Comments on: The Dating Game: Who’s babysitting?

By: The Babysitter

The Babysitter — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:03:45 +0000

[...] needed a babysitter, and I was at a [...]

By: Bonnie Sayers

Bonnie Sayers — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:21:18 +0000

I see several postings on craigslist looking for companions to teensagers on the spectrum – some from families and then from agencies.

I tried to get aides but found I could not afford their hourly rate from LAUSD and then the agencies where we get therapy from said it is against their policy for therapists to do respite work with families. We have an agency and get funded for it (32 hours per month) and we have not done this in over a year. The Autism conference in Pasadena has a section for para pros and I would like to meet the author, but finding sitter and then funding for the conference and dealing with hot august CA weather is not something I feel like doing.

By: Daisy

Daisy — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:32:05 +0000

It’s challenging for us, too. Amigo at 16 needs companionship more than he needs a sitter. He can handle his routines, but he can’t deal with staying home alone. We don’t qualify for respite any more, either; he’s not “disabled enough”.

By: Regan

Regan — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:25:43 +0000

When both of the girls were younger, some of Eleanor’s therapists volunteered to babysit, although adult outings were few and far between.

Now, at least until she takes off on her own, big sis does the babysitting, not the least reason because we pay her as if she was someone not in family .

I’ve been thinking about what we will do next, but the funny thing is when we are out we tend to miss the girls…so maybe we are not very romantic :-/.

By: Maddy

Maddy — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:24:10 +0000

Yes the baby sitter problem is always ongoing around here too.
Best wishes

By: Katherine

Katherine — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:27:52 +0000

I am glad you went out too. We also tend to talk about our son the whole time we are out!

We’ve had the same challenges with babysitters. We finally found one who was a graduate student studying to be a speech therapist, but then she got too busy. Now we have two women who are great. One has an adult nephew with autism and she is terrific, very calm, nothing phases her. The other is our son’s old pre-k teacher (ESE) who was always very fond of him.

Katherine

By: Niksmom

Niksmom — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:29:02 +0000

Ah yes, the challenge of a date for us is the NOT talking about Nik or wondering if he’s ok/asleep yet. LOL

Glad you and Jim got out for a date!