Daisie

My Requirements

Maddox is 5 years old and profoundly autistic, non-verbal, and has significant learning and developmental needs. He communicates without spoken language and needs an adult who is able to understand and respond to his individual ways of communicating, including gestures, sounds, body language and behaviour.

He requires close, attentive supervision at all times as he has limited awareness of danger and cannot be left independently. He needs support with personal care and hygiene, dressing, eating and drinking, and generally with most aspects of day-to-day life.

Maddox has sensory needs and can become overwhelmed by unfamiliar people, busy environments or changes to his routine. He benefits from a calm, patient and predictable approach, with someone who is happy to give him time and space rather than rushing or pressuring him. He can sometimes communicate that he is overwhelmed through his behaviour, so understanding autism and being able to recognise his individual cues is really important.

He enjoys numbers, letters, cause-and-effect activities, vehicles/racetracks, sensory play and exploring how things work. He responds particularly well to one-to-one attention and activities that follow his interests.

We are looking for someone who is confident supporting a child with complex additional needs, but above all someone kind, patient and genuinely willing to get to know Maddox as an individual. Building trust and a positive relationship with him would be the most important thing to us.