Hi!
We’re looking for a part-time special needs caregiver for our daughter.
She is an awesome 12-year old girl with an infectious giggle and a love of the outdoors. She likes playing piano, going to the park and reading. She’s in 8th grade at West Sylvan Middle School.
She has a condition called Clifahdd Syndrome (aka level 5 hypotonic Cerebral Palsy) which means she needs help to do most things. She has floppy muscles so she can’t sit or stand independently. She uses a power wheelchair that she’s learning to drive, and she takes food through a G tube. She can’t talk yet, but she tries hard to communicate through vocalizations and a communication device called a Tobii Pilot which enables her to select words and phrases using eye gaze. She weighs about 50 lbs and needs to be physically transferred, though we do have a ceiling track lift to assist with this. We have a Sprinter van with a wheelchair lift, and ideally you would get comfortable loading and driving the van to take her on outings (e.g. the zoo, OMSI, forest park).
We live in John’s Landing in South Portland, a block from Willamette Park. Our house is accessible, and she has a bedroom and bathroom on the main floor. We can teach you everything you need to know for working with her (G tube feeding, the communication device, transfers etc.) but the more experience you have with kiddos like her the better. This would be a good fit for someone with a healthcare, social services or education background, or someone with lived experience assisting people with disabilities.
Times that we could use help with care are:
After school (approx 4.30pm - 7pm weekdays)
Some evenings and weekends (e.g. Timbers games)
School closure days
Summer break and other school holidays
If you can only do some of those days/times, no worries, that’s probably still helpful. We typically have several caregivers to cover all the bases.
Pay is $30 / hour. Employment is managed through an agency called Enable who will ask you to clock in/out and provide some brief notes from your shifts. The agency doesn’t provide benefits, but if those are important to you there is an alternative agency available that does offer benefits at a slightly lower hourly rate.
If this sounds interesting to you, let’s find a time to chat and I can tell you more about the role and answer any questions you may have.
Thanks for reading! Have a great day.
Neil