Finding a good, reliable babysitter is never easy at the best of times.
When you have kids with special needs, this challenge is amped up several-fold.
Paula Shuck over at the Thrifty Mommas Tips blog just put up a post about this yesterday and her thoughts ring true, that's for sure.
The most common solutions for this problem usually come from within the family - either older siblings or grandparents. However many people do not have the luxury of having these options close at hand. Even when you do, many special needs children present special challenges that go beyond the normal capabilities of a grandma or big brother...
The CLSC often has a list of babysitters you can refer to, however this is offered as information only - these babysitters are not verified or recommended in any way. And very few of them would be capable of handling kids with special needs.
Another solution for some people could be to take advantage of the respite services offered by ARSDI. Their facilities, such as the Betournay Centre in St. Lambert, do look after special needs children and even have the option of weekend respites. So this is a possibility that could be followed up with the ARSDI directly.
As a way of opening up other options for families in the Montreal south shore area, RAPID (Resources for the Anglophone Populations with Intellectual Disabilities) is going to be facilitating an adapted babysitting course for babysitting children with special needs, on or about the last weekend of November. Stay tuned for the details, which will be announced soon
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