Helpers for a child with special needs in the UAE

Whatever your child needs day to day, as you agree it with her. That can include:

• Keeping to routines that help your child feel settled
• Personal care, such as feeding, washing, dressing and toileting
• Following the plans your child's therapists or school set, such as practising activities at home
• Supervision and safety, at home and when you are out
• Play, company and encouragement, at your child's own pace

It is a nanny's role, focused on your child's particular needs. A nanny looks after children's routines and safety; a helper who lists this specialisation says she has experience of supporting a child with special needs.

Listing this specialisation doesn't make her a therapist or a nurse. If your child needs therapy or medical care, ask your child's doctor or therapist what kind of help is right, and how a helper at home can support their plan.

Experience that matches your child, and a calm, patient approach. Choose on skills and experience, not nationality. Look for:

• Experience with needs like your child's: ask about the children she has cared for, and the help they needed.
• Patience and consistency, so that your child's routine stays the same from day to day.
• Safe handling, if your child needs help moving, eating or with personal care.
• Willingness to learn your child's ways of communicating and your therapists' plans.
• References from families whose children she has cared for.

Ask about real situations, and let her meet your child if you can:

• Which needs did the children she cared for have, and what did a normal day involve?
• How does she help a child who is overwhelmed or upset?
• How does she communicate with a child who speaks little or not at all?
• Has she worked alongside therapists or a school, and how?
• What would she do in an emergency, such as a seizure or a fall?
• How would she keep you updated through the day?

The whole job, in writing. Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022, the UAE's law on domestic workers, sets what her contract must cover, and MOHRE (the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation) sets the standard contract form. A domestic worker's contract must be on MOHRE's standard form and state, among other terms, the nature and place of the work and the worker's total pay and how it is paid. Agree your child's care, the routine she follows, how she works with therapists and school, and any housework alongside it.

If the job changes later, the Decree-Law sets a condition. An employer may not give a domestic worker a different kind of work from the contracted job unless the worker explicitly agrees and the new job is one of the listed domestic occupations. We found no official page that says which everyday tasks count as a different kind of work, so talk any change through with her first.

Around your child's day and her rest. Caring for a child with special needs can be demanding, so a clear routine helps both of them, and cover for her day off matters. The Decree-Law sets her rest:

• A domestic worker is entitled to at least 12 hours of rest a day, of which at least 8 must be consecutive.
• A domestic worker is entitled to one paid day off a week.

Give her time and a clear guide. Write down your child's routine, what helps when they are upset, how they communicate and who to call in an emergency. Spend the first days together, share your therapists' advice with her, and tell her what is going well as well as what to change.

It depends on the helper and the care your child needs. Each helper lists her own salary range on her profile. When enough helpers match this page, it shows the median and middle range of what helpers with this specialisation ask. The official fees for her work permit and residence come on top, and our guide to hiring a maid in the UAE sets them out.

In five steps:

1. Browse the helpers on this page, or choose this specialisation on the helpers page.
2. Watch her video CV, then shortlist the helpers whose experience fits your child.
3. Contact her directly. Families contact helpers directly on WhatsApp, through the Hire button on each profile.
4. Let her meet your child before you decide, and agree the job in writing.
5. Arrange her visa. Sponsorship is the employer's responsibility; families can manage the visa themselves or ask MaidMatch to connect them with its visa partners.