Personal Assistant – AASNCL

Disability North; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A supportive family in the UK is seeking a Personal Assistant to provide 1-1 support to their son Adam, who has autism. The role involves assisting with mobility, personal care, and helping him engage with the community. Ideal candidates should have a driving license, access to a suitable car, and a positive attitude towards disability. No formal qualifications required, but experience with disabled children is preferred.

Qualifications

• Must have a car suitable for a manual wheelchair.
• No formal qualifications are required, but willingness to learn is essential.
• Must be able to handle physical demands like lifting and pushing.

Responsibilities

• Assist with Adam's mobility and personal care.
• Encourage Adam’s independence and prompt him for daily activities.
• Support Adam in meal preparation and budgeting.

Skills

Driving and vehicle access

Understanding and positive attitude towards disability

Ability to work flexibly

Experience working with disabled children or adults with autism

Respect for privacy and confidentiality

Job description

Your role will be to provide my son Adam with the quality 1-1 support, personal and social assistance that he needs to enable him to access his community as well as providing support within the home.

Adam is a happy, sociable boy and 17 years old. He has a cheeky sense of humour, sees the funny side in everything and has great communication skills. Adam loves computers, drawing and making up stories. He enjoys going to the arcades to play games, swimming and piano lessons. We are looking for an enthusiastic PA who is willing to research activities that they can support Adam to take part in.

Adam tires very easily and walks on his tiptoes. He has a manual wheelchair to get around outside and will require you to push this. Adam requires support with prompting in all areas of daily living to support his independence. He also always needs supervision as he has minimal awareness of danger and can be impulsive.

Adam has a diagnosis of Autism and has related sensory issues; he doesn’t like too much noise. He doesn’t display any aggressive behaviour, if something upsets him you will be required to reassure him and calm him.

A car driver with access to their own car is essential for the role. You will need room to put a folded manual wheelchair in your boot.

As Adam’s Personal Assistant you will work under my direction to meet his needs and will be accountable to me in all aspects of your work. You must be reliable and be able to use your initiative. You must also be able to respect our privacy and understand the need for confidentiality in all areas of your work.

Good time keeping is extremely important as well as a passion for what you do.

As Adam’s Personal Assistant you must be able to handle the physical skills of lifting, pushing and bending.

Main Duties

The main duties of the job are outlined below. However, because Adam’s needs vary on a day-to-day basis, it is extremely important that your approach to work is flexible. You will be expected to carry out any other reasonable personal assistance tasks that we request.

Personal Assistance

• Assisting Adam to get into his wheelchair and in and out of the car
• Always Ensuring Adam’s safety
• Encourage Adam’s independence
• Prompting Adam with what needs to happen now and what he needs to do next.
• Prompting Adam to ensure he has all the equipment he needs to take with him to activities.
• Making Adam aware of all the choices he has in a situation
• Supporting Adam with money to ensure he has enough money to pay and that he gets the correct change.
• Support Adam in meal preparation, encouraging him and helping him to prepare his meals and then how to tidy away after
• Work with us and our other staff in promoting and developing Adams independent life skills for now and the future

Social Assistance

• To provide and assist Adam with activities of his choosing
• To enable Adam to access his local community
• Adam follows a halal diet, and it is important you are aware of what this means or be willing to learn

Person Specification

• Able to drive and have access to a car suitable for a manual wheelchair, when folded, to go in.
• Have a positive attitude towards disability
• Be physically able to meet the demands of the role
• Be willing to work under our direction
• Be able to work flexibly to meet our son’s needs
• Not smoke or drink alcohol when working for me.
• Be reliable and trustworthy
• Confidentiality – Not discuss our household and domestic circumstances with others, other than with our specific permission
• Be able to accept responsibility and work on your own initiative
• Have some experience of working with disabled children or adults with autism
• Be aware or prepared to learn and work within our Islamic cultural and religious practices relating to food and personal care.

You do not need any formal qualifications, but you must be willing to learn how to do the job under our direction.

This vacancy will close as soon as a suitable candidate is appointed.

At the time of starting their employment, the successful candidate must have permission to work in the U.K.