Au Pair: Kelly Simpson from Australia
Host Family: Sickels Family in Indiana
We are a family of 5, a dog named Oliver and have the best au pair a family could wish to have in their home. Kelly cares for our 3 children - Ethan and Reilly 10 and 8 who are typical children with needs of homework, playdates, and driving to sports activities.
Kelly also has Christian, our 15 years old son who is non-verbal with Down Syndrome and Autism. She went to school with Christian for a couple of weeks to see what he is working on daily and has taken what she learned and applied it in our home. She sees that he dresses himself daily, gets on the bus, she picks him up from school each afternoon and has made him more independent. He was potty trained this year and he may go into the bathroom 6 or 7 times an hour at times and she waits outside the door patiently in case he needs help and if he has an accident she is there with reassuring words. She guides him patiently if he "decides" not to follow direction and he responds positively to her patience.
She is a 19 year old wonder - she is calm, caring and a family member. She can be off duty but if Christian comes to the table for a drink and she is around, she jumps up to get him a drink or play games with the other kids or comes down to sit and talk on her day off so we know what she is doing with her friends. She brings her friends to our home on Holidays so we can share our family and learn about theirs. We do not have "another person" in our home, we have a daughter that her parents cherish and we have the honor of getting to know and love and will truly miss her when she leaves us for school. We will keep in touch with her as she travels on to the next adventures of her life. She is the au pair everyone dreams of when they start the interview process.
Kelly also has Christian, our 15 years old son who is non-verbal with Down Syndrome and Autism. She went to school with Christian for a couple of weeks to see what he is working on daily and has taken what she learned and applied it in our home. She sees that he dresses himself daily, gets on the bus, she picks him up from school each afternoon and has made him more independent. He was potty trained this year and he may go into the bathroom 6 or 7 times an hour at times and she waits outside the door patiently in case he needs help and if he has an accident she is there with reassuring words. She guides him patiently if he "decides" not to follow direction and he responds positively to her patience.
She is a 19 year old wonder - she is calm, caring and a family member. She can be off duty but if Christian comes to the table for a drink and she is around, she jumps up to get him a drink or play games with the other kids or comes down to sit and talk on her day off so we know what she is doing with her friends. She brings her friends to our home on Holidays so we can share our family and learn about theirs. We do not have "another person" in our home, we have a daughter that her parents cherish and we have the honor of getting to know and love and will truly miss her when she leaves us for school. We will keep in touch with her as she travels on to the next adventures of her life. She is the au pair everyone dreams of when they start the interview process.