Would you hire a nanny with very high-functioning autism?

[Anonymous]

I think my response would depend on the person.

As far as communicating with the parents go, I think you could get a lot of mileage out of a notebook system. Even if the parents don't ask for it, keep a running written log of activities, food, sleep. Note the child's response and mood. This doesn't have to take a long time. E.g.

11:00 am woke up. 4 oz bottle. Really enjoyed itsy bitsy spider.

Or

1:00 pm new diaper, down for nap. Fussed until 1:30.

With older children, you can be less specific about times. But I would think this would be a useful tool for any family.

[Anonymous]

10:30 here. I also think it would be useful for you to ask the parent for a sample schedule of their child's day. This is a standard question, but one I forgot to ask when I was a college student working as a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. High functioning Aspergers, yes. But not autism.

You should be aware that there are forms of high functioning autism that are not Asperger's.

OP, as this illustrates, people have so many ideas about what autism, so you'll be running up against a lot of assumptions, many negative. But I would interview/hire you, provided I met you and found that you were responsible and were in fact good with kids one-on-one.

But I have a high-functioning autistic brother, so I'm open minded on this issue. I don't assume anything without meeting people, because individuals on the spectrum are just so different from one another.