{"id":69317,"date":"2025-06-13T11:48:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T10:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/?page_id=69317"},"modified":"2026-03-24T16:24:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:24:35","slug":"needs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/send-local-offer\/types-of-send\/communication-and-interaction\/needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Communication and interaction needs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some children and young people have difficulty communicating with others. They may find it hard to say what they want, or to understand what\u2019s being said to them. They may also experience differences in the way they interact with others, and the world around them. This can include children and young people with a diagnosis of autism<\/a> and those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every child or young person’s needs are unique to them. They may experience difficulty with one or more types of speech, language or social communication challenges, and these may change over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support in schools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We’ve produced guidance for schools about the support that should be available to all <\/strong>children and young people to help them thrive in school, regardless of whether they have any specific needs. This is known as ‘Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision<\/a>‘ (OAIP). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve created additional guidance for schools on supporting children and young people with SEND. This is called the ‘Targeted Support Framework<\/a>‘. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information for parents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Targeted Support Framework also includes links to resources for parents if their child or young person has difficulties in any of these areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve created this summary page to explain more about different areas of communication and interaction needs, <\/strong>with links to resources that parents may find useful<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Areas of communication and interaction needs<\/h3>\n\n\n

Social communication<\/span><\/span><\/h2>

Social communication is the use of verbal and non-verbal language to interact with others, including body language, tone of voice, conversational skills, social conventions and emotional intelligence.<\/p>\n

Resources for parents<\/h3>\n