Autism Resource Assistant

**Autism Resource Assistant**

**Salary: £9.60 per hour**

**Hours: 20-37.5 Hours. Hours of work are flexible to fit in with needs of the service and the applicant**

**Leave Entitlement: 28 days per annum pro rata including bank holidays.**

**Post Diagnostic Support Service**:
Durham County Council have commissioned MAIN-Taking Autism Personally to provide an adult autism post diagnostic support service across County Durham.

The service provides support to autistic adults (16 and over) who live within County Durham, who are not eligible for social care funding. The service provides support in 5 key areas:

- Understanding and Managing Autism
- Health and Wellbeing
- Independent Living
- Socialising and Accessing the Community
- Employment and Volunteering

**Purpose of the post**:
Autism Resource Assistants have the opportunity to see the impact first hand they are having on a client’s development, have the flexibility to direct and manage their own workload, are given the opportunity to work on a wide range of diverse packages.

Autism Resource Assistants will be expected to follow an agreed assessment and outcome plan provided by the Autism Resource Coordinator. They have to plan, prepare and deliver resources, interventions and strategies in order to support the individual to reach agreed targets and outcomes.

**Duties and Responsibilities**:

- Deliver practical advice and support to service users
- Manage an individual caseload of autistic adults
- Using the assessment of needs, support the needs of service users, ensuring that the views of service users and their family are considered. This would include planning support around achieving individual goals, creating resources and monitoring progress to help the individuals achieve their objectives
- Use the assessment of needs to plan and coordinate personalised support packages to meet the needs of service users and families including strategies, interventions and signposting.
- Undertaking and writing up documents (sometimes in collaboration with other professionals), which meet specified standards and timescales.
- Provide a reflective and supportive listening service for people who need to talk about their feelings and experiences in regard to the effects of Autism Spectrum Conditions, Attention Related Conditions, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions.
- Work in a range of settings: family home, community drop-ins, colleges, work places or other venues suited to the nature of the work undertaken.
- Implement agreed assessment frameworks as an integral aspect of service delivery and be accountable for maintaining accurate and up to date records and documentation regarding the work undertaken with service users, families and professionals.
- Develop the confidence of service users and families in dealing with all agencies that affect their lives, signposting and supporting access to specialist, targeted and universal services. Working closely with statutory and voluntary agencies.
- Collaborate with other practitioners and agencies in a positive and proactive manner to ensure service users and their families receive all resources and up to date information in a way they understand.
- Actively engage with leadership, direction, management support and professional practice supervision.
- To act appropriately should areas of concern arise by following the safeguarding policies of the charity.
- Participate in training and development activities to maintain and update relevant skills and knowledge.
- Attend staff meetings and actively participate in team working, networking fundraising, awareness raising and publicity for the charity and the service
- Attending networking events presenting at conferences, speaking at both internal and external team meetings.
- Actively promote the aims and values of MAIN, and participate in quality assurance and service improvement systems and initiatives.
- Actively liaise with the local authority and various representatives to feedback about our services and feed into other projects.

General Responsibilities:
1. All employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to the principles of equality of opportunity

2. All employees are expected to respect all confidentiality and principles and practice of the Data Protection Act.

3. All employees are required to comply with Health and Safety policies and legislation.

4. All employees must familiarise themselves with the Charity’s handbooks, policies and information and act in accordance with these.

The above duties and responsibilities cannot totally encompass or define all tasks which may be required of the employee. The outlined duties and responsibilities may, therefore, vary from time to time without materially changing either the character or level of responsibility: these factors are reflected in the post.

**Person Specification**:

- Essential_
- Good standard of literacy and numeracy (ideally evidenced by at least GCSE grade C in English