Here are just some of the ways in which a personal assistant or carer can support an autistic child, young person or adult:

• Assisting at medical appointments
• Encouraging the development of independent life skills such as budgeting
• Helping individuals get to school, college, university or work
• Supporting individuals with personal care, such as washing and bathroom assistance
• Helping with cooking and maintaining good nutrition
• Accompanying individuals outside of the home, such as shopping, leisure activities, public transport or social events
• Helping to maintain relationships with friends and family and supporting social skills

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) means that people see and interact with the world in their own unique way. Therefore, people on the autism spectrum may need extra help with their day-to-day life. An autism carer can provide companionship, security and help inside and outside of someone’s home.
• An autistic person may also have a learning disability, meaning it is often harder for them to process complex information. In these cases, an autism carer can support you with other care needs and associated conditions.
• With Curam, you can hire the carer of your choice to provide consistency and person-centred care.

• Carers are self-employed and set their own rates on our platform. The cost of care is often determined by the level of care required. Their rates vary according to the carer’s location, experience and qualifications.
• The average hourly care rate charged by carers on Curam is £16 per hour, with rates starting at £13 an hour. Sleeping night care is usually charged at a fixed rate, with rates starting at £80 per night. The average live-in care rate charged on Curam is £880 per week, with rates starting at £750 a week. Carer rates include our fee of 12.5% + VAT.

• You pay for autism care though a secure payment system on our app or website. Your carer of choice will create a service agreement and shift invoice which will automatically be sent to your Curam account for your approval. Once you have approved these, you will be taken to the payment portal. Your payment is held securely until the shift is completed and is then released to the carer 2 working days after the end of the shift minus our fee.
• Off-platform and cash payments are not accepted and are liable to a placement fee of £2000. Please see our terms and conditions for more information, specifically point 9.3.

• To arrange specialist autism care on the Curam platform, you can filter by care type, condition experience, languages spoken and more in your search for a carer. If you see a particular carer that fits your criteria, send them a message asking their availability and outlining your care needs.
• Alternatively, you can tell us your care requirements and carers that fit those needs will apply to your Curam account. We recommend that you call or meet your carer of choice before contracting with them. Click here for some advice on interviewing a carer.

• Respite care is when someone else looks after the person that you usually care for. The respite carer will take over the tasks that you usually do to care for that person. This allows you to have a break in order to do everyday activities or simply to relax. You can do so with the peace of mind that the person receiving care is well looked after.
• Respite care can be provided in the form of hourly care (e.g. a few hours each week), overnight care and short-term live-in care.