Au Pair (in the mornings) required for a 9-year-old autistic female with PDA in Ballito, KZN.

The child in question is a friendly, bright young girl who loves technology, and spending time with others. An au pair has been requested by her parents to spend time with her in the mornings, by keeping her engaged with novel tasks and providing companionship. We are seeking a person that is bubbly and positive and will bring an element of fun to this young girl’s days. The ideal candidate resides on the KZN North Coast (Ballito and surrounds).

In this role, you will have the opportunity to make a significant impact in supporting this family. Your responsibilities will include occasional support of her individual learning needs as well as daily emotional regulation, engagement and sensory support. The child is anxious and easily overwhelmed and currently has a low tolerance for managing demands. Managing these feelings appropriately will be an important part of the job. A low arousal/demand, and child-led approach to learning and engaging will be paramount in this role. It will be necessary to work closely with her multidisciplinary team and implement relevant support strategies necessary for further learning and development.  A suitable candidate should be interested in neurodiversity and have a passion for supporting neurodivergent individuals, as well as have some existing knowledge of Pathological Demand Avoidance.

• To collaborate with a team to support the child’s needs.
  
• To facilitate social engagements with peers when needed and enhance social learning.
  
• To understand, accommodate and alleviate her sensory difficulties and anxiety.
  
• Integrate supportive tools into the learning environment (occasionally, when needed) as advised by her therapists and multi-disciplinary team. 

Requirements

• Experience tutoring/teaching/working with children, particularly those that are neurodivergent.
  
• Experience/learning relating to neurodivergence, particularly Pathological Demand Avoidance and autism spectrum disorder are advantageous
  
• A gentle and kind, supportive, and child-led approach to working with children.
  
• Availability weekdays - 08h00 - 13h00 (Mon to Fri)
  
• Reside on The KZN Nort Coast (Ballito and surrounds) 
  
• Fluent in English
  
• Candidate should pride themselves in their empathy, kindness and ability to implement boundaries in a gentle but firm manner.
  

Benefits

There will be an opportunity to be trained by the NDC Facilitation Academy when the role commences, and support sessions are provided for one month thereafter, working in collaboration with the wider multidisciplinary team based at the Neurodiversity Centre.