Gina Gerrard has four children, including Alice who has cerebral palsy.
Gina has had five nannies sent by agencies which do not focus on special needs and they have largely fitted in well, but Gina says she wanted someone specialised in this field to help with her daughter as she grows up 'Alice's needs are so complex and we needed someone with experience of working with special needs children, who was also physically fit and emotionally mature. We needed someone to learn to love a child like Alice Some nannies who we have seen were very enthusiastic, but were also honest enough to say they wouldn't be able to manage. We were extremely lucky that Lisa came on to the books at SNAP! Childcare.'

This is Lisa Goodman's first assignment as a nanny to a child with special needs. But she obtained a wealth of experience during the two years she spent as a recreational care worker in a school run by the National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) in Northwood, Middlesex. She cared for visually impaired children, some with cerebral palsy & others with severe disabilities; some of them suffered from epilepsy.

Gina says that in the past it has usually taken a month for a new nanny to become accustomed to Alice's particular care needs and for her to feel confident enough to leave them in charge. She says, 'with Lisa it took a week. She has the initiative and the patience required to meet Alice's needs'.

As Alice has grown, those needs have become greater The Gerrard's house in west London has been specially adapted and a hoist installed. But, even with the hoist, lifting Alice requires a degree of physical fitness and skill as she wears a spinal jacket and a hip brace and to anyone lifting her she is a dead weight because she cannot support herself.
Alice attends what her mother, a former teacher, describes as 'an exceptional special school', but during school holidays, says Lisa, manoeuvring Alice can be arduous, as she has to be moved every hour. Lisa has been given some physiotherapy training at Alice's school
Lisa is part of a team of five carers, including night staff, who help the Gerrards look after Alice She requires 24-hour, non-stop care, can only eat pureed food and has a tube inserted in her stomach for liquids She suffers epileptic seizures but, with her RNIB training, Lisa is able to administer rectal diazepam
Apart from catering for Alice's physical needs, Gina says Lisa takes great care to stimulate her daughter and help her progress. This is achieved through communication switches, which might trigger music or put on a light, providing Alice with a reward. 'Alice might respond with her eyes or a smile: says Lisa 'When people see a child like Alice they often don't understand that she has a lot to give. It may seem small, but it's important progress'.
While having a nanny is reassuring for the Gerrard's, they still have to battle with social services for their entitlement to respite care. Gina says there is a 'huge shortage of private paediatric nursing staff' and occasionally she has had to organise her own cover.

But for all the trials and tribulations the family have gone through, she says that 'having Alice has been so rewarding for all of us, and having other children has also bought a sense of normality, which has been lovely for Alice. She adores them and they adore her.

Written by Simon Vevers for Nursery World Magazine. Lisa Goodman placed by SNAP! Childcare

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SNAP NANNY (2): SOMETHING SPECIAL.

Ask a student what career they want to pursue, and more often than not they will give a shrug of indecision. Not Kate Allen. From the moment she volunteered as an eager 15-year-old to work unpaid on play schemes, she knew that she wanted to help children with special needs.

At Swansea University, as a leading light in the campus community action project, she secured funding from the charity Children in Need to set up and run a weekly play scheme for children with autism and their siblings.

Then Kate's career took a more exotic route as she worked as a youth director on cruise ships In the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, organising children's programmes - anything from swimming pool Olympics to night nurseries. She broadened her childcare education, including special needs, while also training other staff. She gained an NVQ level 3, as well as additional qualifications in first aid and food hygiene. Back on dry land, 25-year-old Kate now works in London as a nanny caring for four year-old Ahmed Thandar, who has Down's Syndrome, and his sisters Raeesa, two years, and baby Zahra. Kate says, 'It's difficult to quantify the rewarding aspects of this job, I just love the whole package. I love seeing him reach a milestone.'

She insists that Ahmed, and other children in his situation, should never be defined by their disability. 'For me Ahmed is not a Down's Syndrome child. He is an individual child who happens to have Down's syndrome.

Ahmed's mother, Dr Hasina Thandar said that agencies had sent her the CV's of several nannies. 'But I don't just want someone with professional qualifications, I wanted someone with special needs experience, the right temperament and great patience. I was getting a bit desperate when my husband found SNAP! Childcare on the Internet. As soon as I spoke to the agency, I knew that half the battle was won'.

