childminding child with autism, who needs a 1-1

[andthenshewasdone]

i would absolutely love to accomodate this child, who is 7 yrs, non-verbal and needs a lot of supervision to keep him safe. however, i have 3 children of my own, 5, 3 and 19 months.

i don't think i can do it, and don't think his mum would be happy anyway. i am meeting with his mum and social worker later today to discuss.

i have the experience to care for this child myself, and he would be very welcome in our family, but my question is his compatibility with my children and meeting their needs too.

i am happy to offer respite/childminding at weekends when my dh is also here for my children.

has anyone/does anyone do this? what would you charge? how do i manage to be inclusive but also realistic?

I agree with zzzzz

Your intentions are good but 1to1 is just that so I cant see how you can swing it and you will probably find you have bitten off more than you can chew :)

DS1 (12 severely autistic) goes to a childminder for respite days with some other kids with SN (none as severe as ds1).

She employs an assistant so that ds1 has 1:1 when out and about and there's another pair of eyes at home.

If SS are funding it tell them it's fine providing they provide another person (or funding for another person). I know quite a few severely autistic children who are funded 2:1 so if his needs are high then it's not unheard of to have 2:1.

I agree with zzzzz that if you feel you can't meet this child's needs along with your own children, you should be clear about that. I can absolutely see why you feel unsure about managing him. If he needs a 1:1, you can't provide it if you are already looking after other children. I can see that you probably feel bad about saying no, especially as you are confident you can look after him, just not with the rest of the children. I imagine too, that given the choice between looking after 3 NT kids with low needs or 1 SN kid with high needs, financially it's a no brainer. This is the bind us parents of SN kids find ourselves in when we want to keep working and that is why many of us have to give up work and fall into poverty.

The social worker should look at alternatives for this woman, like Direct Payments. Locally to us, the LA have been trying (possibly failing) to set up a home sitting service for children with special needs, where people look after the child in their own home. Until recently, we had an 'Inclusion Grant' which could possibly fund 1:1. It has been cut though. Some areas have SN-friendly afterschool and holiday clubs.

you need to ask the social worker why there isn't an after-school setting that will be funded.

i don't know where you are, but there is an sn childcare service that runs in birmingham and also another one started up around guildford a couple of years ago.

obviously parents of sn children who have 3 nt siblings cope (ish ) but as an employee who was supposed to be providing 1-1 with 3 younger and also needing supervision? i don't think i would take the risk.

what are you going to do ig your 19mo has fallen and is screaming the place down and the screaming upsets your mindee?

i think weekend respite is an excellent half-way house though, as long as your dh will suck up the workload.

Most likely you will be funded via direct payments which is about £7.80 per hour with tax and NI deducted at source.