Support worker for autistic young adult (part time 24hrs) - united kingdom, lancaster, lancashire

must be reliable, organised and have excellent attention to detail.

life experience essential, autism experience preferred.

full uk driving license essential.

job description

we need organised, reliable and responsible individuals to provide support for an autistic young adult as he transitions into early adult life. at some point, this is likely to include moving from his family home into independent accommodation.

the role will involve regular shifts, on at least 3 days per week (including one weekend day). which weekdays will depend on the young person’s college timetable, which weekend day can be flexible. some shifts may require evening working to enable the young adult to attend activities of his choice.

additional shifts will be needed at times and some willingness to be available for these is expected, but some shifts can be covered by bank staff. the timing and quantity of shifts may well change over time, in discussion with the post-holder, to suit the developing needs and interests of the young adult supported. some aspects of the role are likely to develop over time, as the young adult moves out of the family home and into his own accommodation, into college and beyond.

face to face shifts currently required are:

8am to 4pm shift one weekday per week (currently thursday ) supporting the young adult to travel to bury and volunteer at a steam railway. at present, this involves driving him to the railway and home again. in the long term it may include independent travel training (which may involve an earlier start). 8 hours (initially 9am to 5pm, but may shift to later to accommodate an evening activity) on another weekday (whichever day the young adult is not in college) supporting the young adult with a range of activities, including domestic, administrative and organisational tasks, independent study for college (training will be given), attending groups/activities and leisure. 6 hours on a weekend day (pref. sunday but negotiable) supporting the young adult to go on a cycle ride (with breaks), access other groups/activities and pursue leisure and recreational interestsadditional shifts available (and some willingness to cover expected):

additional shifts available (and some willingness to cover expected):

short shifts supporting the young adult with his routines at home in the morning and evening at times when his parent is away and he needs to maintain routines for school/college (currently sporadic but may become more frequent as face to face working returns) supporting the young adult to attend appointments and meetings (initially likely to be with his parent also attending, but gradually to support him to attend more independently) overnight/multi-day trips travelling with the young adult for leisure in college holiday periods (e.g. a 3 day trip visiting places of interest in the uk)

in addition to the face to face work, the role includes working from home (approx. 2 hours per week) to:

write a brief ‘shift report’ following each shift to provide information to the young person’s parent maintain email communication with other support workers, the young adult, his parent and wider support team to co-ordinate activities

the role requires a minimum of 24 hours per week. additional hours cannot be guaranteed, but are likely for the right person.

job aim:

the purpose of the role is to support the young adult as he transitions in to adult life.

the perfect support worker:

the perfect support worker is committed to and enjoys the role and finds satisfaction in positive outcomes for those they support. they are highly organised, hard-working and practical. they are respectful of the rights of others and would welcome the opportunity to empower an autistic young adult to maximise their independence, ability to control their own life and to live the life they want, not the life the support worker would choose for them, whilst also recognising the importance of the parent-child relationship (even for a young adult) and the needs of all young adults for appropriate levels of guidance, advice and protection.

they communicate straightforwardly and clearly. they thrive on responsibility and are patient, tolerant and accepting of difference. they are able to help the young adult’s developing understanding of the need to accept responsibility and fulfil commitments, whilst also supporting them to pursue their interests and have fun. they are able to maintain strong clear boundaries whilst remaining calm and supportive. they are patient, tolerant and able to adjust their approach to meet the needs of the young adult and his family. they are able to be comfortable around others without feeling the need to converse constantly. they respect privacy and confidentiality but also understand the limits of these as they apply to young people and respect the parent-young adult relationship.

they have the self-confidence and self-discipline to work independently without constant guidance and supervision and the sensitivity and commitment to maintain a continual process of reviewing how best to tailor their work to meet the needs of those they support. they are well organised, a good time manager, aware of details, have a good memory (or system for remembering things) and are able to keep track of and manage multiple tasks. they are systematic and methodical in their approach to tasks. they are comfortable with or can learn to appreciate the autistic need for attention to detail and are comfortable with revisiting tasks as often as is necessary to ensure they have conformed to existing systems. they are comfortable communicating by email and take in information well in written form. they can express themselves simply and straightforwardly. they are self-aware and analytical.

there is no such thing as the perfect support worker. however, if you have some of these qualities and aspire to others, please apply for the post.

job environment:

you will be employed directly by the young adult’s mother on behalf of the young adult.

as other family members also have support needs, while the young adult continues to reside in the family home, you will be part of a team of support workers, but will focus on supporting this young adult. as the young adult moves into adulthood, and out of the family home, you will continue to support him in his new accommodation.

induction, ongoing training and supervision of your role will be carried out by the young adult’s mother (with assistance from her own support workers) and the young adult themselves.

