This week, I had the chance to interview Polly Tommey about her experience with hiring autism paraprofessionals.
She is the mother of 17 year old Billy, who has autism, editor-in-chief of the Autism File Magazine, and founder of a charity dedicated to developing autism centers. You can learn more about her work at the Autism Media Channel.
Here’s what she had to say about her experience with autism paraprofessionals:
Q: Before we get started, let’s talk about your son, and the journey you’ve been on…
Billy is now 17, he was described as particularly severe up until the age of 12. It wasn’t so easy to get the help we needed then as it is now.
We have had speech therapists, ABA therapists, sensory therapists and swimming instructors for special needs that have worked with Billy.
Q: What was your biggest challenge in hiring autism paraprofessionals for your son?
The biggest challenge was always the same:
The paraprofessional would tell us all the wonderful stories of the great successes they’ve had with children just like Billy.
They would start work and Billy would either tolerate them or not.
It was as simple as that – if Billy didn’t like them then nothing would get done (Billy was completely non verbal).
Many were not what they advertised to be. It was not hard to find a therapist, just hard to find one that was good!
Q: If you could go back in time, what would you do differently if you had to hire a new paraprofessional to work with your son?
I would, without a doubt, speak to other parents about paraprofessionals they have used and the results they have got.
In my experience, autism parents are the most trustworthy when it comes to areas like this.
Here are Polly’s 6 tips for parents hiring autism paraprofessionals:
- Get advice from other autism parents on this paraprofessional.
- Watch your child with this person.
- Ask questions like ‘how would you handle a meltdown with my child?’ during the interview.
- Let them know what you, as the parent, consider acceptable and unacceptable when they are working with your child. If they disagree, then they are not right for your child.
- Most importantly – Trust your instincts! If it feels wrong, then it is. You are your childs advocate and you know them better than anyone.
- If they are good then pay them well. Look after them and tell them how grateful you are for them in your families lives!
You can share your own experiences with hiring autism paraprofessionals for you child in the comments below or fill out a short survey here.
About Catherine Pascuas
Catherine is the founder of Edx Autism.
I know the struggles of having older children on the spectrum….many of the therapies they are doing now, I did myself when my son refused to sleep for days but it paid off…..I know the importance of having the right people with your child…..many times it is you more than someone else.
I would be happy to speak of my experiences as a mom with a highly successful young man with Aspbergers………we did so much to help him….perhaps I can help encourage others.
Please feel free to contact me.
Pl help me to help children in an autistic centre where my duty is as a patron. my problem is parents are not aware of their duty.
Melissa, thanks for your feedback. I’d be happy to talk to you about your experience. I’ll send you an email.
Can you tell us more about this? I’d love to find out some additional information.