Personal Assistant

About the employer I am both the employer and mother to my 8-year-old son who has been allocated 6 hours per week PA support via direct payment to be delivered during school holidays. My son has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Severe Learning Disability and has hearing impairment. He has restricted speech, however, can communicate effectively in relation to his needs and wants. He uses his IPAD and flash cards to assist with communication with others. I am seeking a PA to work alongside us as a family to provide my son with 1-1 support to access social activities within the community and provide me with a break from my caring role. My son loves the outdoors, soft plays areas, trampoline parks, accessing sensory activities or venues, going to arcades in the warm weather and being physically active. He particularly enjoys swimming and water play My son requires one-to-one attention and close supervision due to his inability to understand risk and can be known to self-harm when frustrated or upset, banging his head on the wall or biting himself. He is unable to assess risk or understand consequences to his actions. He generally manages his personal care with prompt and encouragement from others, however, at times may require personal care to assist him in wiping and maintaining his personal hygiene when out and about. My son’s behavior can be challenging at times whereby he may scratch or kick out when he becomes frustrated. The PA will require skills of managing this with a calm approach and distraction techniques My son has access to annual activity passes to venues such as Beamish which can be used by the PA to access outings when delivering support Due to his vulnerability, he can place himself at risk, as he has little understanding of situations or things that could cause him harm Summary of duties The successful personal assistant will support my son in accessing new activities and experiences in the local community. You will support him in developing his social skills and help build his confidence. There is a requirement to prompt and support him with personal care at times if on an outing. The role is to befriend and offer companionship with a view to extending his support network It is desirable that the personal assistant will be expected to use their own car to transport to and from activities My son’s needs may vary from day to day, and your tasks may reflect this. You could be required to perform other duties as reasonably required.