Companionship for Special-Needs Son

[allidennis9]

We are West Seattle parents of a 17yo autistic son, seeking someone long term to assist him in developing independence outside of the home in areas such as:

• interacting in the community
• developing and pursuing personal interests
• learning varied skills
• developing flexibility
• recognizing and fostering fun, happiness and contentment, as it presents itself

About our son: he is moderately affected by autism – aside from awkwardness of speech and movement, he is painfully shy and difficult to motivate if he feels embarrassed or anxious for any reason (aren’t we all!). He is average in terms of cognition and has a wonderful sense of humor. His love of cats is unrivaled!

The individual we are seeking ideally has some background with special needs individuals, and has a warm, positive demeanor – with a serious dose of personality in the goofy and fun range.

We would envision you two getting together on a set schedule twice a week, 4-hr sessions each. You will have your own, personal transportation (though there may be times where public transportation and the lessons therein are being addressed). This would be a dynamic set-up – what works at one point for either of you may morph over time. In general, though, we envision:

He’d be out in the community with you expanding his horizons, gaining new interests, chipping away at his shyness and moving his body much more. This would mean getting creative with different activities, trying new things and sometimes failing, noticing what catches his eye while out and about, and building on that – all while being as goofy and fun as possible.
He has a weight issue, so building in a lot of breaks and working up to more and more movement would also be ideal. He enjoys lifting weights at the Y and has a membership, so that is one thing that may be a draw. There will hopefully be ideas that leap out at you as you both grow your relationship.
We’d like this to be a long-term engagement, so are open to feedback and adjustments that would make it a positive experience for you and our son as time passes.

In terms of compensation, you will need to be set up in the state’s Department of Developmental Disabilities (a.k.a. DDA) via application. It is a “once and done” kind of a thing, then you are in the system (if you aren’t already) and will be set up to provide services to any individuals who qualify for CFC/monthly personal care hours throughout the state now or in the future. Our case manager will make that process painless – this will include a background check. We will augment the DDA compensation rate such that you will earn $20/hr. We anticipate you will provide transportation and mileage will be compensated at .56/mile, up to 100 miles a month.

We would like to start as soon as possible in growing our son’s independence, helping him learn/expand on his leisure interests and in general helping him develop a healthy, enriching life. If this sounds enriching to you as well, we very much look forward to hearing from you!

Please email your interest to allidennis9@gmail.com

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