Need an advice

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Folks, I need your advice. I am new to the forum.
I have a few friends, and I feel comfortable communicating with people via texts and emails. Virtual friends are fine with me.
Now, I have a teenage child who is preverbal and autistic. She does not have people whom she can call friends or her community (many reasons, including hardships and sensory sensitivities). However, she is friendly to people who are nice to her. Augmentative communication software does not seem to work well; she gets overwhelmed. I hope to find another way for her to connect to people and express herself better. Also, I hope these connections would not overwhelm me.

Maybe Spellers method? Teaching her spelling and hopefully finding people to connect that way?

Any other suggestions?

P.S. Playing sports or doing swim lessons with peers does not seem to be enough to make friends.

Well the first thing I would probably look into is her being preverbal. If she can't speak(or can only say few words) then making friends is going to be quite an uphill battle(especially during teenage years). If she doesn't have a psychiatrist or therapist, I would try getting one for her to help with the preverbal and trouble expressing herself, also possibly helping her get comfortable with Augmentative Communication Software.

There are a few things I can think of trying. You could try and see if there is a social group for people with autism in your area. Make sure they are focused on making friends or helping with integrating an autistic person into society. I've been to a social group that was government funded, and it changed from integrating us into society to basically "help you go to work".

Another thing, if the friends you have also have children around the same age then that could also be an option(If they don't live too far away).

Talking to the sports and swimming instructors is an option to get an idea of how she interacts with other's through a source outside of doctors and family.

The last thing, maybe it's possible she doesn't actually want to be friends with others. Some people with autism don't have a need(at least not to the degree that "normal" people would) for social interactions and friendships. WARNING: Make sure you are 85-100% sure that she, by her own decision, says she doesn't like/want social interactions or friendships! I would also advise checking every 6 months to a year to check if she still feels that way as these feelings aren't absolute. People with autism are also known to be impressionable so, even if she says yes, make sure it is because she wants friends/socialize more! It might annoy her but, she might thank you later. My mother didn't really care for social interactions or friends and mistakenly assumed the reason I didn't have friends was because I wasn't interested.