Friend for a child with speech delay and possible ASD

[Blomme]

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to go about trying to improve my child's friendship circle / finding a friend? I realise it's a two way street and someone may well not want to be friends, but I need to try.
My child is very sociable, as in loves being around other children one to one or in small groups. Good with sharing and taking turns usually. Really struggles in the playground with shyness in approaching children to ask to play, or doesn't approach appropriately, playtime often goes wrong with him being hurt or hurting others.
Occasionally plays really nicely with 1 or 2 girls but seems to be a one off. Hardly ever gets invited to play dates, now and then invited to parties. Have tried to invite others for play dates.
Does anyone have any ideas? I've tried a couple of local sports clubs that include SEN children/ cater for children with SEN but no reply.

Hello lovely, my son is suspected asd. He really struggles with new people/children. He's 7 and has a small group of friends, it did take him a while to interact with the other children. In the end with encouragement from teachers he formed friendships to this day. We now are facing further troubles as his friends want to play or do things he can't. Or the other day his friends ran away from him. He was saying really negative things about himself. He's such a lovely boy. Its tough isn't it? Are the school supportive?

Thanks for your reply. It's very hard. School playground is the worst as it's so busy. I'm wondering if I should just leave it for now and hope he finds friends later, but he asks for friends so it's really sad. School have not been very supportive, they're starting to encourage him to ask to play, he's very shy. Hopefully he'll get a social communication group soon.
I just asked a mum for a playdate but they are busy...

Are there any parent groups near where you live? On Facebook maybe? I don't use Facebook myself and only joined mumsnet last night. Keep on at school, tell your concerns to the teacher. If they don't listen or help take it further. I work for the charity Cerebra, take a look at the website for guides on education, sensory, sleep and more. There are a few really good charities out there who have helped me far more than the system. X