Support for Social Communication Disorder

[Ollyoscar18]

My 9 year old DD has Social Communication Disorder and I am struggling to get any help/support for her (or the family) from anyone. It's clear she has these difficulties but we seem to have been completely abandoned by everyone (community paediatrician, ed.psych, SEN team at LA). We've had to withdraw her from school as her old one was completely failing her and causing her health to suffer. In the process of visiting prospective schools, no one has a clue how to meet this particular need arising from SCD. My DD's current Statement doesn't include anything as there are still assessments outstanding but this doesn't help my DD who needs to return to a safe, happy, supportive school setting ASAP. Her life goes on, whether a statement exists or not, and with her life goes all of the difficulties she has (social isolation, emotional fragility, obsessive interests, poor communication skills etc etc).
What support should she have for this disorder? Being realistic, what can a school provide for her? Life at school is very stressful for her and very lonely, we are so conscious that we find her a school which understands what SCD is, how it affects someone and how they need to be helped.

My daughter is younger, and the school she is at (currently) provide a good program of support. For her, this is a twice weekly "talking group" which the SENCO leads and has 4 children in it who need some extra support with social skills, confidence, language, that kind of thing. Her class teacher and TA know her and understand her so make natural adjustments to support her learning. She does not have too many issues at lunch and play time (yet?) but I think the school would make sure that people were looking out for her if she did (she has a buddy who is older in the school who looks out for her as a rule anyway).

My understanding is the ECHP (previously statement) is for some schools the key to understanding the needs of the child, as the SENCO and teachers might never have had a child like yours in their care before, so I would push through for the assessments as soon as possible to help the schools you are considering get a clearer picture of what would help her. The other expert is you - can you outline what would make your daughters day (and ability to learn) better? Finding a school with a decent SENCO is going to help massively. You might also find that home schooling her is a better option, if school and social situations are just too stressful. Then it is for you to find the best way to help your daughter with the things she finds more challenging, but at least you have the control, you are one to one with your daughter, and you can help her in safe spaces with the level of support she needs to grow with confidence.