Question for Parents with Special Needs Child

A friend of mine has a child with special needs. She actually didn't think to find a "special needs" caretaker. She just put out an add for a nanny, mentioned on it that the child is special needs, and went from there. The nanny isn't "specially trained", but she's fantastic... how did my friend put it? "I'm not specially trained either, but I can tell shes a caring person." Since the hire over 2 years ago the nanny has done some extensive research of her own so she could do her best with him.

Just a thought, but maybe you could call a local school and see if they have a paraprofessional that is off for the summer that they would recommend who might like to earn a little money over the break. Many paraprofessionals work closely with children who have special needs all through the school year, so they have lots of experience.
Good luck.

I don't know about your state's agencies, but I would contact your local chapter of ARC or your school's special ed department to see if there may be agencies that provide respite care. Sometimes this can be provided under a Medicaid waiver program - but there may be a waiting list. Also, if a college in your area offers special ed or psychology degrees, there may be some college students in their programs that could do this. In my case, I stayed home until he was in school, and then worked my schedule around his school hours, but I also had him attend a preschool program, and had him as a afterschool drop-in for a church daycare near his kindergarten for those days when we needed him to go there. The autism support groups are another good resource for agencies that provide respite. Good luck finding the best match for your son!

Have you tried kind of high-end nanny agencies such as Stanford Park Nannies out of I think Palo Alto or Menlo Park? My friend has 2 autistic sons who found a fabulous nanny through them. I'm not sure what delays your son has but they may be able to help.

I'm not in California, but my son is on a waiver program through the state and it pays for PCA/respite providers and I did that for a couple of years then I had twins and decided to stay home. I'm looking at going back to work and I will just use the waiver to pay for a PCA to come into the home and take care of him.

I have always stayed home w/ our kid. It's a sacrifice we made. My son used to just have delays but has progressed into needing more & more care, other then him going to school, we are his primary care takers. Most of the kids in his class have nurses but we don't. I don't know your situation but maybe that's an option for you.

Have you checked with your state licensing agency for childcare to see if they may have referrals? In Sacramento, we also have an organization called Child Action, that deals with various childcare issues. Your area probably has a similar organization, but most likely under a different name. Check to see if you can find that organization, as I'm sure they would have information on centers or home childcare that is set up to work with special needs. .

If you contact the agency who is responsible for licensing child care facilities then they should have a list of all licensed child care centers/homes in your area. They should list those certified for special needs children.

In Oklahoma a center that is certified for special needs gets to charge much more for those children. They do this because they usually end up with one teacher with 1-2 children and need to make more so they can pay that teacher more due to their specialized training.

Often the parents of special needs children get child care assistance through the state child care agency. The cost is so much more for them. It could not hurt to apply for child care assistance if you need it. The cost of child care might be so much that it is't worth the effort of going to work. I would apply for the assistance and then stay working so I could have the life outside of the home. I enjoy the fulfillment I get from my various jobs.

Does he need out of the ordinary care. Global developmental delays could mean that he's more like a child younger than his chronological age. If that's the case an in home day care provider could work just fine.

You can get a list of home day care providers from the State Child Services Division.

I'd contact someone at Parents Helping Parents in San Jose to ask about that. www.php.com (408) 727 - 5775

I used to put up fliers at DeAnza college and San Jose State to find people to work with my son. Santa Clara University is good too.

If your child is a client (consumer) of San Andreas Regional Center your case worker might be able to help you find some one "vendorized". I use Special Home Needs for "respite"

good luck

I was a stay at home mom for half of Andy's life. By then he was in school so no worries.

One thing some people do is contact the universities. St Louis has two excellent Med schools. You can usually find students who will work for you around their studies. The beauty is they are being trained to work with children like yours so it is a win win. They get experience and your get a nanny who is far more qualified than you can usually afford.

My husband and I decided that I would stay home w/ him full time. He qualifies for in-home-support-service (IHSS) for approx. 180 hours/month, so I do have some income from that, as I got "certified" to be his IHSS provider. You can also choose to hire an IHSS worker if you need to work outside the home, but the pay is so low (I believe it's like $9 something an hour) that I'm not sure what the quality of applicants you would get would be. Most parents I know of special needs kids choose to do it themselves and quit their jobs.
Best wishes,
A.

I stay home with her, though I was planning on being a SAHM before I even got prego, so I'm not sure what I would have done had I been planning on working. I assume I would quit because her issues are health related (failing bone marrow), and it is safest for her this way. I wish you the best in deciding what to do!

I would echo Clare's comment about Parents Helping Parents and San Andreas Regional Center.
There are many options for child care from hiring an in home child care provider to someone else's home to more formal daycare/preschool settings. I would look for someone who has some experience with special needs and has a willingness to include your child with other typical kids.
Staying at home with your child is an option for some but with the high cost of living here in the bay area sometimes it's just not possible. Also, sometimes going to work and being away from your child for a period of time each day allows you to be more prepared to deal with some of the challenges you face with a special needs child. PHP has lots of support, meetings, library, resources and experience that can help you to get connected

I stay home with my son (when not carting him around to his various therapies.) I don't know how old your son is, but your local early intervention service would have helpful information for you, or at least be able to point you in the right direction.