Do you go out to work?

[glitch]

My DS has ASD and is 6.

I'm starting to go stir crazy at the monotony of my life and I wonder if autism has just taken over everything.

I wondered if any of you sucessfully have 2 parents working or, if not, how do you keep from going bananas?

Generally we've both worked full time.

We both go stir crazy if we don't :)

Mostly we've had a nanny, and she'd do therapy with the kids as necessary.

I work p/t - would like to work more
A nanny is a good idea - wish I'd thought of that! I had an excellent childminder but a nanny would have been easier.

I've never even considered a nanny. I can probably only earn about 30k a year full time, would that make it cost effective?

Cornsilkity, if you don't mind me asking, what do you do P/T? I currently work in a supermarket for 12 hrs a week but it is driving my crazy too!!

My maternity leave runs out in September, but financially I'd like to return in June. I miss work, but I'm terrified at the thought of leaving dd in someone else's care.

Add to that, dd is life limited and has low immunity, she couldn't go to nursery or a childminder due to the risk of infection. The only option as I can see it would be a nanny with nursing experience (dd is on oxygen, ng fed, prone to apneas). God knows how much that would cost 2 days a week?!

BUT, I'd love to go back to work as a teacher, I miss the 'normal' challenges of work. It's a hard balance.

glitch I'm a teacher.

hi,
yes i worked full time up untill xmas,ive gone down to 4 days a week now,and by the summer school hols,i hope to do 3 days,
i love my job,and it keeps me sane!!
i work with 14 younger girls too that always put a smile on my face,
its good for me,xxx

I don't work at a paid job, 2 dc's with sn proved to difficult. I do however volunteer both with my local parent partnership and with my local parents forum. I must admit if I didn't I would go mad.

Glitch. My friend is the Volunteer Coordinator for Thames Valley Police. A lot of back office stuff is run by Volunteers. You can do as little or as much as you like. Worth checking out your local Volunteers centre. It won't pay, but it will help ease the monotony a bit.

No I don't. I had taken a career break when I had ds2 (7)and had planned to retrain when he started school. This became an impossible dream as I had to be on alert for phone calls from the school and available at all times in case of 'incidents' and trips. He is now at another school but only goes there until 12pm each day. I am rapidly losing confidence in my ability to function in a working environment anymore.

I work from home - used to be a complaints manager /call centre manager but holiday cover became impossible and too many incidents at school. Dont earn as much but do appreciate the flexibility for myself as well as the children

I left work 18months ago but went back free lance after a year. I loved my job and cried when I had to hand in my notice
I love how different I feel at work, and love it fits in with the girls.
I don't want to go back properly ATM though.

Dh works full time, I have two pt jobs. One 16 hr contract but I mostly work 30 hrs and an agency job which I can take the odd day or refuse.

We don't use childcare as we work opposite shifts mainly. I have a degree and post grad but I am doing unskilled MNW work as it fits around dc.

We work for ourselves. Work via employer was too stressful in pleading for time off, emergency calls etc. This way one of us is always available and we can work our family life around it.

I daren't go back to work yet. I haven't worked since 1999 as when my twins were born, I was going to assess the work situation but when DD was born fighting for her life it changed all that. 26 operations in 12 years, with two more this year. Thankfully she's able to go to MS Secondary. DS3 is very Autistic and is about to start at a SS after Easter. What with Carers Allowance preventing you increasing your earning potential and the bloody phone calls from school saying "blah blah! Can you come in?", and DD's nasty chest it doesn't make me look like the most attractive candidate for a PT job, so we strive to make the best if it all. I am retaking my Maths GCSE this year at the age of 42. One way to wake up the little grey cells Holy crap!

I haven't worked for years. I'm a LP so there's no one else to pick up in an emergency, and I find my days are busy and stressful enough just with writing letters, chasing up people and training/advice sessions.

During school hours, I attend courses at the local college and do fitness classes at the leisure centre where I've built up a bit of a friendly network, so I don't feel I need to go back to the workplace to find that. I also have a home-based hobby which is quite satisfying so I'm not just watching daytime TV!

If you do go back to work it's a lot easier if you have an understanding boss. Not one who tells you to "sort it out" when your son refuses to go to his Nans.

I speak from sad & bitter experience. Life would be a lot simpler if I didn't work but we just can't afford it.

My son is severely autistic and has no access to after school care (and very difficult to find after school carers for a teenager with severe autism).

I now run my own business from home.

I would like to go back to work at some point, but unless it was a TA at a school with a very understanding head, then I have no idea what I would do. In a previous existence I did DTP and PA work. My skills are rusty, outmoded and slow so wouldnt attempt that again. What sort of business do you run saintlyjimjams?

Sounds like I'm not the only one in this tricky in-between place.
I just wonder what I'm going to do on-going. Is this it? I have lots to do whilst he is at school but, as some people mention, it's the need to be on call and attend numerous meetings and appointments. I'm torn between being grateful that I am able to care for him and his needs and just being so bored.

I do one course already but perhaps I could train to be something so that when / if I ever do get out in the job world again I can be ready to do something. I was an account manager before so I could always go back to that but I just worry I will get too old before I'm free to do anything.

Interesting thread.

When DS came along I was a cm, and continued this, when he got to 3yrs old he really really started to struggle with me cm'ing and I was shattered from FT work, plus paperwork and training out of hours, plus a kid who thinks sleep is for the weak. So I went part time. It was still too much for him.

Tried working PT in a nursery with him in a different room but the nursery was crap and we both hated it. DS struggled with that so much he regressed even further. So I quit. That was in 2009.

Last October I thought I had found work as a level 3 nursery nurse but they were messing me about and keeping me hanging. It took me a while to realise it wasn't going to happen.

Now I feel like I am stuck in autism land. The last couple of years I had continued doing courses relevant to childcare (and autism) to keep my hand in but now I just feel despondent. I feel I am never going to find an understanding employer offering the right amount of hours and I can't even feel enthusiastic about training anymore.

I am single parent too so it's all down to me.

Oh yes, autism land, that's where I live too.

sallybear, I do a specialist type of transcription for people working in a particular academic field (one which I used to work in research in, well sort of still do, although not paid for that these days, so I don't do a lot).

Maybe that's what I need to do. Find a skill that I can do well from home, and that makes me very marketable. There is always the slight problem of being very disciplined and not looking at Mumsnet or Facebook..... Bugger.