Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Noah's PCA

One thing I am very grateful during this time of Thanksgiving is Noah's PCA (Personal Care Aide). If you follow me on Facebook, you may remember my frustrations with PCA's. We had aides who wouldn't show (and didn't call), aides that would come very late, aides that used offensive language  aides that were lazy and didn't do what they were supposed to, and much more! I was beyond frustrated and had almost gotten to the point where I was ready to just not have an aide anymore because it had just become more hassle than it was worth.

Ultimately, I decided to switch to a different provider. When I chose our first provider, I had no clue what I was doing. I looked online for advice but didn't find anything helpful. I blindly chose my top 5 choices as instructed by Noah's service coordinator from a list of about 100 providers. When I decided to change to a different provider, I knew I would go about it differently this time. I had learned a lot and made up a list of 10 questions. I narrowed down the list of 100 providers to only those in my city and then I called all of those providers and asked my questions. There was one provider that I really liked after my phone interview with them. They were top choice and I prayed they'd have an opening for Noah. And they did!

Working with this provider has been as different as night and day compared to the first provider. In June, they called and said they had an aide they thought would be perfect for Noah named A. They told me a little bit about A including her age, which was 18. I was hesitant at first because that age is so close to Noah's but a friend who used to work with special needs young adults encouraged me to give it a try and so I did.

I am SO glad I did! A is absolutely wonderful with Noah. She's kind, loving, and patient yet firm and stern when he needs that. She goes to school for nursing during the day so our evening hours are perfect for her. The best part? Noah ADORES her! He thinks she is his girlfriend!

One thing this provider does is they do not let their aides work every weekend. So we have a second aide (who's name also starts with an A) who comes every other Saturday and then is our "fill in" aide should should A need to miss a day for some reason.

It's so nice to finally have PCAs in our home who seem to love what they do.

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