Andrew

My Requirements

We are parents of 3 children, one of which is severely autistic with a genetic mutation. My wife and I are looking for Special Needs carers to help us for a limited number of hours per week. 9 hours in term time and 15 hours during school holidays. We are funded by Direct Payments and so payments will be made in accordance with the terms of the Direct Payments terms.

My wife (and sometimes the whole family) likes to go out with our children and part of the requirement will be accompanying us on outings or just helping to look after our son in the house.

Archie is 17. He is non-verbal, with Autism, ADHD and he has violent and challenging behaviour. He was also diagnosed with a genetic mutation called KCNQ2. He is an exceptionally kind and pleasant boy and although he is 17, he has the mental age in some areas of around a 6 year old. He can have extreme outbursts though which we believe (not confirmed) are some kind of internal seizure or issue with his cognitive skills.

Archie is also incontinent. He tends to regress a lot with many areas including toileting and so we would be looking for someone who is comfortable changing nappies. We do mostly change him but this is a requirement at times, as needed. We would also be looking for someone who is is happy to accompany my wife either with Archie or Archie and the other children, or as a family. It is essential that you are qualified and have experience of working with children with Special Needs, especially the conditions mentioned and is caring with the ability to help calm when needed. It can be tough and not pleasant but honestly the positive and affection of Archie overcomes the hard times.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please do contact me. We are currently entitled to 15 hours per week during school holidays and 9 hours per week during term time. We are looking mostly for the weekend, but we can be flexible for late afternoons to help when Archie gets back from college.

We have no specific age requirements however as a 17 year old, Archie is strong and fast! We need someone who is able to control in order to safeguard him and others including our other children and who can keep up. However Archie has no hazard or spacial awareness and so needs to be supervised at all times.

The Direct Payments process requires full DBS Checks/Certificates to be current.

The times I have selected in the schedule reflect the preferred times we are looking for (mostly weekends during the day) but I have also selected others that we may be able to consider being flexible. Whilst not normal and expected, there may be times where we may need to go away for the weekend or a family holiday and therefore support for this would be offered, where funds are available, but certainly not expected.