What is a case co-ordinator?

A case co-ordinator supports children and young people with additional needs, often working between home, school, and services to provide personalised help. They are especially common in systems where proactive, wraparound support is offered to neurodivergent students, such as autism outreach programmes or school inclusion teams.

They may also be called Specialist School and Family Support Workers or similar titles, depending on the setting.

We asked some people who do this role to tell us about it. This is what they said:

Case co-ordinators work directly with children and young people, often in both school and home environments. Their work might include:

• Visiting children at school and at home.
• Liaising with classroom staff, management, and parents.
• Offering advice and guidance to both families and professionals.
• Supporting young people with emotional wellbeing and learning engagement.
• Providing direct sessions focused on connection, regulation, and confidence-building.

They build strong relationships with the child and the adults around them to provide consistent and informed support.

Case co-ordinators often come from teaching or therapy backgrounds and may hold qualifications such as:

• Degree or postgraduate qualifications in education, psychology, or autism.
• Specialist training in autism and PDA.
• Trauma-informed or neurodivergence-aware certification.

This is not a regulated role so there aren’t qualifications a case co-ordinator must have or a particular regulatory body they must be registered with.

A case co-ordinator can be a vital link in recognising and responding to a PDA profile of autism. They can:

• Offer consistent support across both school and home.
• Help adults around the PDAer understand their communication and regulation needs.
• Tailor strategies to reduce anxiety and build trust.
• Work at the young person’s pace to reintroduce learning and connection.

Because they often see the “whole picture,” they can bridge understanding between different settings and teams.

Case co-ordinators shared several adaptations they use specifically to support PDAers:

• Reducing demands and working gently with what the child can manage.
• Focusing on relationship-building before introducing educational expectations.
• Using a child-led, interest-based approach to engagement.
• Supporting parents and school staff to shift their perception to view behaviour as communication.
• Offering flexibility in how, when, and where sessions happen, based on what feels safe and achievable for the young person.
• Helping decode anxiety-driven behaviour to prevent escalation and improve support plans.

These professionals often become key trusted adults for PDAers who have struggled in other environments.

We asked some case co-ordinators this question. They told us that when a young person is struggling to access learning or communicate their needs, a case co-ordinator can be a steady, compassionate presence.

They can:

• Help everyone involved work together effectively.
• Adapt expectations to match the child’s needs and strengths.
• Build trust with the child and reduce overwhelm.
• Promote genuine inclusion, not just attendance.

PDAers and their families often tell us how confusing and unsettling it can be to meet new professionals – especially when it’s not clear what their job is or what good support looks like. That’s why we asked professionals themselves to tell us, in their own words, what they do. You’ll find their honest, personal answers in this area of the site.

Please note: these insights come from individual professionals, not official organisations, so you might find some variation in how people describe their roles. If you’re wondering whether a service you’ve been offered is the right fit, our guides to finding helpful support can help.