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How do you find baby sitters for differently abled child? I need breaks from time to time away from kids. I would love to know how to find baby sitter for my kid on autism spectrum near Lowell-chelmsford-acton-westford area in MA.
I have two close friends who have children with disabilities, although neither involves autism. In both cases they contacted the children's teachers about babysitting. The teachers either did it themselves, or recommended one of their aides.
Now, some long-term teachers might be aghast at the idea, but younger, single ones ma be thrilled at the chance to make some extra money.
Does Massachusetts provide respite care? Some states have services where they will provide trained babysitters for various amounts of time at low cost.
Other than that, I agree with contacting teachers as they may know people even if they are not interested in doing this.
Also, try a local college or university, particularly if they have a program to train people in speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy or ABA. Often the students would love to babysit and get a chance to see what their clients will look like after they finish school.
You are not going to be able to use ABA services from this provider as a babysitter given that the normal time when you want a babysitter is not during the day when your child is in therapy.
Also, while MA insurance *may* pay for ABA services, you probably do have to pay a co-pay or your insurance may be one that does NOT fund it because of the self-funding loophole.
**Although these states have signed the Bill there is still a loophole for Insurance providers. If your insurance provider is "Self Funded" then they are exempt from this law.** If you qualify for MEDICAID in your state, find out if they offer a Medicaid WAIVER. This is specifically for children with Special Needs and it will cover ABA therapy. However sometimes there is a waiting list for the Waiver.
Try craigslist, search for moms who may have differently abled kids themselves, stay home with them and are wanting to make extra money babysitting.
The way we found someone is that by word of mouth- I volunteer for a cat rescue, and another volunteer, who is still a student, has a much younger sister on the spectrum, so she was used to autistic behaviours. She hadn't babysat before other than for family, but was interested. She came over a couple of times while I was here, and we went to the playground together, so my kids could get used to her, then she became our "occasional date night" sitter.
I have two close friends who have children with disabilities, although neither involves autism. In both cases they contacted the children's teachers about babysitting. The teachers either did it themselves, or recommended one of their aides.
Now, some long-term teachers might be aghast at the idea, but younger, single ones ma be thrilled at the chance to make some extra money.
As a special education teacher (and young and formerly single), it was VERY common for the parents of kids I worked with to put on the pressure for babysitting. I never appreciated this and consider it to be crossing a very important boundary. Caregiving for a child who attends my school muddies the water, and for disabled kids, it's often critical that roles be very clear. I need to keep my worlds separate.
That said, I DID work as an ABA-trained PCA for a child who did NOT attend my school for about 20 additional hours a week, for a while, and had no problem with that, because this wasn't a child I was going to be seeing in school. But eventually, I quit even doing that. Much like parents who need respite from constant caregiving duties, it is very physically and emotionally taxing to work with profoundly disabled students all day at school, and then to leave school to go work for another 4-5 hours a night with another child with comparable needs, and potentially on weekends, too. Burnout city.
To the OP, I would look into therapy programs that contract with PCAs trained in autism supports. I wouldn't say you need a BCBA to provide respite, but it is helpful to have a caregiver who knows ABA methodology.
As a special education teacher (and young and formerly single), it was VERY common for the parents of kids I worked with to put on the pressure for babysitting. I never appreciated this and consider it to be crossing a very important boundary. Caregiving for a child who attends my school muddies the water, and for disabled kids, it's often critical that roles be very clear. I need to keep my worlds separate.
That said, I DID work as an ABA-trained PCA for a child who did NOT attend my school for about 20 additional hours a week, for a while, and had no problem with that, because this wasn't a child I was going to be seeing in school. But eventually, I quit even doing that. Much like parents who need respite from constant caregiving duties, it is very physically and emotionally taxing to work with profoundly disabled students all day at school, and then to leave school to go work for another 4-5 hours a night with another child with comparable needs, and potentially on weekends, too. Burnout city.
To the OP, I would look into therapy programs that contract with PCAs trained in autism supports. I wouldn't say you need a BCBA to provide respite, but it is helpful to have a caregiver who knows ABA methodology.
In my school and in many other schools teachers and aides are either not allowed to care for or tutor children in the same school district or it is strongly discouraged. Among other reasons the district doesn't want money changing hands between a parent and someone working in the school. However, many teachers do know teachers and aides in other districts that may be looking for extra money.
I'm a retired special education teacher who advertises on Craigslist for occassional babysitting of special needs children/teens/adults. I have noticed that there are actually quite a few experienced teachers, current & former autism therapists, etc. looking for that type of part-time work. Take a look in your city and you may be pleasantly surprised at the experienced, highly qualified people looking to babysit or provide respite care.
I babysat for a number of differently abled kids during high school, everything from Asperger's to down's syndrome. My mother is a special education teacher and would recommend me to parents when they asked. Typically she would try to only do it with parents were she was no longer involved in the kid's education. She also had a pretty good idea of whether I could handle the kid or not. Having a Special Education teacher for a mother meant years of exposure to different kids. So asking a teacher if they know anyone might be a good route.
You could hire them like a normal babysitter and see if they can handle slow kids.
I've had to help one of my college friends babysit his younger brother, who has low-functioning autism. The kid recently turned 15. He can walk and use the bathroom like an adult, but he can't talk in complete sentences and makes noises.
The kid is a handful. He likes touching hair and gets fixated on toys. He especially fixates on things that are the color purple. He can bite and scratch when he's angry. And he gets agitated easily. One other thing he does is the infamous hand flapping.
My friend tries communicating to his brother in Romanian (their native language), which I can't do. But the brother understands when I do certain hand gestures or show him cards for activities.
I have posted in area colleges for a mentor/companion for my son, now 13, with AS. I have not gotten a ton of responses but the past 2 years we have been lucky to find some amazing college students to work with him. One was a school guidance counseling major, and the one now is majoring in school psychology. It is expensive but worth it, and they get him out of the house and into the community when he otherwise would have just been sitting at home.
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