Special Needs Care
At Rose’s Agency Home Care, we are passionate about providing high-quality care to people with autism. Our caregivers know how important it is to support these individuals with tailor-made care plans that meet their needs in the best way possible. We work with every autistic individual and their loved ones in an effort to continuously improve both quality of life and well-being.
To ease daily routines for people with autism, our caregivers focus on creating safe home environments, establishing good habits, and encouraging learning opportunities. Additionally, providing in-home care is a great way to help autistic family members connect with outsiders in a safe and comfortable environment.
Some of the ways we help manage autism include:
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Socialization & communication
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Expanding sensory experiences
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Providing familial support
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Teaching life skills
How In-Home Care Can Positively Impact Individuals with Autism
In-home caregivers have the opportunity to play a critical support role in the lives of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that impacts social interaction, communication and behavior. Since it is a lifelong condition, people with autism tend to require extra assistance and support in their day-to-day lives.
Caregivers can step into this role and develop a deep understanding of an autistic person’s individual strengths, challenges, and interests. Having this support can help reduce anxiety, promote security, and enhance daily skills such as meal preparation, personal hygiene, and housekeeping.
In-home caregivers are also able to offer much-needed emotional support by being a compassionate and understanding presence in the lives of autistic individuals. This may open up social opportunities, closer family bonds, and improved adherence to any behavior or therapy plans.
How We Care for Those with Autism & Special Needs
1. Socialization & Communication
Our caregivers help people with special needs improve socialization & communication skills by using fun activities. Interacting with people outside their families while still being safe at home can be very beneficial for people with autism. By using games as a medium, caregivers are able to break down challenges people may have in sharing their thoughts and connecting with others. Our team also uses positive reinforcement to reward good behavior, such as awarding them with stickers. Praising specific behaviors and learning efforts can go a long way in helping people with autism or special needs.
2. Expanding Sensory Experiences
Experiencing new stimuli can be scary for people with special needs, especially when it takes place in an unfamiliar environment. By working with our caregivers, we make it possible for people to have these beneficial experiences at home where they feel safe and secure. Our team shows autistic individuals new colors, noise levels, and textures to help expand their senses and learn which stimuli elicit positive and negative behaviors. Understanding what affects autistic people can help prevent difficult situations and create more positive experiences in the future.
3. Assisting with medications
People with special needs may need assistance in managing medications as their disease progresses. With multiple prescriptions, it can be difficult to keep track of the various medications that need to be taken on a regular basis. Thankfully, our caregivers are highly experienced in this area and help remind patients to take their medication at the right time.
.4. Providing Familial Support
Getting some assistance can provide valuable peace of mind, as caring for people with special needs can become overwhelming. Our caregivers understand how to step in and give family members a break from the stresses of managing daily tasks. We work with families to design individual personal care plans that meet their specific needs and reduce their worries about effectively caring for their loved ones.
5. Teaching life skills
Creating consistency with special needs individuals is a great way to reinforce learning and teach them new skills. Our caregivers work with individuals to create highly-structured schedules for mealtimes, education, therapy, and sleep. Autistic individuals crave consistency and do their best in a structured environment. We use this approach to expand learning opportunities and teach activities such as laundry, preparing meals, and getting dressed.
Autism Triggers: Know what they are and make a plan...
Triggers are events, situations or something in their environment that can make someone upset.
They often lead to unwanted behaviours and lots of stress.
These are some common triggers for kids with autism:
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Bright or fluorescent lights
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Loud or sudden noises
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Clothing that doesn't feel good on their skin
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Being in social groups or crowded areas
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Having a change in their usual routine
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Waiting....
Autism triggers can be very different for every child. Learn what they are for your child, and help prepare for them. Learn what they are, and help your child prepare for them.
Here's what you can do:
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Understand that your child's reactions to these triggers are because of autism and how their brain reacts to emotional experiences and things around them (stimuli). It is not their fault that they react differently than others. Their behavior is a way that they self-regulate, or cope with the stresses they experience.
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Be curious. Observe and notice what’s going on for your child so you can start to identify when these triggers might happen.
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Help your child prepare ahead of time if a possible trigger situation is coming up. Sometimes drawing a simple plan can help your child know what to expect.
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Create a comfortable environment to minimize these triggers and decrease stress (adjust the lights, get socks without seams, noise canceling headphones, etc.)
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Identify a calm place they can go when they feel upset. This may be sitting with a heavy blanket, in a fort, on your lap, or in a quiet corner in their school.
Finding the right caregiver
Adults with autism often require special attention and care while they are home and can not be left alone. The care that they receive is vital to their quality of life and advancement. If you are taking care of an adult or someone over 16 years old you may understand how the difficulties can affect your daily life and you may find yourself needing help. There are many companies which provide these services and hiring an individual who can communicate effectively with your loved one is important to their well-being.
You will want to choose an experienced professional — particularly someone who specializes in working with adults with autism. You will want someone who:
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is compassionate
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has patience
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pays attention to detail
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is dependable
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is trustworthy
Without these qualities the professional would never be able to be effective with the person who requires care.
Responsibilities of the Caregiver
Unlike common caregivers, those who help individuals with autism may not have to provide grooming, toileting, and dressing services to the patient. However, they would generally need to oversee almost all activities of the adult that they tend to at all times. Even Though there is no cure for autism, there are methods which can be put in place to help individuals with social behavior and communication problems.
Tips in Caring for Autistic Children
1. Talk with the child’s parents first
Before approaching the patient, talk with the child’s parents first to get a baseline expectation on how the patient would react to you. By doing your research, you can also plan on the best way to approach the patient. Ask the parent about the child’s past medical history, activities that help sooth him and the best way of communication fit for him. Let the child observe as you talk with the parent to initially establish trust with the patient.
2. Do physical assessment away from the child but progressively moving centrally
Start first with visual inspection. As the child shows cooperation, move forward with hands and feet. Then continue doing assessment by progressively moving centrally until you can assess the child’s body or trunk. Autistic children get easily stressed by sudden intimate touch so you need to have a tailored approach in doing physical assessment to them.