SNAP! Childcare was set up last June (2001), specifically to find nannies for children with special needs. The founders of the London-based agency, Andrew Knight and Sally Britton, say that they have been inundated with requests for nannies to care for children with a wide range of special disabilities.
Dr Thandar says that Kate soon adapted to their family life, providing stimulation for all three children while helping Ahmed in particular. She now takes him to his regular speech therapy sessions& developmental checks at the hospital, while helping him with his homework.
'In education terms, he is at the level of a two year old, but he's really enthusiastic and willing to learn' says Kate. 'I work on his self-help skills and make a chart everyday of his progress in the seven foundation stages of the national curriculum.

Dr Thandar adds, 'He's doing well, and having Kate is a big relief for me. She is reliable, sensitive, enthusiastic and, most important, patient'

Written by Simon Vevers for Nursery World Magazine.(Kate Allen. Placed by SNAP! Childcare)

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SNAP NANNY (3)

Monday
Toby is two and a half years of age and I have been employed by his parents Kate and Ian to work with him as a special needs therapist since January 2002. He has Worster-Drought Syndrome, a form of cerebral palsy, which mainly affects his speech and motor development. Toby communicates through vocalisations, facial expressions, Makaton signs and photos. Everyone says how 'smiley' Toby is. He is a very handsome, noisy little boy who wants his independence. I also help look after his sister Holly, who is four and goes to nursery on a part time basis, so it is a very busy job.

I start work at 7.30am. I wake Toby up, give him his milk and then he chooses what he wants to have for breakfast. Like all two-year olds he is learning to feed himself. After breakfast he sits on the potty and then gets dressed. He does this as independently as possible - for example by pulling his jumper over his head and pulling up his socks!
By 8.45am we are off on our travels to the Conductive Education Centre near Rochester, Kent. The session runs from 9.45am to 12 noon. I work under the direction of a very skilled conductor with other children and parents. At the centre Toby is learning how to crawl, transfer from position to position, stand from a sitting position and walk with a ladder-back chair. These skills are practiced throughout the rest of the week at home.

After Toby's lunch we are back in the car and on our way home. He's exhausted after all his intensely hard work and drops off to sleep as soon as we get home. This is my opportunity to chase up equipment and make appointments.

In the afternoon Toby chooses an activity from his book, which contain photos of his toys. He is encouraged to be as independent as possible at all times and will walk, crawl or roll (with as little help as possible from me) to get to what he wants. He can get frustrated when it takes time to master a task, but the key thing is that he achieves his end goal. After tea Toby's parents return from work and I go home exhausted!

Tuesday
We make an early start to the Conductive Education Centre again. After an intensive two hours it's straight to Toby's hydrotherapy session for some swimming. Toby has saved enough energy to go into the colourful soft play area that has a ball pool, slides and tunnels. This is great fun for him & he is able to learn how to fall safely, & find his own way of getting from 'A' to 'B'.

Wednesday
When Toby is up and dressed, Debbie arrives. She is Toby's home portage worker and gives us lots of things to be working on as well as lovely toys. When she leaves we do the tasks that we have been set. Toby is working on colour sorting, manipulating objects with two hands, tasks that encourage speech and others that increase fine motor skills. After lunch, it's horse riding. This is great for increasing Toby's balancing skills and he is getting more confident and can now ride unsupported with close supervision. On his way back he has started to let go with one hand and give me a wave! Show-off! It is very rewarding and exciting for me when Toby masters new skills.

Thursday
Drop Toby off at the early learners' group where he has a one-to-one volunteer worker who works on tasks that have been set by the portage worker. He might play in the home corner or with sand and water and then goes off to the multi-sensory room which has a water bed, rope-lights and bubble tubes. In the afternoon we go to his physiotherapy group where he works on his mobility skills with other children.

Friday
Aqua tots today. Toby loves it, he is able to do as much as all the other children within his class and is working towards getting his swimming badge. We have lunch with Toby's friend, Thomas, at the swimming club and a then after a nap at home we visit a group of close friends of Toby's mum who all have children of the same age.

My Week at Work. Nursery World.
Kelly Hawker. Placed by SNAP! Childcare

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