This job most of all requires kindness,
compassion, and caring.
It is absolutely essential that the provider be
diligent and conscientious at all times.
Both your and the client's safety must always
come first.
You must never bully or take advantage of the
client. This includes coming late, leaving early, or disappearing during the
middle of the day without good reason, personal texting or using a smartphone
for non-work purposes, neglecting the client, or physical or emotional abuse.
You will have a duty of care; you will need to
do everything reasonably possible to protect the clients from foreseeable harm.
For example, it is possible that by not sufficiently watching for potholes on
the sidewalk, the client could be pushed off their wheelchair and injured.
Particularly during the training period, you
will be learning a lot; you will inevitably make small mistakes, and when this
happens you should simply acknowledge the learning and use it to improve,
rather than getting defensive or reacting negatively with the client. Bullying
when being given honest feedback will not be tolerated.
You must be willing to stay longer in an emergency,
such as when the client has been taken to the emergency room and there is no
one else from their family to help them. Due to this extra time, you will be
paid a bonus commensurate with the extra time provided.
You will need to occasionally answer calls and
texts in the evenings or weekends in emergency situations such as when a member
of your team has been unable to come to work so that you can ensure continuity
of care. You will create a contingency plan so that in the first instance there
will automatically be backup care in such a circumstance without any need to
contact you. However, should all you backup plans fail, you will be willing to
step in. (NB: This does *not* mean that you will ever be required to answer
calls in the middle of the night or when you are on vacation.)
Commitment to the client - providing appropriate
notice when you wish to move on so that they are not suddenly abandoned.
OUR OBLIGATION TO YOU: We strongly
believe in treating the provider with absolute professional courtesy, dignity,
and respect at all times. The provider will be treated as a valued professional
and we do not tolerate any kind of harassment or abuse.
The client is respectful, however because they
are on the autistic spectrum, they may frequently not understand that a subtle
cue, speech inflection or unusual choice of words may be irritating or vexing.
The provider must be able to distinguish between behavior that is
unintentionally bothersome versus intentionally hurtful behavior.
The client has NEVER physically hurt anyone or
emotionally abused them!
There will be times when the client is in pain
and is crying or is extremely bothered by something. It is vital that the
provider be able to tolerate unusual behavior that is not intended to be
hurtful, such as a brief unintentionally loud voice, getting hung up on a
trivial detail, or being unable to focus on an activity.
Similarly, the client may not be always be fully
cooperative regarding doing an ADL etc., but that too must be understood within
the context of autism / medical illness.
We want the provider to feel that they have a
meaningful and satisfying career.
