Between 10-16 per week usually from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mon/ Tue/ Fri evenings and some Saturdays
15
Hour
A PA is required to work with Molly, a young lady of 24 who has autism. She is very active and likes to cook, go the cinema, the gym and sometimes shopping or to see her boyfriend. The role would involve supporting Molly to access public transport, help her to get to activities and be there as a back up if she becomes upset or anxious. Having a car would be fairly important and sometimes support may be needed in the home to share a cooking session or just provide company. Hours would generally be a minimum of 10 hours over at least 3 days and up to 16 hours per week. The activities would be agreed with Molly in advance prior to each week. the PA role could be for someone self employed or wishing to be employed in which case Molly's parents would organise the contract and financial side of things.
Preferably female, happy to be flexible.
Experience of working with people with autism
Person centred
Understanding and patient
Sense of humour and not easily embarrassed
Access to a car and be able to drive
Have the skills to be able to engage with Molly and gain her trust
Molly is a fun loving person who enjoys being with friends and enjoys cycling, cooking and sometimes sewing clothes for her large collection of dolls. She enjoys going to the cinema, doing a spin class at the gym or doing cooking at home. She has a boyfriend and sometimes meets up with him. Molly has a good support network with her family and is supported too by her parents and siblings. She lives at home currently with both of her parents and has a younger sister of 22 with whom she gets on very well. Molly does however aspire to do things as much as she can , independently. Barriers to enjoying activities can be misunderstandings from members of the pubic, confusion about unwritten rules or anxiety about issues that Molly is concerned about. This can include sudden changes to her routine that are not communicated properly, or uncertainty about being able to make plans for the future. Molly is fun to be with and very engaging but needs a patient, calm approach and an someone with an ability to distract her if she is worrying or anxious. Molly can sometimes be impulsive or aim to do things that need a little more planning and thought and she responds well to patient explanation and repetition. Many activities just require someone to go with her and then agree to be in the vicinity in case she needs support, otherwise she is able to go into shops, and access activities by herself or with friends.
