Speech and Language Therapy Service – Early Years Social Communication Differences Pathway Waiting Times
Overview and Pathway
Following assessment with a Speech and Language Therapist, your child has been identified to have some social communication and language differences. This means your child may show differences in how they understand and understand their communication, including interaction, play and language.
The current pathway for children under 4 ½ years with social communication differences is outlined below:
- Parent workshop – via Microsoft Teams or in person to provide specialist strategies to support your child’s play, understanding, communication and interaction.
Following the parent workshops, please allow 6 months to put strategies into practice within your family and child’s environment.This time allows for generalisation and seeing how well strategies work in daily life.
Contact the Service after 6 months if you and your child still need support through a review appointment.
Telephone: 0161 470 6770 Email: salt.admin@mft.nhs.uk - Review – we will review your child’s progress in communication and interaction and decide on next steps.
- Next Steps – We will decide on next steps which may be a set number of further therapy sessions, school advice or programme or discharge from the Early Years Service if your child is reception aged (aged 4-6 and above).
Waiting Times
Currently, there is a high number of children waiting for support with social communication differences.
We understand how frustrating and worrying this is for families. We are working hard to reduce waiting times and provide timely support as soon as possible.
We usually see children in referral date order and we cannot prioritise one family over another.
It is not possible for us to give individual expected wait times.
The average waiting times are listed below. Please be aware that you may be seen sooner or later than the times given.
| Average Waiting Time | April 2026 Update | |
| Parent Workshop | 6 months | We are currently inviting children who were seen for an initial assessment in September 2025. |
| Review | 2 months after you contact the service | We are currently seeing children who had the parent workshop in September 2025 |
| Individual Therapy Sessions | 10-12 months | We are currently seeing children who had their review appointment in July 2025 |
Please be assured that your child is on our waiting list and you will be given an appointment when one becomes available.
FAQS
Your child will remain on the pathway. If your child is over 4 ½ years old at the point of the review, we will work with your child’s new school ensure support continues in their new setting.
Our intervention is designed to support the adults around your child to make changes to their communication environment. You will be given strategies and recommendations to continue using at home and in your child’s setting.
If further support is needed in the future, you can speak to your child’s setting or referrer about whether a new referral is appropriate.
Waiting times can vary depending on your child’s needs. If a child does not have social communication differences and needs support with another area of speech, language and communication, the waiting time will vary.
You will be offered a place on a workshop within a few months of your child’s initial assessment. We will contact you with available dates as soon as possible.
Please let us know. We may be able to offer an alternative date, provide resources, or discuss other ways to access the information.
We know this can be a worrying time. We usually see children in referral date order and we cannot prioritise one family over another.
While you are waiting, there are lots of helpful things you can do to support your child’s communication, such as:
Encourage play and interaction
- Use simple, clear language
- Follow your child’s interests
- Access local support groups or online resources
While you’re waiting to see us, there are things you can do to support your wellbeing. Below is a selection of trusted websites, self-help tools, and local resources for young people, parents, and carers.
- SCP Pathway – https://padlet.com/Thesocialcommunicationpathway/the-social-communication-pathway-scroll-to-the-right-to-find-575fste7i0ul5skd
- What is Autism (NHS) – https://mft.nhs.uk/camhs/advice/autism/
This pathway focuses on supporting the adults around the child to make changes to their communication environment, as this is the most effective way to support early communication development.
If you feel this approach is not right for your family, you can discuss your concerns with us. We can provide advice and, where appropriate, signpost you to other services or options.
This refers to how a child understands and uses communication, including interaction, language, and social engagement.
Not necessarily. Social communication differences can be part of a range of developmental profiles. We will work with you to understand your child’s strengths and needs.
We are not able to diagnose your child as this requires a referral to the Social Communication Pathway team.
Demand for services is high, and we aim to provide high-quality and evidence-based interventions for every child.
Please see our waiting times section to understand these better.
It is not possible for us to give individual expected wait times.
Please see our waiting times section to understand these better.
Depending on where your child is up on the social communication differences pathway, the next steps are listed in above in our Overview and Pathway section.