the SENCo at school. Please note that a referral for a school-aged child requires evidence of how the school has supported the child for two academic terms with clear outcomes of the strategies and interventions which have been put in place. Children not referred by May half term will not be able to be referred to the school-aged service until the subsequent Summer term.

Download and complete the Early Years Checklist  

What can you do at home in the meantime?

You can visit  https://progress-checker.speechandlanguage.org.uk/  to see how your baby or child is getting on with their speech, language and communication development.

The following websites provide simple activities and games that you can carry out with your child to develop their speech, language and communication skills:

You can also visit your local Family Hub, which provides a range of groups that are aimed at supporting parents/carers to develop their child’s communication skills. There are specific groups aimed at supporting communication development, including, Peep-A-Boo (for children aged 0-18 months) and Peep Play and Talk sessions (for children aged 18months-4years). Families can find out what’s on at their local Family Hub at:  https://startforlife.lbbd.gov.uk/family-hubs-activities-timetable/

 

Child with adult child with abacus

Teacher and children Woman with child

School Age Communication

How may a Speech and Language Therapist help parents/carers to develop their skills to support their school aged child?

Our Speech and Language Therapy team offers a child centred, evidence-based approach for children and young people aged 0-16 (or 19 if they have an Education, Health and Care Plan) to their parents/carers, and professionals working with the child and young person within educational settings.  

We offer assessment, training, intervention and advice to support children and young people who have difficulties with social communication and Autism Spectrum Disorder (to promote neurodiversity, we prefer to use the term “Condition”, rather than “Disorder”).   

Assessment and/or intervention takes place within the child or young person’s familiar and natural environments, such as home or school. 

How can you get in contact with the Speech and Language Service?

  • In the first instance, share your concerns or queries with the Teacher, and the Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) or Inclusion Manager at your child’s school. They will be able to speak to you about your concerns and share ways in which they will, or already are, supporting your child to develop their social communication skills.  
  • The SENCO or Inclusion Manager can also make a referral to the Speech and Language Therapy team if needed. 
  • A fully completed Single Point Access (SPA) form
  • A completed Speech and Language Therapy Screener. Screener for KS1&2 . Screener for  KS3&4 .
  • Evidence about what strategies have already been tried in school for at least two terms. It is important to include a review of these. If you need help with this, speak to your Speech and Language Therapist.
  • Please view this helpful video which takes you through the referral process for school aged children https://youtu.be/QfxYYBFfcsw 
  • If your child attends an Early Years setting, please take a look at the 'Early Years Social Communication' tab for further details. 

What can you do at home in the meantime?

Some useful website links for information and activities:

For more support, please look at:

Additionally Resourced SEND Provision in Mainstream Schools (ARPs) in Barking and Dagenham

What is an ARP?

Many young people with additional learning needs can make better, more sustained progress when they attend mainstream schools. An ARP is a provision, within a mainstream school, designed to provide specialist and targeted support for children with long term special educational needs (SEND). ARPs are additionally funded which means that a school ARP receives additional resources. Each ARP specialises in a particular area of SEND and places are allocated according to the specific needs of the child or young person. ARPs provide a setting where reasonable adaptations have been made to best support the learning style of the children attending. This often means less specialist 1:1 support is needed for the child as the environment and staff training better meets their needs.

They offer:

  • Teaching staff and support staff with additional knowledge, skills, expertise and allocated time in a particular area of SEND.
  • Specialist environments which support the learning, behaviour and social and emotional needs of each pupil.
  • Systems to identify, plan for and track small-step progress to inform next steps.
  • Lessons in mainstream classes, but with additional specialist resources and teaching.
  • Additional Educational Psychologist and specialist health input as necessary.

How is a young person allocated to an ARP? 

Pupils allocated an ARP place nearly always have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). The borough’s local authority specialist panels are the only agency that can allocate an ARP place. The Panel will decide whether a place in an ARP is the most appropriate way of meeting a young person’s needs and, if so, which ARP is the most suitable. There are clear criteria for naming an ARP on a pupil’s EHC Plan.

Autism ARPs

NELFT Barking and Dagenham Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) service are commissioned in the following Autism Spectrum Condition ARPs:

  • Godwin Nursery ARP (NARP)
  • Valence Nursery ARP (NARP)
  • George Carey Primary School
  • Grafton Primary School
  • John Perry Primary School
  • Manor Primary School (Longbridge Road)
  • Monteagle Primary School
  • Parsloes Primary School
  • Thomas Arnold Primary School
  • Barking Abbey Secondary School
  • Jo Richardson Secondary School
  • Sydney Russell Secondary School

Schools and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham opened additional ARPs where SaLT isn’t currently commissioned from NELFT. These are the following:

  • Becontree Primary School
  • Eastbrook Primary School
  • Ripple Primary School
  • Rose Lane Primary School
  • Valence Primary School

For further information regarding these ARPs, please click on the link below:

Barking and Dagenham SEND Local Offer