all support workers are expected to understand that their employer’s quality of life and those of their family members are dependent on their job performance and to show a high level of commitment and responsibility.

additional duties

keeping time sheets recording your hours of work and ensuring that these are handed in at the right time. you need to be proactive in ensuring that your job paperwork is in order.
providing flexible and supportive help in urgent or unexpected situations.

extremely occasionally, working with the young adult may involve supporting them to carry out personal care due to very rare occurrences of unreliable continence.

supporting and encouraging the young adult to communicate with his family members (particularly his mother) when appropriate (and in accordance with his wishes) about his plans and activities to support and maintain his important relationships. supporting the young adult to self-advocate and communicate on his own behalf. supporting the young adult’s social inclusion (to the degree that he is comfortable with that) and development of friendships. liaising with the young adult and his mother regarding his progress and support needs and reporting any concerns promptly to the young adult, discussing with him the need to discuss them further with others and supporting him to do so to seek appropriate advice, help or support.

this job description gives a statement of the general purposes of the job and provides an outline of the duties and responsibilities involved. it is not intended to be comprehensive and you will be expected to be flexible and accept shared responsibility with other postholders (as they are recruited) for achieving the primary aims of the role

for the immediate future at least, there will be at least 3 weeks per year with little or no work when the family are away/over christmas. the postholder will be expected to take some of their annual holiday entitlement to coincide with these times.

the young adult may occasionally need support to deal with unexpected events with relatively little notice and may also on rare occasions need to cancel prearranged hours at short notice (for example due to illness).

it is essential that you are able to be honest and straightforward in communicating with the young adult (and, when needed, his mother), especially in response to requests. you should clearly distinguish between requirements and requests. training will be provided.

there is a probationary period of 3 months which may be extended for up to 6 months at the employer’s discretion.

you will be entitled to 5.6 weeks paid annual leave (pro-rata to hours worked). periods of leave must be applied for in writing (which includes e-mail) at least one month in advance. the more notice you are able to give, the more likely it is that the employer will be able to accommodate your preferences. the granting of any particular dates cannot be guaranteed due to the need to ensure adequate ongoing support to the employer.

pay the young adult’s mother will be your employer (on behalf of the young adult).

the current rate of pay for part time permanent staff is £10.20 per hour, rising to £11.57 per hour upon successful completion of 3 month probationary period.

attributes 1

must hold a full uk driving licence must be located in or near to central, lancaster. it is not feasible for the role to be filled by someone travelling a substantial distance to work, due to the need for some short shifts. excellent spoken and clear, accurate written english
you should have good oral & written communication skills
highly organised commitment to the role. we are looking for someone to support the young adult through an important life transition, please do not apply for this role unless you can commit to at least 12 months, ideally much longer. sufficient level of fitness to participate in physically demanding activities such as cycling (flexibility potentially available if required due to disability)
you must be extremely reliable. predictability is vital to autistic people. you must also be punctual and completely reliable in attendance.
you must have excellent organisational skills. this is absolutely vital, if you are in any way disorganised you will not be able to do this job to the required standard.
you must be willing to maintain good contact with the young adult (and, when appropriate, his mother) on an ongoing basis by email and text message and let them know as far in advance as possible of any difficulties, changes, illness etc. you must be capable of maintaining a very high standard of confidentiality you must be willing to accept the level of responsibility involved in working in a situation where disabled and vulnerable people will be adversely affected by any shortcomings in your reliability or job performance.
you need to be capable of recognising an adult’s vulnerability even when it is not immediately obvious
you need to respect the young adult’s rights to self-determination, whilst also recognising his vulnerability.
you need to respect the rights of the young adult’s mother as a parent and immediate family member
you need to have or be willing to develop clear understanding of issues of mental capacity and their importance in achieving independence and autonomy in adult life for a disabled young adult.
you need to able to adapt to a working in the midst of a busy household and be capable of developing a relaxed relationship with the young adult’s mother and young adult whilst maintaining appropriate employer/employee boundaries
willingness to learn on an ongoing basis about autistic spectrum disorders and how the young adult functions and communicates.
the appointment is subject to an enhanced disclosure and barring service check

attributes 2

having own car.
prior experience of working with autistic people and/or knowledge of autistic spectrum conditions may be an advantage
prior experience of alternative communication approaches e.g. use of diagrams, visual and written information
prior experience of supporting a young adult through the transition into adulthood.
flexible availability an advantage
being able to ride a bike and be a confident cyclist
enjoying rollercoasters and waterslides
confident swimmer
computer literacy, particularly familiarity with ipad
non-smoker

please apply by email attaching a cv to: joblancaster@gmail.com

this post is subject to enhanced dbs clearance (cost met by employer).

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