Diagnosis & need
An au pair for a family with a child with a developmental delay
Support in everyday family life that really makes a difference
When a child needs more time, support or assistance in their development, everyday family life can quickly become very full. Therapy appointments, nursery (Kita) or school, siblings, work and the many small everyday tasks all have to be fitted together.
An au pair can support families with a child with a developmental delay in everyday life and create extra time, structure and relief.
At Besondere Sterne we place au pairs specifically with families with children with and without a disability or additional needs. In doing so, we look not only at a diagnosis, but above all at what support a family actually needs in daily life.
What does developmental delay mean in everyday life?
A developmental delay can look very different from one child to the next. Some children need more time with speaking or understanding, others with motor development, with everyday routines, or in the social and emotional area.
Several areas of development can also be affected at the same time.
For families, this often means that their child needs more support in everyday life than other children of the same age. Perhaps they need more support with getting dressed, eating or brushing teeth, more repetition with daily routines, or simply someone who takes the time and does things together with them calmly.
This is exactly where an au pair can be a valuable extra person in a child's life in everyday family life.
How can an au pair support a family affected by developmental delay?
An au pair does not replace therapy and does not take on medical or nursing tasks. Their strength lies instead exactly where family life happens: in the middle of ordinary everyday life.
Depending on the child's age and stage of development, an au pair might, for example:
- play together, read aloud, do craft activities or be active outdoors,
- accompany the child through everyday routines,
- support with getting dressed, tidying up or at mealtimes,
- accompany the child to nursery (Kita), school, therapy appointments or leisure activities,
- carry through familiar routines and structures in everyday life,
- playfully support the child's language, motor skills and independence in everyday life,
- look after siblings, freeing up time for parents,
- be present in the afternoon when a child cannot yet be left on their own,
- help with simple meals and light tasks around the children,
- take on babysitting within the agreed working hours.
It is often exactly these many small situations that add up, together, to real relief.
More time for development – without extra pressure to perform
Children with a developmental delay often need above all one thing: time.
Time to do up a zip themselves. Time to put a sentence together. Time to try out a new movement. Time to repeat a familiar routine again and again.
In everyday family life, this exact time is sometimes missing.
An au pair can be an extra person here who does not constantly have to watch the clock. They can accompany a child, try things out together with them, and allow independence in situations where parents, in the rush of everyday life, might otherwise take over more quickly themselves.
This is not about replacing therapeutic input. An au pair can, however, accompany and carry through in everyday situations the recommendations and routines that parents or professionals set out for daily life.
Does my child need a diagnosis?
No.
Not every child with a developmental delay already has a clear diagnosis. Sometimes families are in the middle of diagnostic assessment. Sometimes the cause of a developmental delay remains unclear for a long time, or there is no final diagnosis at all.
For a placement through Besondere Sterne, what your child's particular need is called is not decisive.
What matters is what your child needs and which au pair fits your everyday family life.
Families with a child without a diagnosis are therefore, of course, also welcome to get in touch with us.
What do we pay attention to when making a placement?
A child with a developmental delay does not automatically need an au pair with a particular kind of training. What matters far more is that personality, experience and expectations fit together.
Depending on the support needs, we look, for example, at whether an au pair already has experience with children of the relevant age, brings work-experience with children with a disability, or is familiar with particular everyday situations.
Just as important are patience, reliability, openness, and a willingness to engage with a child's individual pace.
Because developmental delay is not the same from one child to the next – and no two families are the same, either.
That is why we do not want to simply place any au pair, but to help you find an au pair who fits your personal family situation.
An au pair is support – not a trained professional
A clear set of expectations matters a great deal to us.
An au pair is not a carer, not a therapist and not a trained educational professional. Medical care, therapeutic measures or professional nursing care are not part of an au pair's role.
An au pair can, however, support exactly where families often need relief most urgently: in daily life together.
Playing. Accompanying. Reading aloud. Being there. Keeping routines going. Handling journeys. Looking after siblings. Going to the playground together. Structuring afternoons. And giving a child the time they need.
Finding an au pair for a family with additional needs
Besondere Sterne specialises in placing au pairs with families with children with and without a disability or additional needs.
Whether developmental delay, an already known diagnosis, or ongoing diagnostic assessment: we first look together at what your everyday family life looks like and where you would like support.
You can then get to know suitable au pairs and decide for yourself which person fits your child and your family.
Getting to know each other
Looking for an au pair for a child with a developmental delay?
Then get to know our au pairs and find support that fits your everyday family life.
Besondere Sterne is an au pair agency — not a special-education service and not an advice centre. For legal and specialist questions there is the EUTB: teilhabeberatung.de. Go to whichever advice centre you feel comfortable with.