Autistic support worker private?

[pennypom]

Hi!
I'm a former mental health support worker.
I'd like to be a personal assistant/support worker/befriender to autistic adults in the community, helping at home or companionship to appointments, help getting out and about/accessing services etc.
Could work with young people too.
I'm qualified and experienced. But could I do this as my own business, rather than for an agency or charity as I've done before?

Is there much call for this?
Would there be much market for it?
If so, how would I go about setting up? What bases would I need to cover?
Thanks!

I think you could - there is definitely a need for this. My daughter is autistic and it's hard.

Thanks, that's really helpful. What kind of thing might I offer which would actually be of use? And what would be of use to parents?

I would say
life skills - managing overwhelm and anxiety
creating healthy lifestyle choices to support mental health
Recognising when they are in danger of getting burnt out and treating themselves accordingly-

Thats a few things but I am sure other people have other needs as everyone is so unique.

You could be self employed or you could work for the service user (the parent or the adult with disabilities). If the client have a personal budget allocated by the local authority they can choose to spend it in you. You will be helping them to meet the goals like getting out in the community, developing life skills, improving communication etc.
some authorities have a register of support workers/ personal assistants you could ask to join?

I do exactly this. I'm a PA for a young adult with severe autism. I work privately for them and their mum is my employer. It's an absolutely amazing, rewarding job. There are quite a few in my area looking for PA's to do similar roles to mine so definitely something that's in demand! Happy to give you more info by pm if you have any questions

I have thought about this too at one point. I found it useful to google as if I was looking for one for myself and then use the information backwards (if that makes any sense)

This page might be helpful