7 Tips for Finding a Caregiver When You Have Cerebral Palsy
Once I turned 18 years old, my parents and I decided to get a full-time caregiver so I could go to college and do activities without my parents having to worry about me and my needs. Luckily we were able to find a phenomenal nurse. Here are some tips to find the right caregiver for you when you have cerebral palsy.
1. Be straightforward about the tasks you need to be done. You want to make sure they understand what is expected of them.
2. Take it one day at a time. The process of finding a caregiver can be mentally and emotionally exhausting — be patient and take it one day at a time.
3. Do a background check and research on the potential caregiver you are looking to hire. It will show if the person has a criminal history. Check their social media to make sure you don’t see any red flags.
4. Do a trial period with the potential caregiver. It’s the perfect way to see if you will get along with the person and the way they operate. If you don’t feel they are a match, you can let them go.
5. Set boundaries when it comes to your relationship with your caregiver. Although it is great to be able to get along with your caregiver, it’s very important to set boundaries between your personal and professional relationships.
6. Be patient with the potential caregiver during the training process. Just as you are new to having someone around you and taking care of you, your caregiver is getting to know you and learning how to support you.
7. Have a monthly discussion with your caregiver about how things are going. Setting aside time to talk can help make sure you are both on the same page and there are no miscommunications. You don’t want to have any grudges or stress building up between you and your caregiver.
Hiring a caregiver can be tough, but I hope these tips will help you find the right person for you and your needs.
Getty image by Anna Stills.
Tylia L. Flores is a twenty-eight-year-old born with Spastic Cerebral Palsy. Despite her condition that affects her mobility, she does not allow it to affect her will and determination to make a difference in the world. Through her many life challenges and obstacles, she discovered her passion for writing. Tylia’s goal in life is to share her stories with the world. In doing so, she hopes to help others with disabilities realize that they, too, have the potential to make their dreams come true. Tylia is not only an author. She’s a radio show personality and a disability activist. Tylia has written about disability-related topics for Yahoo Life, Your Tango, The Mighty, ReadUnwritten.com, Words Between Coasts Project, Wednesday, Spilwords, and Goble Thrive. Worth Living Among her other appearances are Disability on the Spectrum and Why I was Afraid of Sexuality. Previously, Tylia was nominated to Diversabilities list of the most influential Disability Impacts of 2022. Additionally, Tylia holds the position of chairman in the creative director role for the North American Association Of Cerebral Palsy Advocates. She serves as a mentor for the Disability EmpowHer Network as well. Tylia also works for Write It Up Publishing as a sensitivity reader focusing on disability representation. Tylia has also been involved in many movie press releases for Samuel Goldwyn Films Come as you are Piece of me which was the short film directed and written by award winning filmmaker Bruna Cabral as well as the film adaptation of the book Calvin can’t fly by Jenifer Burnes Tylia is also a keynote speaker at 2020’s Cerebral Palsy Awareness conference. She has also been a guest speaker at Northeastern State University Broken Arrow where she talks to college students about disability and inclusion in education. She has also been a guest speaker at Plantation Middle School, where she discussed inclusion and disability with classmates. Tylia is fully certified in Education for All: Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion through Cape Town University. She’s also certified in Understanding Diversity and Inclusion through Purdue University. She’s also certified in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Tylia hosts the Stomping On cerebral Palsy radio show with DJ Ty on Asheville FM with DJ Mouse during the Come On In the Kitchen segment once a month she also helps the staff behind the scenes, help bring awareness to disability awareness and inclusion within the radio broadcasting industry .
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