Amber Wd
Registered Childminder With Special Needs Experience Job In Lewes
Female Member since Feb 2023 Last Updated Aug 2024 Last Login 01 Nov 2024
About Me
We are a family of 3 including myself (Amber), my partner Leo, our nine year old child Belle. We also have four cats and two dogs!
We recently moved to Peacehaven after three years living in Brighton, prior to which we lived in London.
About Belle:
Belle (prounouns they/them) is a strong willed, creative, sensitive and compassionate nine-year-old child with a brilliant sense of humour. They are righteous and passionate about social justice issues and will go out of their way to make others feel good. Belle’s favourite things in life include our sphynx cat Margot, whale sharks, swimming and spending time having lots of fun with family. They also enjoy reading, writing, trampolining, role play, being in nature and anything to do with animals. An innately social child, Belle thrives and is most comfortable in the company of those with whom they feel a sense of equality, understanding and trust.
Belle's Needs:
Belle has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), alongside several other health issues, including sensory processing difficulties, anxiety, low mood, hypermobility, and sleep disturbances. Despite falling short of the diagnostic threshold (scoring 47/50) for pathological demand avoidance (PDA), Belle also exhibits behaviours and encounters challenges characteristic of this condition. These conditions significantly impact Belle’s learning, health and social interactions, necessitating bespoke, tailored strategies and support mechanisms to ensure their comprehensive growth and holistic development. Belle's identification as non-binary, adds a further layer of complexity to their educational, health and social needs. Many of these needs have unfortunately been left unmet in educational settings and have therefore compounded leading to additional difficulties with masking, autistic burnout, school trauma and emotionally based school avoidance which have led to Belle becoming increasingly isolated and struggling significantly with a lack of confidence and self-esteem. As a result, Belle has been unable to attend school since May 2024 and we are currently in the process of trying to secure an EOTAS package with plans for a carefully managed and graduated, slow transition back into education.
My Requirements
While we remain in this period of recovery from school trauma and autistic burnout and awaiting the implementation of other kinds of professional support we are hoping to find a kind, understanding and experienced child minder to support us as a family in caring for Belle.
It has been a long and difficult road with Belle out of school and my husband and I continuing to try and keep our careers going whilst providing for Belle 24/7. This has taken a huge toll on us as a family and we are in desperate need of some additional support.
I currently work three days a week from home and Leo is freelance Photographer. This means that while he is often able to be with Belle during the day, we can find ourselves in need of relatively last minute childcare (usually at least a few days notice- often more). We are hoping to find someone that is able to offer a regular day (even if just for a few hours) once or twice a week to care for Belle either at our home in Peacehaven (with trips out when Belle feels able) or in their own home nearby.
As of June Belle has been attending an alternative provision in Burgess Hill three mornings a week (Monday-Wednesday 9:30-12:30- so we are looking for any support outside of this hours, with a particular preference (though not absolute necessity) for Thursday daytime support. Happy to meet and discuss/work out as we go.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
| Morning | no | no | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Afternoon | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| After School | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
| Evening | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Overnight | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Last Updated: 25/08/2024 | |||||||
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