What is a Case Coordinator?
Understanding the role of a Case Coordinator
A Case Coordinator 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 programs or school inclusion teams.
We asked some people who do this role to tell us about it. This is what they said:
What does a Case Coordinator Do?
Case Coordinators 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.
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.
What qualifications do they have?
Case Coordinators 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 Coordinator must have or a particular regulatory body they must be registered with.
How can a Case Coordinator support a PDAer?
A Case Coordinator can be a vital link in recognising and responding to a PDA profile of autism. They can:
What adaptations can Case Coordinators make for PDAers?
Case Coordinators shared several adaptations they use specifically to support PDAers:
These professionals often become key trusted adults for PDAers who have struggled in other environments.
Why are Case Coordinators important?
We asked some Case Coordinators this question. They said:
“When a young person is struggling to access learning or communicate their needs, a Case Coordinator can be a steady, compassionate presence.”
“We 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.”
Where did this information come from?
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 the ‘What professionals do’ section of our site.
This is a growing resource, so if you don’t see the role you’re looking for yet, you could ask the person you're working with to fill in this short form.