Social and communication needs - support services
The London Borough of Bromley is committed to providing support to all families with children (0-25) presenting with Social Communication Needs (SCN), including autism.
Social Communication Needs (SCN) family support service
The Social Communication (inc Autism) Needs Targeted Support Co-ordinator post was introduced to provide information and advice to parents and carers of children with social communication needs. This service is referred to as ‘SCAN’ and helps parents and carers to navigate the support options and coordinate services available in Bromley and nationally.
Bromley recognises that not all families will require the same support and services. There is a lot of information and this is where the SCAN service can help. The SCAN service will inform families of the accessible and supportive universal, targeted, and specialist provision available so that families can feel supported at home, in education, and in their community.
The SCAN Service is the single point of access to Bromley’s specialist provision for those families for who may require additional intensive support for short periods at various points in their child’s developmental journey.
The SCAN Service:
- Will provide a detailed guide about services in Bromley via our Flipbook. The Flipbook outlines a range of resources which aim to improve and develop parental knowledge of social communication needs and autism.
- Offers support service, to access this, you complete the SCAN Referral Form. A skilled and knowledgeable team staff this inbox and will respond to your enquiry.
- Hold regular coffee morning/afternoons in Bromley’s Children and Family Centres which provide a network to support families. On occasion guest speakers will be invited.
- Is the single point of access, i.e., the referral route, to Bromley Mencap’s Specialist Autism Family Support Service.
The SCN family support service sits within Bromley’s Early Intervention and Family Support Services, under the Bromley Children Project, which is a borough wide service that supports all families living in Bromley.
Contact: Monday to Thursday 9:30am to 2pm.
Email: SocialCommunicationNeeds@bromley.gov.uk
Telephone: 0208 461 7259
Bromley Mencap Specialist Autism Family Support Service
Bromley Mencap Specialist Autism Family Support Service is commissioned by Bromley Council and compliments the Social Communication Needs (SCN) family support service. The service is only available through referral from the SCN family support service.
Their specialist service is delivered by two experienced autism family support workers and offers:
- Short term intensive support to families who have several queries to work through
- A clear action plan written in conjunction with the family to note key issues and goals, and timescales for resolution
Support could be specifically related to the child’s needs or to the family situation, for example, help with welfare benefit claims and housing. All support will be tailored to the needs of each family.
Many families experience periods that are more challenging when specialist support is required. Once intensive support is completed, families will return to the support of the universal family support service at Bromley Children Project.